7th November
Saturday morning saw me having a last minute panic and pack – trying to remember everything I need, and making sure I have actually packed it.
Steve came with me to the airport to say good bye, and off I went. I had a few hours to wait at Kyiv airport, but had saved a book that Dad sent me specifically to read on this journey. I’ve been reading from an e-reader for the past 8 months, which is great, but it just does not compare to holding a fat book in your hands and being able to turn actual pages. My first flight was from Kyiv to Köln-Bonn and took about two and a half hours. The flight was good and I had a whole row of seats to myself which was great for stretching out, although it was very odd to not have Steve sitting next to me. I kept looking at how beautiful the clouds were as we flew over them and forgetting that Steve was not there to share it with. But, someone has to hold the fort, keep an eye on the elephant and wrestle the cat. It’s a shame that he couldn’t come with but it was difficult enough to raise the money for me to go, I can’t imagine that we’d have managed enough sponsorship for two. The passengers on the first flight were mostly Ukrainians and in typical national style they refused to wear their seatbelts or turn their phones off when the airline staff asked them.
I had a three hour stop at Köln-Bonn and after putting my watch back an hour used this opportunity to reacquaint myself with the excessive prices used in airports – a glass of coca-cola for almost 3 euro – ridiculous!
The second flight was only an hour long to Hamburg, and was very nice – I also had a whole row of seats to myself. Both flights were actually very smooth – only a little turbulence, but great landings with no bouncing along the runway. I don’t particularly like flying but was able to relax well on both.
On arrival in Hamburg my suitcase appeared very quickly which I wasn’t expecting particularly as I had two flights and flew with a budget airline. I found a taxi (with a driver who spoke perfect English, even though I tried to speak German to him) and made my way to the zoo.
As it was 9.30pm the zoo was closed obviously but I had the phone number of the night watchman who met me at the gates and took me to the zoo accommodation. The watchman Peter had worked as a zoo keeper at Hamburg for 40 years and was able to tell me a lot about the zoo and we had a coffee and a good talk about zoos, animals and elephants! He was really helpful and found me lots of maps and drew on them where the accommodation was and where to go on Monday for my course. He also pointed me in the direction of a small shop and restaurant. I decided not to bother as it was so late, I just wanted to get settled in and go to bed.
The zoo accommodation is very nice, split into a few apartments with several bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and lounge. They even provided a big pile of tea bags, which is great. It’s very clean, the kitchen is useable with a cooker, saucepans etc. It was just me in the apartment, but Peter said that there might be another course participant arriving the next day.
Sunday 8th November
I had a really good night’s sleep and woke up quite early. I lazed in bed reading and drinking coffee for a while until I could go out into the zoo – I was told that I couldn’t go into the zoo before it was open to the public.
For the non-zoo people reading, Hamburg (Hagenbeck) Tierpark is one of the most famous zoos in the world and renowned for inventing the bar-less enclosure over 100 years ago. They created panoramas of animals in enclosures that shouldn’t live together e.g. lions and zebras. The animals only appear to live in the same enclosure due to hidden ditches, moats, fences and walls. They still exhibit their animals in this way; many of them still live in these old enclosures that are just spectacular to see. This style was copied by zoos all over the world and I always wanted to see Hamburg Zoo.
So, off I went to the zoo. I can honestly say that it is the most beautiful and amazing zoo I have ever been to. The enclosures are spectacular and seem good for the animals, most are separated from the visitors by water moats or dry moats so are very good for photography, some have glass which is very clean and didn’t interfere with the photos. The grounds are very clean and tidy, with wide paths and lots of trees and bushes. They have a very big animal collection – I saw bears, flamingos, mountain goats, lions, tigers, leopards, deer, orang-utans, bison, giraffes, coatis, giant otters (on CCTV as they have babies at the moment) and lots and lots of elephants. I tried not to look at the elephants too much as I will be seeing a lot of them during the course, but I couldn’t help it. There were three youngsters who were just charging around and wrestling with each other. The adult females were all very interested in the visitors who were allowed to feed them, so they were all reaching over the moat for pieces of apple and carrot. The big bull elephant was gorgeous, with nice tusks, but he wasn’t as big as my elephant!
Anyway, see the photos of the zoo – I just can’t explain how wonderful it was.
My camera ran out of photo space just as I got to the aquarium-terrarium which was a huge shame. I have never seen anything like it before – it’s a huge total immersion exhibit, you are in with birds, lemurs and other animals and you follow paths through the different zones. It’s all set to look like villages and natural habitats of the animals. Words just can’t do it justice – will try for photos another day. The last exhibit in the tropical aquarium is a huge aquarium, at least 10 metres high and maybe 30 metres wide with a huge array of species. It’s absolutely spectacular. There are ranks of steps where you can sit and watch. I just sat absorbed by the sharks, rays and other fish – I just lost track of time. This area can be hired in the evenings for corporate meals, functions, weddings etc. Pretty amazing backdrop!
I stayed in the zoo all day until it closed – they let you know to start making your way out by having someone walk round the zoo ringing a bell. I then headed out to try to find the little shop so I could buy some bread and cheese. Unfortunately, no success, I couldn’t find it at all – I walked for quite a while, but nothing.
Went to the hotel in the evening – where the course lectures are based and most of the others are staying. Had a nice evening – met a few of the people from the course and some of the lecturers and elephant staff from Hamburg Zoo.
Saturday morning saw me having a last minute panic and pack – trying to remember everything I need, and making sure I have actually packed it.
