Time for my March trip to see some pandas – having bought an annual pass for the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna on my last visit, I headed to Vienna to get my second trip, and 3rd+4th visits, in to the second pair of pandas calling Vienna their home. That made the annual pass worth it! Even though it was supposedly Spring, March in Vienna came with some very cold weather and even a sprinkling of snow. Let’s get in and see those pandas:
I visited on a Friday and Saturday, overall while it was busier on the Saturday with more tourists there, it was a relatively quiet visit. All the better for me as I had no problems getting photos. This was one of the first times I’ve seen some badly behaved visitors at a panda viewing in Europe unfortunately – there was a particular family who kept talking about other visitors viewing the pandas, and even pushed some people out of the way to make their kids get in for photos … just not necessary, it wasn’t that busy and all they had to do was ask nicely! But I didn’t let that spoil my visit and still had a great time with these two sweethearts^ Vienna feels super comfortable now and I’ve really settled into visiting, I like my little routine here and my route to see the pandas, such an easy city and place to get around. Overall nothing has really changed with the pandas in the 5 months between these two visits.
He Feng 荷风
First up, male He Feng 荷风! He Feng is a very photogenic panda, and like last time I got lots of very cute photos of him^ When I was there the first day of my visit felt like the most active day for him and I thought I got some better panda-action, but I still did get a decent amount of photos from the second day. On day 1 he started his morning inside with breakfast, he was so cute relaxing against on of his wooden platforms to eat with his front paw up and resting his back paws comfortably, what a life! Again this time he was keen to watch his keepers cleaning up once he was done with the bamboo, and then it was outside time. He has his two same favourite spots as last time to eat in, and once he was satisfied he climbed up to a high platform for some rolling around – amazing that he didn’t fall and apparently it’s a comfy spot. He was inside again for lunch and this time the keeper did treat him with some treats and extra bamboo through the gate which I think he was very happy about, then he enjoyed more bamboo outside. He sure did eat a lot before settling for his afternoon nap! On the second day he was outside already when I arrived, and much like the first day he was out and in and alternating between the two quite a lot – I mostly just took photos outside on this day as it was always very busy when he was inside. On this day I did see him explore a bit deeper into his outside yard and it was lovely to get a different perspective of him walking around and exploring, and he walked right towards where I was standing which was a great moment!
~Day 1~
~Day 2~
Lan Yun 兰韵
Now a Spring visit to see a panda who isn’t currently with her cubs is a risky one, because she could easily come into season and may not be on show – I got super lucky and this wasn’t the case while I was there! Sweet girl Lan Yun 兰韵 (or Dou Ban or Dun Dun!) spent the first day of my visit enjoying the outdoors and she spent a lot of time eating there or walking around – so very possible she was starting to come into season as she was potentially scoping out where a mate might come from. This worked out well for photos because one of her favourite inside positions to sit in is back to the window! She was very much enjoying her spot to prop herself up against at the climbing frame (and it’s a great frame, would love to see her make good use of it one day!). She did take a small post-lunch nap inside, but afternoon snack-time was outside again. On the second day of my visit she spent most of the time inside or off-show, I think she’s not so keen on all the crowds and because my trip fell during the school Easter holidays, it was particularly busy along with it being a Saturday. However she did still enjoy some lunch outside and a little more walking, so still a few photos to be had of her =)
~Day 1~
~Day 2~
