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:
2:15AM: time to get up! The first airport bus from my area of Edinburgh is just after 3AM, so I drag myself out of bed and head to the bus stop with plenty of time to spare. It’s a nice walk without any luggage!
4AM: arrived at the airport and headed for security, despite being a Saturday it was quiet and was through in what felt like less than 5mins. In fact, I was so quick that the duty free wasn’t even completely open when I got through. Headed for some breakfast in Caffe Nero (my current preferred option at Edinburgh Airport).
5:15AM: everything is running on time and smooth, board the plane without issues – thanks to my SkyPriority status, I’m in group 2 so get on nice and early and get myself settled for the very quick flight.
8:15AM (Amsterdam time): land on time! Flight was uneventful, and I watched panda videos on my phone 😂 As we’re heading towards the terminal I check out the upcoming train times and earmark a few options, depending on how the passport control lines are! There’s also been some engineering works on the lines, so there’s fewer direct trains from Schiphol to Utrecht. Thankfully I have dual nationality and an Irish passport, so I had no line for the automated passport kiosks – this is a relief as the non-EU line looks long and packed. I head towards the Albert Heijn supermarket and pick up some bits to make a packed lunch. Sandwiches are really affordable here, and can get my favourite plain cheese ones!
8:59AM: time for the train to Utrecht. Because of the engineering works it’s got to go through Amsterdam Centraal so it takes a little longer than usual (52mins), but it’s not too busy and the ride is fine. I have 23mins at Utrecht to get the connection to Rhenen – I go to the Albert Heijn here too and pick up some bakery items, a kaasbroodje and some cookies. Then catch the train, again, it’s not too busy.
10:51AM: get off the train at Rhenen and walk to Ouwehands! The walk is along a straight road and around 10mins for fast walkers, so I arrive just after 11AM.
11:15AM: First Panda sighting!
Wu Wen 武雯 + Lang Yue 朗月
I have to say, overall I had an amazing panda viewing experience on this day with Wu Wen 武雯 and Lang Yue 朗月! When I first arrived the pair were inside enjoying breakfast together, however quite quickly they moved outside and ended up spending quite a lot of time outside across the day – really it was perfect =D Wu Wen was motivated by the bamboo outside, while Lang Yue seemed to be in a playful mood, and after some bamboo she was keen to climb and bother mum. The tall trees were no bother to her, she sped up them quickly, and didn’t let a few falls stop her in her adventuring. In the afternoon Wu Wen also got involved in some climbing, which was also great to see. For the most part, you can still see the Lang Yue is smaller than mum, however there were a few times when it was tricky to tell immediately who was who – Lang Yue had definitely grown in the approximately 8 weeks since my last trip!
Xing Ya 星雅
Sweet boy Xing Ya 星雅 treated me on this visit! This is the first time I’ve seen him go outside!!! This was now my fourth time visiting and I’m glad I finally managed to see him venture out into his lovely outside space. He’s got a lot of room all around the outside of his indoor space, there is plenty of grass, along with trees and climbing platform options, and different terrains to try out, plus plenty of bushes for some coverage. He did also spend time inside while I was there and enjoyed his enrichment ball and trying to get the treats out from inside.
1:30PM: spent all morning at the pandas, so head for a walk around some other animals, and find a spot for lunch, before some other animals.
2:30PM: back to the pandas for the post-lunch activity, and in for a treat because Xing was outside! Such a highlight^
3:30PM: a round of the aquarium, before a last look at the pandas, who’ve now committed to afternoon nap time. The zoo was open until 5PM, but we’d started losing light around this time and it was getting rainy.
4:10PM: I stopped for one last panda look then headed towards the exit via the gift shop of course! Then walked back to the station for the train just after 4:30PM. Made it back to Schiphol just after 6PM – in good time with plenty of time to spare. Security was very quiet and took less than 10mins. Then I headed for the lounge to enjoy some free food and relaxing (another SkyPriority perk).
9PM: left the lounge to have a wander around the airport, it was oddly quiet! There weren’t that many passengers around, which is strange as Amsterdam is usually busy. So I just wandered around then went and sat at my gate.
10:40PM: flight isn’t full, and plane has been changed, so my chosen row no longer exists – I’ve been moved to row 6. Which works out to be excellent, because on arrival at Edinburgh I’m one of the first off the plane, and by luck there is only a small line at passport control. I make it out with enough time to get a snack and make the penultimate direct airport bus home. Success! Must be a record, approx 20mins from seat on the plane to seat on the bus home!
12AM: off the bus to walk home! The end of a 22hr day – exhausting, but very doable and overall worth it 😊
