BUDAPEST ZOO

      A Fun Afternoon

You already know Jan is an L A Zoo docent so we've visited lots of zoos as we've traveled. By our last afternoon in Budapest we decided we’d had enough museums and shopping, so decided to visit the second oldest zoo in the world. (Tiergarten at Schonbrunn is the oldest.)

This was on my first visit to Budapest when we found very few people spoke English. The subway ride down town presented no problem, as we’d been using it most of the week.

Of course the zoo map was in Hungarian, and no one around seemed to speak English. However, we were able to successfully follow the map. Twice we sort of wondered where we were, but both times I spotted a young fellow and sure enough both of them were able to confirm in English where we were.

This zoo, opened in 1866, houses some 500 mammals, nearly 700 birds, and 1500 reptiles, fish, and arthropods. The combined botanical garden has 1500 species of plants. The zoo, covering nearly 11 hectares, includes 69 buildings. The elephant house, built in 1908, resembles a Turkish Mosque. It is very elaborate and is really a very beautiful building.

We enjoyed a delightful afternoon. I saw several animals I’d not seen before and Jan is always able to explain about them.

On my next visit to Budapest I chose to see and do other things. But on this recent visit we found everyone speaking English and only once found someone who could not communicate with us or answer questions. What a difference ten years makes! So, I can only guess that now there are many at the zoo who speak English and can help one out.