Thursday, October 6, 2011

Danmark Akvarium : The Denmark Aquarium

This is my first aquarium post. After a few more entries it will become entirely obvious that I am obsessed with Aquariums. I love them more than parks, gardens, or zoos. I lived next to Disneyland for three years and didn't go in once. But if I'm in a city for more than three days I will be sure to check out their aquarium. 


The Danmark Akvarium is located off Chartlottelund Station, about 15 minutes from Central Copenhagen. All the maps and instructions on the website simply said, "Chartlottelund Station," so we naturally assumed that the aquarium must be right at the station. After following the guidance of a sign that pointed to the east exit of the station, we were met with a long, unmarked road stretching out to the right and left of us, and a dense forest in front of us. Apart from the station, there were no other buildings in sight. After peering down both directions of the road and determining them to be the same, we start walking right. After 5 minutes of not finding anything we headed back to the station. I decided that it would be appropriate to ask the two young Danish men handing out fliers near the station. They looked remarkably confused when I asked  where the Akarium was. After consulting each other in Danish, one offered up this response:


"Walk straight into the forest. After 15 minutes of walking you will see a large mansion. Then, you know the aquarium is nearby."


So, in case you're confused, allow me to clarify. We walk for 15 minutes through a dense forest. Then we see a mansion. Then the aquarium will be there, not at the mansion, but nearby. Great. I might as well have called my dad in Portland and asked for directions. I was extremely wary of following such strange advice, but my partner was game, so through the dense forest we walked. 




Exactly as he said, after fifteen minutes we came upon a large white mansion, which reminded me of a southern plantation. To the right of the mansion, was the aquarium. I though it was an obscure location, until I heard the traffic noise, and realized that it was indeed off a main road. We had apparently just taken a short cut.



Looks a little..um...simple, huh?Well, the new, high-tech, state-of-the-art, modern aquarium is set to finish in 2014. Looks like I'll have to come back!



Polka dot sting ray!



Giant clam.






Got some good photos of the lion fish.








Sea anemones. My favorite.




This giant lobster is 100 years old! Read about him!



Turtles in action.




Piranhas!!! They are one of the only animals we didn't get to see feeding. Wonder why....


I got to pet star fish and sea anemones in the petting area. The sea anemone was so sticky, I thought I was going to tear off his limbs because they stuck to me!

This turtle was the cutest. He was so slow and dumb, but lovable.


The octopus was sleeping...


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