Lions and tigers and bears, oh my

"There is always something happening

  at the zoo "

                    Simon &Garfunkel ( "the graduate")

The first day of summer vacation.

My daugther is somewhere in the Swiss mountains,

lucky her, i say, as i hear a first report of the first day,

new friends, water games, many plans.

I wake up with a nice slogan singing in my heart

a smile on my face and a song in my heart, and i am off to the supermarket 

to buy some fresh buns, fruit, juice, and a luxury item smoked salmon fish for sandwhiches,

then throw in the basket a basket of apricots, some bananas and some whole wheat chocolate bars.

"The army marches on its stomach" said Napoleon, 

and so i march home determined to make this day a success!

At home i find my two boys playing cards , monster cards that hold values only they understand and know, what do i know anyway??

I think that breakfast should be luring enough, but after i walk the dog, i actually expect the boys to be ready to go!! Ah! illusions !

It is 9.30, the animation course i have registered the boys to is starting in half an hour , we must leave!

The boys are relaxed , in pyjamas playing cards.

I feel like i have just stepped on a time travel machine and have landed in my sons apartment

when they have reached middle age, my age actually, ah!

The older and wiser one is less of a problem , one roar and he is going to get dressed 

standing ready by the door but alas the younger one is not as easy ..

 A karate chop grabs me by surprise, all of the sudden i am zoomed from "the odd couple" boys playing cards to "Jackie Chen " martial arts movie, 

i am inspired by police shows i have seen as a teenager and suddenly i am starsky and Hutch grabbing the criminal and gluing him to the floor, book him!

My youngest son becomes wilder and wilder..

After much  turmoil and struggle which i would rather earse from memory i manage to dress the boy and position him in front of our place of dwelling, not before being told in mummbles how bad my situation is by a caring neighbor.

I am on the bus but alas my troubles are far from over, i do not know where i am going to!

Luckily my older son knows the place but he fails to mention you need to walk about 15 minutes from the bus station in the 33°C heat!

We arrive at last only to find that the place is deserted, the animation course for children

starts tomorrow informs me a man working there...

Great!

Swimming would have been the logical solution however we are nonconformists and so 

i have no bathing suits nor towels but a picnic ,

soon it comes to me : the zoo!!

The boys are all excited, my older son just went there with his class but he is willing to go again.

The zoo is almost empty, i guess something to do with the heat wave that hit the city today..

most people have gone swimming in the lake or swimming pool.

We head straight to  the penguins who look as tired as i feel,

the boys are facinated by the colorful fish, i try reading descriptions and names

however they are off to look for more adventures 

there is an exhibition on amphibians.

It seems that frogs are endangered species.

I stop and read about the frogs , their water is polluted, global warming, chemicals destroying 

their habitat, 

I read about the many species of frogs and the scores of them about to disappear unless we do something and quick.

I recall now that the zoo has also an important task in educating about animals and maintaining them alive besides the obvious job as entertaining the young and restless.

We are off to see the monkeys, my personal favorite.

My older son is all excited, 

apparently yesterday a new baby gorilla was born!

The mother is lying on the floor of the glass cage as mostly women admire the baby and take 

many photos.

Later my younger son says: how do we know its the mother, maybe its the father..

wishful thinking , i guess..

I feel good with the monkeys, i take out my bananas, then end up eating one and all the halves my sons reject.

My sons are busy swinging on branches provided for the young human apes.

I watch young baboons hitting eachother, rolling around in their cage,

Look! i say, they are just like you!

 (only better behaved)

I wish i had my camera now that we are in the rainforest area sweating like in a sauna and i watch a chameleon walk beautifully and unafraid as two young guys capture  its image in their

sophisticated cameras. "Dont touch!" they say to my boys.

Good luck getting them to listen to you ! i want to tell them ..

My youngest son feeds the lama with some leaves he picks from a tree at the petting zoo,

i am too tired to set limits at this stage ..

I insist we see the new lion cage, the lion used to be in the worst cage in the zoo ,small and depressing is now doing what i wish to do, lying with his partner in the sun sleeping and clearly enjoying himself very much!

"Only mad dogs and English men go out in the mid day sun"

so goes the song , apparently not only mad dogs , not only..

Here's the link to this great zoo

http:// www.zoo.ch