Corpus Christi / Fronleichnam

Today is Fronleichnam, or Corpus Christi, another Catholic-but-national-holiday here in Austria. It is a celebration of the Eucharist and Communion and takes place on the eighth Thursday (sixty days) after Easter. Established as a feast day in the 1200s, the Fronleichnam mass includes a procession of the Eucharist with stops along the way for various prayers and rituals. Peter is off in Innsbruck for the day with his students as, "Culture has no holidays!" Nikolas has wanted a trip to the zoo for a while, and so we headed off there as he has no school.

The weather forecast had been quite glorious for today all week, but weather forecasts are so very unreliable. The gray morning turned into a rainy downpour as soon as we stepped onto the first bus. We huddled under the bus shelter waiting for our second bus, and walked quickly for the front gate when we were delivered at the zoo. I, who had believed the weather report, had not worn a raincoat or brought an umbrella and so I was already quite damp. Kindly the ticket seller felt sorry for us and gave Nikolas free admission (now that he's four, he has to pay for all sorts of things!), which I promptly spent in the gift shop for a garbage bag-like rain poncho. It was a life saver.

Despite the weather, we enjoyed ourselves completely. With the skies varying between downpour, drizzle, and partially blue skies, we only took cover purposely twice - once when we first got there and once when it was picnic time - and ignored the rain as best we could for the rest of the time. We ate our picnic in a cave-like shelter with a display of rhino bones which overlooked the 'African' plains and was full of animals. It was quite a spot for a picnic. The Salzburg zoo is great because it is such a manageable size and has nice, natural enclosures that, for most of the animals, bring you so close to them that it's rare not to see almost all the animals (one indoor rainforest room even allows the monkeys to climb and jump all around you!). After three hours, and with thunder rumbling in the distance, we made a dash for the bus stop in the heaviest downpour of them all and headed home.