Another Day in Zlin: Workshop Day 3

Today was another great day at the workshop. We spent seven hours in conducting classes - including four extremely hot hours in the concert hall with the full orchestra. I got to conduct the last movement of the Brahms first symphony and had a great lesson. Tomorrow I'm conducting part of Tchaikovsky second symphony in the morning. My plan is to bring our camera tomorrow so I can take some pictures of the hall and the orchestra - so far Kaia has had it for her adventures this week.

Today she visited the zoo:

Zoo Zlin 21 July 2010

The heat is back in Eastern Europe today, so I spent the morning reading in the shade. Outside--which felt better than reading in the room. I even got yelled at by a crazy person, so it was just like being at home. My big event today was taking the bus to Zoo Zlin, which the English-translated brochures I picked up at the tourist office call both “A Zoo of Your Dreams” and “A Zoo in a Marvelous Location.” While the brochures also advise 6 hours to see the zoo and to watch the feedings, I decided that an afternoon at the zoo would suffice. And it did.

The zoo is situated along wooded walking paths and the animals are placed in “natural” settings that also guarantee viewings. I consider zoos a guilty pleasure, because I know that animals don’t belong in such captivity, but the fact remains that I like to see animals. So, being alone and needing things to do while Gene is advancing his career seemed like a good excuse to take the bus to the zoo.


My first mistake was not knowing how to use the ticket machine at the bus stop. I knew what type of ticket I needed and knew how much it cost, but I didn’t know that I had to select my ticket before the machine would accept my money. So I stood there trying to jam my Czech Crowns into the closed coin slot before a kindly woman helped me out. (I’ve gotten really good at saying “Nemluvim chesky” and “Dekuji” and also practicing what I need for upcoming situations...like “Jedna, prosim” at the zoo.) I feel like I could take the bus again, now--maybe even to a different location.


I did my best to navigate the zoo. I know that I missed some exhibits because I didn’t understand the signs and what I thought said “Don’t come in here” probably said “Don’t let the animals escape.” I figured this out after I followed a family through a gate with said sign and realized that I was in a kangaroo exhibit and the only thing separating me from the kangaroos were some warning signs and a log. Otherwise, I could have pet them if I wanted. The same happened in several aviaries (and I didn’t linger in those long, knowing what I know about bird sphincters) and in the lemur exhibit. The lemurs kept running across the paths amidst the people. I have no idea if lemurs are dangerous to humans in the wild, but Zoo Zlin has no concerns about them.


It was 32 degrees Celsius today and most of what I saw was in the sun, so I only lasted three hours. It doesn’t bother me to do things alone in the US or in CZ but I did feel left out from the zoo--I couldn’t understand any of the interpretive signs and the animals only speak Czech from what I can tell. It meant that when Gene was done with class today I talked his ear off about the zoo, and I wrote your eyes off now with this huge post.