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Discussion in 'Denmark' started by LiSom, 18 Dec 2019.

  1. LiSom

    LiSom Well-Known Member

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    Hello guys! I am new around this forum although I have been reading you for while ;)

    I have a question for Danish people in here or anyone that have visit their zoos:

    I have been in Denmark for almost a year now and as the "nerd-zoo person" that I am all my trips around this country have been just to visit a zoo... so far I have been in Copenhagen Zoo, Aalborg Zoo, Odense Zoo, Randers Regnskov, Skandinavisk Dyrepark and some aquariums such as Blue Planet, the maritime museum of Esbjerg and Fjord og Baelt... I still have some more time left in here that I want to use for one or two more visit to new zoos BUT it is not that much time (just one month!) and now the weather is not the best to be outside (cold and dark...) so I want it to be worth it and that's my question... From the Danish zoos that I haven't seen yet, which one do you recommend the most?
     
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  2. Shruikan

    Shruikan Active Member 5+ year member

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    Eskilstrup Krokodille Zoo i was never there, but you will almost see every crocodilian in the world.
     
  3. FunkyGibbon

    FunkyGibbon Well-Known Member

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    I think most people would say Givskud. Ree Park in summer as well.
     
  4. Hvedekorn

    Hvedekorn Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    The majority of non-city zoos in Denmark are closed from October to April, so yeah, you don't have that many choices left.

    Blåvand Zoo is the only "regular" zoo you haven't visited that's open during winter, but it's probably not a very interesting zoo outside of the warmer months (you could combine it with a visit to Tirpitz, though, if museums are your kind of thing).

    If you like reptiles, Terrariet Vissenbjerg is worth considering. There are still some old, worn-down bits left, but the modernization process has been noteworthy, and the collection is good. And of course Krokodille Zoo as already mentioned.

    Then there's only the aquariums left; of the major ones you haven't visited, there are Nordsøen Oceanarium (you need to be interested in Danish saltwater fish to enjoy it, but if you are, it's a great place - and they have one of the very few ocean sunfish in Europe), Kattegatcentret (it will probably be a bit underwhelming if you've visited The Blue Planet, but they do have Denmark's only sand tiger shark and a nice seal exhibit among other things), and Aqua (for Danish freshwater fish, though they are expanding their scope to include Danish animals in general - probably a bit more interesting in summer given that they have a large outdoor area, but still worth a visit in the winter).

    There are also several tiny aquariums dotted around the country, all of which only display Danish saltwater fish. I think most of them are open during winter, but you shouldn't go out of your way to visit any of them unless you happen to be in the general area.
     
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  5. LiSom

    LiSom Well-Known Member

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    Great! Thank you very much! Terrariet Vissenbjerg is very close to where I live so I will definitely go there, Krokodille Zoo seems a bit far away but sounds very interesting so I will see if I can get there somehow haha I wanted to go visit Nordsøen Oceanarium some months ago but I was in Aalborg just for one day and couldn't make it on time because I also wanted to visit the zoo on the same day... I am not sure if it is worth it to go again (it takes me like 3 hours on the train) so I think I will just stick to the two reptiles options at least for this time ;)
     
  6. Hvedekorn

    Hvedekorn Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Oh, I didn't consider you might not have a car. If you live near Vissenbjerg (so presumably on Funen?), I agree you shouldn't bother with Nordsøen Oceanarium unless you really, really want to see an ocean sunfish.

    To be honest, I'm not sure how feasible Krokodille Zoo is with public transport. It's located in the middle of the countryside in a remote and very rural part of Denmark - and public transport in most rural parts of Denmark sucks. You'll probably have to catch one of the infrequent trains to Eskilstrup and then walk a few kilometers on country roads. As with Nordsøen Oceanarium, I think you have to really want to see Krokodille Zoo to bother with that.
     
  7. LiSom

    LiSom Well-Known Member

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    Yes I am in Funen and no, I don't have a car with me right now :( so I have check and for the Krokodille Zoo looks easy to get there by bike from the train station but trains there don't look that easy so I think I will leave it for other occasion... the collection looks very interesting but it's hard to get there, then at least for now I will just go to the one in Vissenbjerg. Thanks for your recomendations! :D
     
  8. FunkyGibbon

    FunkyGibbon Well-Known Member

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    A slightly different visiting Danish zoos question:
    How long should I allot for Aalborg? How short a time could I get away with given I am on a tight schedule?
     
  9. Hvedekorn

    Hvedekorn Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    For your last question: one and a half hour. It's not impossible to do it in less time, but unless there's some specific animals/exhibits that have your interest, I think 1 1/2 hour is the minimum for an enjoyable visit. Contrarily, unless you're are really good at lingering, I think you'd be hard-pressed to spend more than 4 hours. I usually spend 2-3 hours when I visit (depending on the company, of course).
     
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  10. LiSom

    LiSom Well-Known Member

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    Hey! I finally went to the Reptile zoo and it was a great day! they have a very nice collection and I actually took probably the best photos I have ever been able to take of reptiles in my whole life so it was for sure worth it to go! Thanks a lot!! ;D
     
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  11. Hvedekorn

    Hvedekorn Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    That's good to hear :)
     
  12. TeaLovingDave

    TeaLovingDave Moderator Staff Member 10+ year member

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    Either this was a distinct exaggeration, or the situation has now improved a lot - there are now hourly trains between Ringsted and Nykobing Falster which stop at Eskilstrup, and the walk is a very pleasant and safe 25 minute stroll through the countryside. Definitely worth doing :)
     
  13. Hvedekorn

    Hvedekorn Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I'm pretty sure the public transport hasn't improved since 2019 - I might have simply forgotten that Eskilstrup had a train station. When a Danish town has a train station, there are usually a departure once an hour or once every two hours, but the bus network is really poor in the many towns and villages without train stations, with maybe two or at best three departures a day, often none in the weekend. (For reference, this guy who had trouble getting to Skærup which isn't served by any trains: https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/skaerup-zoo-news.286333/#post-1484920)

    Also, it's certainly not every Danish road that I'd recommend walking on, but there's probably a difference in pedestrian safety between a well-travelled road near a large city and a small country road on Falster.