The Memphis Zoo

I love to visit zoos during cooler times. When the weather is in the 50's, animals that typically don't seem to do anything but nap are up and active. It was just this type of weather when last I visited.

The Memphis Zoo is good one. They have 2 Pandas, mountain lions, jaguars, lions, a male lowland gorilla, chimps, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, hippos, and a slew of other animals. We also get 50% off the entrance because we are members at the Nashville zoo, and that never hurts, right?

Upon entering the park we went immediately to the cats area, because the male and female lion were calling too each other. The male emitted a low rumble, like a whooo whooo. It carried easily across the distance from their cage to the entrance. I felt as if there was a speaker right above my head. The female makes a stranger noise that's a little higher pitched, like heh heh. They just go back and forth whooo heh whooo heh every so often for no apparent reason.

We saw a serval which was pacing its cage, and 3 young male mountain lions that were chasing each other around their enclosure. We also saw 2 black jaguars which were fighting over a rock. They were trying to lift if with their paws onto a rock ledge. They could have just picked it up with their mouths, but they didn't even try. I don't believe I've ever seen a jaguar elsewhere, or certanly not as close. I learned from the experience that they are actually marked like their spotted brethren, and when the light hits their fur just right, you can clearly see the spotted markings, though the fur is all black. The cheetahs were also very active, pacing the front edge of their exhibit and staring at the people looking at them, as if they were very hungry.

The zoo also has a lot of primates, most of which were active. The orangutan was eating grass, The mother chimp was holding her little baby, and the very large gorilla was carrying around his special piece of cardboard.

There is also a nocturnal animal exhibit, with a wide range of animals I've not seen elsewhere, like sugar gliders, anteaters, and kinkajous. We were a little upset that at the time we were too early to see the new exhibit with brown and polar bears, and also the seal show was off for that day because they were cleaning the pool.

This zoo is easily the best one in the state of TN, of the 3 that I have visited, with Nashville, Knoxville being the other 2. It is definitely worth a weekend trip, and perhaps a little further if there is not another zoo closer which has pandas. They are adorable, and of the 2 that they have, you are almost garunteed that at least 1 will be up and eating. They do seem to eat a lot.

Pergamon Museum, Berlin

The Pergamon Museum in Berlin Germany is an incredible museum. Most history museums have vases and jewelry from various historical sites, and while Pergamon does have that, it also has the sites themselves. This museum was designed and built specifically for the collections it contains in the early 1900’s, though to me the exterior looks rather more modern.

I will save the best items for last, though they are showcased at the very beginning of the museum. The museum covers several major time period/regions in its collections. There are Greek works, Babylonian artifacts, and some Islamic work as well. There are quite a few Classic Greek statues here, and also some of a genera I didn’t know existed, depicting, in the same style, more natural poses, such as a boy examining his foot, and even a dog licking itself. Of course, the Classic Greek statues were beautiful. We were able to listen to English information about many of the works, by keying in a number into a handheld audio guide. In this area there was also a case of glass work, which is impressive both because it is so well preserved, and because it is so beautiful. The Babylonian sculptures were less realistic, but equally interesting. One of my favourite pieces was a clam shell, the inside of which had been intricately carved into a low relief mural. In the Islamic section were several architectural pieces, including portions of a palace wall.

The real highlight of this museum is that, as I have said, it has the archaeological sites as well as the artifacts. The very first chamber you enter contains the massive Greek Pergamon Alter. It takes up a single, very large room. Steep ancient stairs go up to the alter top, and high relief sculptures depicting epic battles circle the room outside the alter. You can indeed climb the stairs to the top of the alter, to view an amazingly complex mosaic in the floor (the mosaic is not original to this alter) each piece in the mosaic is about the size of a pencil eraser. There is more. There is an old market gate, with sand colored columns rising up to support the two tiered structure, and finally, there is the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. If you saw the movie Alexander, you have seen a representation of this gate. As Alexander enters the city of Babylon, he looks around at this incredible blue gate, and blue walls that go into the city. This is what we saw. It is the gate, and several sections from the wall, forming a sort of “Victory Way” for returning heroes, and in Alexander’s case, the conquerors. I am thrilled to have seen something that such a great historical figure would have laid eyes on with wonder himself.

This museum took several hours (5 or 6 if memory serves) to peruse using the audio guides, but was well worth the time. Admission was relatively inexpensive, and the museum was built for the items it displays, and has been doing so for nearly 100 years, so you can count on it being there when you visit. This is a must. A+