Maybe my most unhinged plan yet: can you do a daytrip from the UK to go see some pandas? Well the answer is yes! It’s a long day, but as someone who needs a regular fix of pandas to keep happy, then it’s worth it! So come and find out about my 22hr February Saturday:
Continue Reading “Daytrip diaries: Edinburgh to Ouwehands for a giant panda trio 🐼🐼🐼”Daytrip diaries: Edinburgh to Ouwehands for a giant panda trio 🐼🐼🐼
Snowy Zoo visits in January 2026 ~ Ouwehands Dierenpark, ARTIS Zoo and Zoo Berlin
What a January I had! Filled with so much more snow than expected XD I already posted about seeing the pandas when I was in the Netherlands, so also saw some other residents of Ouwehands, but with a few extra days on top of that, I also went to ARTIS zoo in hopes of seeing their baby elephant, and of course, I ended the month at Zoo Berlin, where it was very unexpectedly snowy as well!
Continue Reading “Snowy Zoo visits in January 2026 ~ Ouwehands Dierenpark, ARTIS Zoo and Zoo Berlin”Exclusive PANDA viewing at Zoo Berlin ~ experiencing an early morning PANDA tour
Ended January with a little panda weekend – back to Zoo Berlin to see the cutie twins and make use of my annual pass again! This time I wasn’t alone, I had my mum and sister tag along. My mum has been to Berlin a few times with me before, but this was my sisters first trip to Berlin and also first time seeing pandas other than the Edinburgh Zoo pair, and first time seeing cubs too! Plus they were in the snow, what luck (because I had to wait years for that)! I decided to treat my mum and sister to an early morning private panda tour, so we had time to ourselves with the pandas, so it was very special =D
Continue Reading “Exclusive PANDA viewing at Zoo Berlin ~ experiencing an early morning PANDA tour”An unexpected SNOWY PANDA VISIT at Ouwehands Dierenpark
Well this was a surprise indeed! On my way home from my New Years trip to Shanghai, I got stuck in the Netherlands by the snowy conditions. I got off my flight from Shanghai to find out that pretty much all flights out were cancelled, and the app rebooked me for 2 days later. I’m really glad that I’m pretty well travelled and now am a lot more relaxed about things – it wasn’t the end of the world and it didn’t need me to be dramatic about it! Now I did end up being there for 5 days, but I made the most of it, and I know I was in a lucky position being able to firstly get into the country easily (was travelling on my Irish passport luckily, so didn’t have to wait in the crazy long non-EU line), and having funds to hand to be able to survive extra days away from home. To note, it took almost 3 months to get notified that I would be reimbursed, and it was not quite the full amount I submitted receipts for. But it’s fine, and I got to see pandas in the snow!
Continue Reading “An unexpected SNOWY PANDA VISIT at Ouwehands Dierenpark”Snapshots from Shanghai Zoo CHINA, January 2026
There are plenty of animals to see at the Shanghai Zoo besides the pandas – it’s a smart move putting the pandas as far as you can from the entrance, it means you have to walk past at least several other animals before getting to them! So of course, I saw some other animals. Now I didn’t find the zoo quite as impressive as the Shanghai Wild Animal Park, but I would still return if it fitted my schedule – priced at 40RMB, it’s not too expensive of a day out and it’s a huge park to explore and relax in.
