On the bright side, the trams here have heated seats

The Viennese are a hardy bunch, particularly when it comes to the weather. On more than one occasion I have walked through the rain and been the ONLY person using an umbrella, as the natives stroll at their usual pace, the raindrops falling on their heads seeming to go completely unnoticed. It's been bitterly cold here for a few days, enough to make me want to stay huddled inside eating soup where it's warm, but the Viennese are unfazed. They're out and about, maybe slightly more bundled up than usual, walking (very slowly) everywhere and enjoying the outdoors.

I am no Wiener. Yet, in the interest of making new friends, I braved the cold with CM Sunday morning to go to a Flickr meetup at the Zoo, of all places.

I do not recommend going to the Zoo in January, by the way. I recommend staying in your pjs all day, snuggling, and catching up on Boardwalk Empire while sipping hot cocoa mit Schlag. Just for the record.

Which is not to say I didn't have a good time. It was exciting to meet some new people (although we both suddenly turned very shy and very inarticulate, and not only when we were speaking German), and I always love the Zoo. Only a select few of the animals were outside, though, and any time we went indoors our camera lenses fogged up so much that it was impossible to take any pictures, so we'd have to head back outside.

Polar bear on a rare break from guzzling Coke products.

This sleepy tiger didn't mind snuggling in the snow.

My favorite animal of the day was a cat. Not a big cat—a HOUSE CAT. (What, is that weird?) There was this orange house cat hanging out in the elephant enclosure (in the aforementioned foggy indoors, which is why I don't have a picture to show you). At first he was in the observing area, getting petted by people and sharpening his claws on some shrubbery, and then all of a sudden he was walking INTO the elephant cage and wandering around. Then he wandered back out, went outside, and came right back in to have snacks. It was surreal. And amazing. I don't think the Bossy Cat would make a very good Zoo Cat, but I could be wrong.

Scruffy bird giving itself a much-needed bath.

Another highlight involved three peacocks wandering freely along the paths, dragging their long tails behind them.

Friendly peacock and child.

By that point, I could barely feel the lower half of my body, so it was time to say Auf wiedersehen to our new friends and head home.

I think we might wait until Spring to go back to the Zoo.

Or maybe in the meantime we'll become Viennese.

30/365: Even the penguins looked cold. But maybe that was just me.