curious meerkat in the zoo of the charlotta valley.
on a rather rainy day we were struggling to find something to do with ourselves. after researching a bit i found out that there was a little zoo close to the city of ustka, situated in a small valley called dolina charlotty. we figured a visit to the zoo when it was rainy wasn't such a bad idea after all, since most people decide to stay indoors somewhere and don't seek out places like this. with an umbrella in hand and a zoo mostly to yourself it can be quite a nice visit, and since the summer sun also isn't shining her full hot self, animals probably are much more active as well. so that's what we did, we hopped in the car and drove to dolina charlotty.
entry fees in poland were generally pretty low, a thing that always took me by surprise on our visit - many things attraction-wise were about 5 to 10 euro less expensive than in germany! which is a huge gap and made me wonder why western european countries were so damn expensive in comparison. i wouldn't think twice to visit a zoo or a museum or whatever attraction there was if i didn't have to pay 15 or 20 euros a visit every time!
the zoo, among native animals, also specialized on african, south american and australian animals, which you can discover on a little water safari on a boat chugging over a little lake. you can get a glimpse of these animals via foot as well, we didn't book the water safari because we wouldn't have understood the tour explanations given by the boat drivers which was in polish. walking on the foot paths wasn't without charm either, though, it also offered nice views on some of the animals and since the paths lead around the lake as well you will not miss out on the lush, jungle-like atmosphere that a boat tour might give as well. maybe you couldn't get super close to the animals this way, but it was still good enough to marvel at them nonetheless.
found a random cat hanging out on a wooden sill! even though it was raining, she was shielded enough to not get wet and take a nap :3
a yak grazing.
since there were not many kids out and about, the playgrounds were uncannily empty, creating a fantastically somber and abandoned environment.
black crowned crane hiding in a corner.
this red giant cangaroo did not look very amused.
way up on a birch tree i discovered a yellow-cheeked gibbon.
there are about 10 little islands on the lake, all of them serving as animal compounds.
quite a beautiful animal - the scimitar oryx 😍
like this wee one, that made funny faces!
smirking...
... and listening in to whispered secrets 😂
it was such a nice little zoo, surrounded by a big green forest.
i utterly loved all the different shades of green!
and everything was extra beautiful, because of the sappiness and succulence of the rainy weather!
and embedded in this green landscape were the animals, which i personally love. i hate seeing animals in places that are not natural, green or full of plants, but instead live in a grim, sterile environment.
loved these wooly sheep. i think these were norfolk horns.
rabbits are not to be missed! we encountered these in a part of the zoo that was supposed to be a fairy tale forest, which meant that there were several huts with dioramas about fairy tales with figurines carved out of wood on a little area. while it probably might be fun for smaller kids to explore, we didn't focus too much on it. only when we found a hall of mirrors we got our thrills ( beware, annoying people in a video 😆 ), because it was the funniest thing ever to see us fat, thin, with long or short legs and huge heads or tiny hands 😂
i also rather watched birds appear in the compounds, nicking some leftover foots of geese and ducks nearby. like this yellowhammer!
there were a lot of carved wooden props throughout fairy tale land, and the thatched huts were also kinda cute. but overall i wasn't too impressed, and i think the lack of kids running through this also made this place kinda sad and forgotten in a way.
in one of the huts we discovered these pygmy marmosets warming themselves up under heat lamps.
have you ever seen a more goth duck in your life? i swear, i haven't! what an amazing colour its plumage had 😍 i think this was a cayuga duck actually.
nearing the gingerbread cottage? i think we were 😅 no witch caught us and made us into bread or other kinds of food, though. we could leave the zoo relatively unharmed ( if you don't count the laughing attack in the hall of mirrors ) and moved on to other green pastures.
we stumbled upon a big puddle of motor oil in the woods, which is of course not very cool, but it looked awesome with its opalescent properties.
we ended up at lake zamełowo at gościniec restaurant which was built in the typical pomeranian checkerboard house style. we had a little something to eat here ( my mom and i had coffee and cake, my dad, as always, something heartier - i think smoked fish or something 😂 ).
loved this cat bench in front of the restaurant 😘
the restaurant building from the landing stage.
this cute house was one of those appartment buildings that are for rent! might be interesting for couples, as it seems very romantic! i'm not sure if i'd like it too much, though, i feel the pristine condition of the lake might get disturbed as soon as more visitors and tourists might arrive. i'd prefer a lake without any other attractions to live out a romantic date ;)
it was still utterly gorgeous, though.
the restaurant from the lake side. they surely had lots of space to throw some big happenings! ( for that fact alone i wouldn't rent the appartment place 😂 imagine you want your solitude and loneliness to spend some quiet and cozy moments with your boo and then you have to witness loud and noisy drunk people on the other side? nope, not for me ).
all things considered though, it really did not diminish the beauty of the place! ❤
okay, so you're saying i shouldn't complain about this place being flooded with people, it seems to look rather sleepy and idyllic? here's evidence that your tranquility will eventually get destroyed. this 10.000 visitors holding amphitheater houses rock concerts several times a year, making sure you don't want to be near on your honeymoon ( unless your perfect honeymoon entails rock concerts ;P ).
and here's the main hotel of dolina charlotty, it can book out up to 91 rooms and has a spa on site as well! the whole complex was opened in 2010, before that charlotty valley indeed was a rather sleepy little place in the middle of nowhere.
the main building was completely covered with clinker bricks, which integrated it nicely into the green surroundings.
there were also traces of the local timber frame tradition used in the construction.
the back of the hotel, which looked out onto lake zamełowo.
there's another attraction on site of the resort, a riding center. you can also book rooms here if you are a horse nerd and consider a vacation with lots of horseback riding a perfect one!
you might think that a rivulet running over a cobblestone street isn't a good idea, but i thought it was! imagine riding over this creek with your horse, splashing passersby with water! fun idea! also, it's super idyllic and feels very rural.
all in all, as a resort i found the whole place to have quite a nice concept, but since i am not a resort vacationer in any way and love to stay at more local places that are privately owned (which give me much more freedom to explore a country on my own terms) and also because a resort means that there will always be families and screaming kids and other unpleasant people, i am quite content with having been just a simple visitor. and thanks to bad weather we experienced the charm of a place that is otherwise probably very crowded ususally.
after we left charlotty valley we found our way back to the sea again, breathing in some perfectly moist and salty air.
the beach, no matter which kind of weather, always manages to calm myself, ground myself, and be enjoyable. even with people around :P
in any way, stay curious ❤
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