If that´s the case, I´ll rather see you in Jihlava (the date for Jihlava trip is 22nd April?) because the 23rd is Monday and I´ll probably have some things to do at the university that day as my final exams are approaching. (Yay ) I think I´ll be able to handle that. Also there is a babirusa exhibit next to the sun bears, so there is a pretty high chance that I´ll be doing the same thing but around different exhibit.
Sounds reasonable! I’m the most excited to see Adam/Ernst and Aja out of my whole trip, so this day will be a big highlight for me! If I were to give my trip a name, it would be, ‘The Importance of Seeing Ernst’.
I had the pleasure of meeting HOMIN96 when visiting Jihlava myself last year; he should do a fine job of making sure you find a few new things to appreciate at the collection other than the obvious! I suspect you will like the various cat species there, for a start....
Very nice! I’m looking forward to discovering some real gems! Do you have any impressions or recommendations that you can share yourself at all?
(One of my zoo regrets is) Booking my upcoming trip to Usti Nad Labem whilst their sun bear enclosure is cordoned off following the birth of a cub! Luckily a revisit a month or so later will only cost me another £220, so I can rectify this one. - edit by TLD - Copied this post from this thread to provide context for the following posts which I have moved from said thread.
Yes, I believe so. I already arranged to return to Usti just for a flying visit at the beginning of June. I’d really like to make my return to Germany a proper visit - I also still have half of Berlin Tierpark to finish off.
Well, the trains in the Czech Republic are dirt cheap, so changing your itinerary to (for instance) add in a daytrip to Plzen from Prague shouldn't be too expensive in that regard. Depending on just how luxurious your taste in hotels is, that might be a little bit pricier..... but let's be honest, if you have sufficient money to burn that you are willing to book a second trip to Usti at short notice purely to see their sunbears (and view the sum of £220 in the terms of "only" for that matter) I doubt that is really a problem for you
I’ve already spent £105 on all of my trains for the first Czech trip all in all . . . and I’ve booked a hotel in Usti and not in Prague for the first trip (as they were cheaper) so it would mean us having to travel back to Prague and then on to Plzen. Also it’s not just me, it’s my partner to take into account too, who gets very frustrated when I change plans. When all of this Usti discussion came up on Thursday, he really was not at all happy with me and arguments ensued! Apparently I am entirely unreasonable to base my entire trip around seeing sun bears and to disadvantage him financially in the process, so it’s quite a sensitive subject in our house at the moment! I think he would strangle me if I suggested any more changes! Also my concern is that with changing my job very imminently, I might end up in one of those holes where you only get a part pay when wrapping things up at the end with your previous employer, and then you’re left hanging for a while as you wait to get your first full pay from your new employer, so I’m really trying not to spend too much right now so that I don’t leave myself short. I also have a friend coming to visit me from Kent for the weekend 18th - 20th May who I will need to pay to entertain, I really need another 1ml of filler in my lips and I’m considering another top up on my eyebrows too, so it’s all money, money, money at the moment! However, if I manage to get my start date for my new job imminently, the NHS pay date is the last Wednesday of the month - meaning I should come out with a full pay on my new salary at the end of May, just before my second Czech trip in the first week of June. I am then staying in Prague for the entirety of the second trip, and the way the flights fall, I will have most of the day to fill on the Wednesday before I fly back to Liverpool (I’ll have 5 hours or so to do something with) - so this could be a prime opportunity for me to visit Plzen with much less financial constraint to consider post my pay rise!
Not sure how you managed that ours cost about £25 in total! If those 5 hours do not include the travel time there and back, you won't be able to get Plzen done
Looking at the journey realistically, could get there for opening at 8:00 and leave around 12:30, to get myself to the airport for around 15:20, giving me plenty of time before my flight. So that would be 4.5 hours at the zoo. Is that long enough?
Well, you'd certainly miss a fair bit - it took us a whole day to see the collection, partially as a result of the fact that it was extremely hot and hence our energy was a little sapped! As for how much of the place you *would* be able to get done - it depends on your level of fitness really; there's a fair bit of walking up-and-downhill in portions of the zoo. To avoid taking this thread even more off-topic, if you send me a PM listing your various priorities for a Plzen visit I'll see what advice I can give.
I just had an idea - to swap my full day at Usti the day before to a full day at Plzen, and do my Usti revisit the following day when I only have 4.5 hours - smashed it!
Good plan - and the offer of route-plan advice and so forth remains open On another note, I reckon I will move this tangent to your existing trip planning thread.
You wait till you get to Usti and he sees the places he gets taken to on a “holiday” - despite some lovely countryside nearby, Usti nad Labem is not most people’s idea of a top vacation destination!
Hello Becca Nine Wardrobes Sun Bear. I wonder how you're going to take all your clothes round Plzen Zoo. One of my work colleagues was planning a weekend in Brighton and was planning to take 7 dresses, 7 tops, 7 pairs of trousers and 7 skirts. I don't know how many wardrobes she had before she got married.
Nor mine! But it’s funny where life takes you! When I was still involved with competitive dancing in my previous life, it took me to many strange and undesirable places, so I’m ready for anything! Honestly, I’m dreading having to pack for ten days into just hand luggage. This is potentially going to be the biggest challenge of my life so far! One time I took 40 pairs of shoes for ten days, but that was when I was travelling by car and not flying.