Steve came with me to the airport to say good bye, and off I went. I had a few hours to wait at Kyiv airport, but had saved a book that Dad sent me specifically to read on this journey. I’ve been reading from an e-reader for the past 8 months, which is great, but it just does not compare to holding a fat book in your hands and being able to turn actual pages. My first flight was from Kyiv to Köln-Bonn and took about two and a half hours. The flight was good and I had a whole row of seats to myself which was great for stretching out, although it was very odd to not have Steve sitting next to me. I kept looking at how beautiful the clouds were as we flew over them and forgetting that Steve was not there to share it with. But, someone has to hold the fort, keep an eye on the elephant and wrestle the cat. It’s a shame that he couldn’t come with but it was difficult enough to raise the money for me to go, I can’t imagine that we’d have managed enough sponsorship for two. The passengers on the first flight were mostly Ukrainians and in typical national style they refused to wear their seatbelts or turn their phones off when the airline staff asked them.
I had a three hour stop at Köln-Bonn and after putting my watch back an hour used this opportunity to reacquaint myself with the excessive prices used in airports – a glass of coca-cola for almost 3 euro – ridiculous!
The second flight was only an hour long to Hamburg, and was very nice – I also had a whole row of seats to myself. Both flights were actually very smooth – only a little turbulence, but great landings with no bouncing along the runway. I don’t particularly like flying but was able to relax well on both.
On arrival in Hamburg my suitcase appeared very quickly which I wasn’t expecting particularly as I had two flights and flew with a budget airline. I found a taxi (with a driver who spoke perfect English, even though I tried to speak German to him) and made my way to the zoo.
As it was 9.30pm the zoo was closed obviously but I had the phone number of the night watchman who met me at the gates and took me to the zoo accommodation. The watchman Peter had worked as a zoo keeper at Hamburg for 40 years and was able to tell me a lot about the zoo and we had a coffee and a good talk about zoos, animals and elephants! He was really helpful and found me lots of maps and drew on them where the accommodation was and where to go on Monday for my course. He also pointed me in the direction of a small shop and restaurant. I decided not to bother as it was so late, I just wanted to get settled in and go to bed.
The zoo accommodation is very nice, split into a few apartments with several bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and lounge. They even provided a big pile of tea bags, which is great. It’s very clean, the kitchen is useable with a cooker, saucepans etc. It was just me in the apartment, but Peter said that there might be another course participant arriving the next day.
Sunday 8th November
I had a really good night’s sleep and woke up quite early. I lazed in bed reading and drinking coffee for a while until I could go out into the zoo – I was told that I couldn’t go into the zoo before it was open to the public.
For the non-zoo people reading, Hamburg (Hagenbeck) Tierpark is one of the most famous zoos in the world and renowned for inventing the bar-less enclosure over 100 years ago. They created panoramas of animals in enclosures that shouldn’t live together e.g. lions and zebras. The animals only appear to live in the same enclosure due to hidden ditches, moats, fences and walls. They still exhibit their animals in this way; many of them still live in these old enclosures that are just spectacular to see. This style was copied by zoos all over the world and I always wanted to see Hamburg Zoo.
So, off I went to the zoo. I can honestly say that it is the most beautiful and amazing zoo I have ever been to. The enclosures are spectacular and seem good for the animals, most are separated from the visitors by water moats or dry moats so are very good for photography, some have glass which is very clean and didn’t interfere with the photos. The grounds are very clean and tidy, with wide paths and lots of trees and bushes. They have a very big animal collection – I saw bears, flamingos, mountain goats, lions, tigers, leopards, deer, orang-utans, bison, giraffes, coatis, giant otters (on CCTV as they have babies at the moment) and lots and lots of elephants. I tried not to look at the elephants too much as I will be seeing a lot of them during the course, but I couldn’t help it. There were three youngsters who were just charging around and wrestling with each other. The adult females were all very interested in the visitors who were allowed to feed them, so they were all reaching over the moat for pieces of apple and carrot. The big bull elephant was gorgeous, with nice tusks, but he wasn’t as big as my elephant!
Anyway, see the photos of the zoo – I just can’t explain how wonderful it was.
My camera ran out of photo space just as I got to the aquarium-terrarium which was a huge shame. I have never seen anything like it before – it’s a huge total immersion exhibit, you are in with birds, lemurs and other animals and you follow paths through the different zones. It’s all set to look like villages and natural habitats of the animals. Words just can’t do it justice – will try for photos another day. The last exhibit in the tropical aquarium is a huge aquarium, at least 10 metres high and maybe 30 metres wide with a huge array of species. It’s absolutely spectacular. There are ranks of steps where you can sit and watch. I just sat absorbed by the sharks, rays and other fish – I just lost track of time. This area can be hired in the evenings for corporate meals, functions, weddings etc. Pretty amazing backdrop!
I stayed in the zoo all day until it closed – they let you know to start making your way out by having someone walk round the zoo ringing a bell. I then headed out to try to find the little shop so I could buy some bread and cheese. Unfortunately, no success, I couldn’t find it at all – I walked for quite a while, but nothing.
Went to the hotel in the evening – where the course lectures are based and most of the others are staying. Had a nice evening – met a few of the people from the course and some of the lecturers and elephant staff from Hamburg Zoo.
The old gates to the zoo
Bear Enclosure
Capybara
Bison
Leopard Enclosure
Tigers
Temple in the zoo
One of the beautiful lakes
Orangutan Enclosure
Baby elephant
Most of the female elephants
Bull elephant
Bull elephant
View from the top of one of the "mountains"
Marabou Stork at the front of the African Panorama
African Panorama
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