I finally made it to the zoo!! I had heard when I first arrived, there was a zoo in the nearby city of Craiova. I had tried several times to get there but was unsuccessful - until today.
My normal Sunday routine involves waking up late (not too), showering, getting coffee at the dining hall, and heading to downtown Craiova at 1000 on the shuttle; about 45 minutes away. The free shuttle drops us off at the Electroputere Parc mall and from there, I go exploring. Normally I'm the only one on the shuttle (which is ok with me) but today there were four of us. There three other guys were going to the Inspire Movie Theater at the mall to watch the new Spiderman movie. They asked if I wanted to go with them but I haven't been a big Spiderman fan of late, so I said thank you anyway. Their movie didn't start until 1315 and got out at 1530 so I figured today would be a good day to visit the zoo. I wish I had brought my camera but I'll save it for next time.
We got to the mall at 1045 and I hopped in a taxi for the ride to the park. The US taxi services could learn a lot from here. The price for taxis in Romania are 1.99 lei per kilometer. Now remember, there are 4 lei in a dollar and there are just about 2.0 kilometers in a mile. This works out to roughly $1.00 per mile. In the US, you can't even ask the driver for a ride for $1.00. So the ride there cost 15 lei ($4.00). The ride back was only 10 lei - why was it shorter getting back to the exact same spot from where I was dropped off?
The Nicolae Romanescu Park (and Zoo) is huge. It is in the middle of the city but once you enter the gate, there is peaceful silenced the sound of children playing. It's beautiful, with grass and giant trees, and flowers with people walking, bicycling, or scooting around on electric scooters. Best of all, entrance into the park is FREE!
Walking in, the first thing you see is the dedication plaque to Nicolae and the inscription showing the park was opened in 2003.
They don't show it, but I'm only 10,067 kilometers from home in San Antonio, Texas.
I have some work to do here, this is great because I see these strange birds here I've never seen before and I wonder what they are. Now I have the reference!! I just have to translate it. One of the prettiest birds I've seen here are the ring-necked pheasants. They are beautiful and roam freely on the base (they're protected). I wonder if they'll have one here?
Right in the middle of the park is Lacul Mare. As you can see, there's a fountain, paddleboat, row boats, and people enjoying a beautiful Sunday in the park,
Bridges cross the numerous tributaries leading to and from the lake. Benches are positioned throughout the park for us old people to rest. Additionally, there are water bubblers (old New England term for a water drinking fountain) everywhere.
Here's something you won't see very often, a selfie of me!
There's evidently a very talented artist in the Craiova area who has carved several these type sculptures in the park.
It's awesome to see lily pads, water plants, cat tails, and then listen to the croaking frogs. They better be careful though because I've seen egrets, swans, and cranes around here!
Ok seniors, can you find something in this picture you thought was an extinct art form like petroglyphs on a cave wall? Yes, the hopscotch game drawn with chalk on the walkway. I'll bet if you ask 10 American kids what this is or what hopscotch is, 8 out of 10 will say "is it an app on my phone" or just have no idea what hopscotch is (let alone chalk) since they don't ever go outside. Kids in Romania still play this and Four Square, two games which I spent innumerable hours playing in front of my house every summer.
I got to treat myself today with a hand-spun cotton candy, something I haven't had in quite a while. They had soft-serve ice cream too but this would have turned out badly for me (lactose intolerance).
I can see cages/pens ahead, so I must be near the zoo!!! I'm so excited, I love zoos. Let me forewarn all of you though who haven't been to Europe. THIS IS NOT THE San Diego or NATIONAL ZOO! DO NOT EXPECT THAT! European zoos are totally different from US zoos with the only thing similar being - they both have animals. They Europeans though have a different concept of zoos and think differently about what animals appear in zoos. So, you've been warned.
Capuchin monkeys are always fun to watch!
I bet you didn't ever expect to see the elusive Guinea Pig in a zoo. Well, I didn't get a view of them today, It must have been too hot and they wouldn't come out of their enclosure.
My personal favorites - BEARS!!! These are two native European brown bears from the Carpathian Mountains just north of here. They came down to visit and have a seat - hoping to get a snack I'm sure.
There was a male and a female lion but they didn't want to wake up for me
I don't think you've seen too many chickens in US zoos but I've seen them in every European zoo I've been to.
How about a bunny rabbit?
Who knows what these are? They are nutria. I remember when we were doing our best to get rid of a bunch of these along the southern coasts of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi because they were reproducing like crazy and eating everything they could get their big rat teeth on. I remember even seeing them in the Leon Creek in San Antonio next to the Security Forces Center.
I was surprised to see these Coati Mundi - especially the once with no tail since that is their most beautiful attribute. I remember seeing these when I was in Panama where they are wild. They also ate them down there (yuck) along with IGUANA!!!! WTH - I had my iguana for 19 years and would never have thought of eating her.
Here's some pretty big pigs - again, not something you'd normally see. I agree, you would see wart hogs but these ARE NOT wart hogs, they are just pigs!
I believe this is some type of water buffalo...but I could be wrong. I didn't see the sign saying what it was though. If someone knows, please fill me in.
Another native Romanian animal - the European grey wolf. They roam freely north of here and there are more wolves (and bears) in Romanian than all of Europe combined.
Here are some European Elk. They are pretty large and were hunted almost to extinction. Fortunately the Romanian government and charitable organizations have reintroduced them back into the wild and have done a great job of growing the wild population.
I see these brown deer on base all the time. We have a good size herd that roam around the Romanian part of the installation.
I think this is a goat....but it's got some high horns!
Llama are always great - depending on who you ask. If you ask Teresa and Katie, you may get a different answer. I remember our very first family outing to the San Antonio Rodeo and Stockshow when the llama spat on both of them, as llama are prone to do.
Am I alone here or are other people scared of ostriches? They just look so "dinosaur-like" and they could kill you with just one kick. They always look at me like they want to kick me for some reason. Maybe it's because I always look at them like they belong in a bucket of the Colonel's KFC!
EMU - not as scary. Now what I'd really like to see is a Cassowary, now those are UGLY and DANGEROUS!
Here's something which should be captured and caged - the common PIGEON!!! Maybe they aren't really on display here? Maybe someone left the cage door open and they just kinda walked in here for the free food - as pigeons are prone to do?
And who doesn't ant to see a horse in a zoo?
A pretty swan and this swan even has his own house on an island in the lake. He has to share it with a bunch of other swans though, I saw them looking at it.
Romanians really love their sculpted art work and it is present throughout the park. Some are really old, some are definitely Soviet-era, and some are newer. Regardless, they are all cool.
Several structures dot the park; from restaurants, pavilions, a stage where local artists hold concerts, and a suspension bridge currently under renovation.
Just walking around the park...
Playgrounds for children.
This is a pretty sweet birdhouse!
Another restaurant just inside the park.
Who knows what kind of trees these are? The roots grow UP out of the ground and make new trees.
The strangest animal in the zoo today.
Ok, so there were no ring-necked pheasants in the zoo but I did capture one on base. They are huge, about the size of small turkey. Truly a magnificent bird.
This concludes my visit to the zoo - over seven miles of walking clocked in for the day. Next weekend I'll be traveling to the Danube Delta in eastern Romania to take a boat cruise on the delta and in the Black Sea, do some wine tasting at local vineyards there, and hiking to ancient Roman and Greek seaport city ruins.
No comments:
Post a Comment