A babbon's tail

To watch the baboons in Copenhagen Zoo can be really funny. In this photo series I can almost hear the lines:

"I want coconut, I want coconut"
"Stay here, or dad'll be angry"
"Coconut, coconut, coconut, I want, I want, I want"
"Be quiet or I'll take it away, it's only for grown-ups"
"COCONUT"
"#¤&%¤"
"Where's the coconut?"

Too bad all children doesn't have a tail to pull, they'll be a lot easier to control that way :-)

Swing along

One of the first animals to greet you when you have entered Copenhagen Zoo is this one, the gibbon. The gibbon got a nice area to jump, climb and swing along in placed on a little island in a lake. The water around is enough to keep the agile monkey in as it dislikes water immensely.

A very typical cat

Near the area with the savanna in Copenhagen Zoo is a cage with a caracal. Even though the cage seems rather small this cat isn't the easiest to photograph as it is rather reserved, and forget about eye contact. In other words, a very typical cat.

Yawn

The banded mongoose is a little funny animal that change between hyperactivity and extreme relaxation. Their little area gives the public a perfect view of their behavior. This one wasn't angry at me but couldn't suppress a big yawn.

Shield

Near the savanna in Copenhagen Zoo there's a little enclosure with some big lumbering Galapagos turtles. Being very slow and friendly they're perfect for some abstract close-ups.

A giraffe calf playing tough?

This giraffe calf relaxing on the savanna in the Copenhagen Zoo is like teenagers are most; lazy and playing tough at the same time:-)

Relaxing

The antelopes in the Copenhagen Zoo enjoys a little relaxing in the sun. A small dirt hill makes for a fine vantage point even though they are safe from the lions on their little savannah.

Pisst!

This is a little detail of one of the other animals on the Copenhagen Zoo savannah. Have you guessed that it's a rhino? The rhinos have been segregated from the rest of the animals, so that even when they run wild, the other animals can get to safety without being chased by these massive beasts. The Savannah was finished in 2007 and it's possibly to take a walk all around it.

Peekaboo

Copenhagen Zoo has built a savannah in the middle of Copenhagen with zebras, antelopes, rhinos and giraffes roaming about. More from this savannah tomorrow.

A quiet elephant moment

The newest addition to Copenhagen Zoo is the house and area for the elephants. Designed by Norman Foster, known for among others the Reichstag in Berlin and London City Hall, it's a big step up for the grey hunks. Instead of a mere 2.025 square meters they now have got 10.730 with both a lake and a much bigger yard to play in.

As something new it's now possible to study the elephants from the adjacent park of Frederiksberg Garden, and for no charge at all.

A house for the hippos

As told yesterday the Copenhagen Zoo is a place that has developed during its 150 years. In 2007 the hippos got a new house where they could enjoy an environment more similar to their habitat in Africa than the normal Danish weather permits. With a lake both indoors and outdoors they can swim all day and the public can observe their laziness through a large window as seen here.

150 years old

This year Copenhagen Zoo celebrates its 150 years birthday. It was founded September 20th 1859 by ornithologist Niels Kjærbølling in a pleasure garden right next to Frederiksberg Castle and it started out with only a few animals; a fox in a chain, a seal in a bathtub and a number of stuffed birds in a pavilion. Today the Zoo is open 365 days a year, it is spread over 11ha of former park, the animals are numerous and from all parts of the World and it gets 11 mio guests each year. The Zoo Tower shown here was built in 1905 and can be seen from all over Copenhagen, mainly due to the fact that the Zoo is placed on top of Valby Hill. In the days, or maybe weeks to come, I'll show you some of my photos of the animals kept in this Zoo.

Christmas starts early

Having just closed after their Halloween week, it's time for Tivoli to prepare for their next opening; Christmas Market starting November 20. This is a replica of Halloween week but with a Christmas theme instead. It's the same stalls selling anything remotely connected with Christmas, the same extra rides and a lot of employees dressed up in Christmas costumes. It is a bit more cozy than Halloween though as Christmas is more traditional in Denmark. Remember Halloween is a newcomer to Denmark, mainly brought to us by stores looking for new ways to wring money out of us, just like Christmas has turned out in the later years. Still I think Christmas Market in Tivoli is nice, even though Tivoli tends to go a bit overboard, and it's obvious that this is a great moneymaker for the park.

Starting tomorrow I'll show you some photos from another of Copenhagen's great attractions; the Zoo.

