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| Welcome to the Imperial Zoo! |
Jet lag is no fun. Jet lag with a baby is worse. We had intended to beat some of the heat by heading out to the Schoenbrunn gardens and zoo early but a rather warm night of very interrupted sleep foiled that plan. Still, we reached the cool shade of the Tirolergarten in time for lunch at the charming Gasthaus.
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We had taken George to the zoo for the first time just a few weeks ago when we visited friends in Omaha. On that trip George was much more interested in the ten Bensel boys than any of the exotic animals. However, this visit he was a bit more entertained by the various animals (perhaps because we were missing the fun ten Bensels!).
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| Schoenbrunn Palace |
It was a pretty warm day in Vienna with temperatures in the upper 80s. We did our best to stick to the shade and kept George greased up with sunblock and under his stroller visor or hat as we toured the grounds. We were most excited to see the pandas (a first for us all!) and the koalas (a first for Nick and George). The Imperial Zoo is one of the oldest in Europe! Dating from the 1750s, it was originally the imperial menagerie founded by Emperor Franz Stephan. Along with the enormous botanical gardens, the menagerie was opened to the public in 1779. It was a lovely and beautiful space to explore and spend a day. Now sit back and enjoy a bunch of pictures!
Once back to the apartment it was time to "wash that zoo right out of your hair" (insert melody from South Pacific here), story time, and bed time for George - dinner time for Mom and Dad. Auf wiedersehen Wien!
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| Tirolian cows |
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| In the monkey house |
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| George finds a BIG kitty! |
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| Awe, baby elephant! |
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| Awe, baby asleep in the elephant house! |
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| Kangaroo - they really hop! |
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| Hippopotamus can make loud sounds! |
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| Donkey in need of a haircut |
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| Pelicans (Nick's favorite bird!) |
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| Kaiserpavillon |
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| Pandas!!! |
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| We loved getting to meet LongHui and YangYang |
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| Koala zen master |
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| Hooray for the zoo! |
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| Baby bath time |
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| One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish might be memorized by the end of this trip! |