Last day

Today is the last day of Tivoli's Halloween week so as a finale I'll show you some of the many scarecrows that have been put everywhere in the park. These are happy ones and not scary ones as Tivoli wants to be family friendly. Tomorrow I'll show you what is on the program in Tivoli when it opens next time.

Spiders and bats

As told before Tivoli really has done everything they could to decorate the park in a Halloween fashion this week. And what is a Halloween without spiders and bats? Every stall and every ride is decorated with these creatures. Luckily they are of the plastic kind.

Rides for the kids

At Halloween Tivoli have some extra rides just for the children and the childish. An old-fashioned merry-go-round with animals and that catchy melody playing and a newer styled one with chairs on chains are brought out of storage to the enjoyment of the small kids...and their parents.

To buy a souvenir

In the Halloween week Tivoli opens a lot of stalls selling both food, drink and that Halloween item you just need to complete your collection of kitsch. Also toys and teddy bears with a Halloween touch can be bought at special prices (read expensive).

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere

In the Halloween week in Tivoli, there are pumpkins of every sizes and shapes in every free space. They even had a competition for Denmark's largest pumpkin. The winner was a mere 275 kg, down 50 kg from last year so it has been a bad year for Danish pumpkins.

All dressed up

At Tivoli's Halloween you'll see some of the employees dressed up like these good mannered witches. And even the drummer boys from the Tivoli Guard was out in their uniforms.

The potato vacation

Halloween in Tivoli is for the kids, especially in the daytime with lots of activities and things to look at to "help" them through their vacation. The autumn vacation is by the way a leftover from the time when the kids had to skip school to help in the fields digging up the potatoes, hence the old name for this week, the potato vacation.

Halloween in Tivoli

In this week Tivoli has reopened after having been closed for the last couple of weeks. The whole park has been redecorated to fit with the Halloween theme that has become a new tradition (and a new money machine too) for Tivoli during the school's autumn vacation. I'll show you a bit more of this in the days to come.

The Roller Coaster

To many people Tivoli is synonymous with the old wooden roller coaster called Rutschebanen (literally The Roller Coaster in Danish). Build in 1914 it's the oldest still in service in the world, so a lot of maintenance is required to keep it rolling. Not the biggest thrill for todays youth nursed on diet of wild rides and adventures, this one's got a lot of soul instead with its creaking and shaking during the ride.

A lot of junk?

It's no secret that Tivoli is one of Denmark's largest tourist's attractions so it shouldn't surprise that the souvenir kiosks are numerous in this place. If you really need that cup with the Little Mermaid on, the ceramic figurine of a happy sow or a humorous sign for your office, you're sure to find it here. You might even find something that actually is of good taste, though you'll have to look hard and long to find it.

The cheerful kitchen

I think it's a dream for many; go into the kitchen and just smash all the plates. This stall in Tivoli called literally The Cheerful Kitchen in Danish is the place to go to to fulfill this dream. I can actually remember it as great fun when I was a child. And then I didn't have to try it at home:-)

How to catch a duck

In the duck pond you can catch a rubber duck (and no, it's not the one from Convoy) with a magnet. A sure hit for children or childish adults. Another one of the many money making stalls in Tivoli.

Hammer a nail

Another of the old strong man stalls in Tivoli. Here the objective is to hammer nails in a block of wood. This is another leftover from the old cattle shows in the country side and seems like a bit out of date for a modern amusement park like Tivoli.

Strong-man test

These vacant machines in Tivoli are used by those that simply have to prove that they are (still) strong. Almost a cliché from the country fairs they are kept here none-the-less, maybe out of nostalgia as I haven't seen them in use for a long time. So if you really need to punch, wrestle or kick this is where you can do it without doing damage to anything or anyone.

A zen garden in Tivoli

In the middle of Tivoli is a little gem of a garden. It's laid out as a traditional (or what the architect has envisioned as a traditional) Japanese garden with small trees and bushes, stones, a little spring and Japanese inspired lamps and figurines. Normally this would be a place for quiet contemplation but as it is right next to the area with some of the more extreme rides, this garden tend to be rather noisy.

Holding the handrail

Another funny detail from Tivoli is this wooden figure of the Tivoli Guard holding a hand rail. The Tivoli Guards is a band of boys that perform in Tivoli as a marching band and tab guard every weekend in the summer season. These 103 boys and 1 girl also perform in the concert hall, at special occasions and on tours in and outside of Denmark.