Page 013-015 Copenhagen 08/05/2013 12:59 Page 1
JUNE 2013 PAGE 13
DESTINATION DENMARK
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t Europe’s newest aquarium even the roof leaks style. The top deck of Den Blå Planet (the Blue Planet) is a Scandinavian wonder. They tell me it resembles a whirlpool when seen from above form the flight path of the nearby airport. Even from ground level it is impressive. Before you have left the metro station (one stop from the airport) you can see why Europe’s newest aquarium is making, ahem, a splash in the Champions league of European fishbowls. Biologist Anders Kofoeb brought us on a behind the scenes tour on which visitors can touch a giant starfish. “Check before you put your hands in all the tanks,” says Anders, “you have the possibility of being killed.”
H
e was joking of course. The tanks at Den Blå Planet are brimful of menagerie, not menace. “We are afraid of what we don’t know,” Anders whispers. “Our biggest role is to make it known. Because what we know we tend to care for. “When we think about sharks, we think about primitive killing machines. Here at Blå Planet are trying to tell a different story. “We are persuading some of our sharks to come and say hi to our guests. We have a special tour up here and you can try to touch the shark, and
Tanks for the memories Eoghan Corry dives into Copenhagen
Ocean tank at Den Blå Planet you learn that what your really is.” Anders told us how an aquarium can help conquer peoples’ fears of the ocean. “Visitors must leave the aquarium happier - if they are wiser that is a plus.” “A shark’s deepest desire is not to kill you. Most sharks never ever kill you. What you have is five or six species that ruin it for the rest of them. You can get a deeper understanding of what the sharks really are. You can see they are animals like the rest of us. “We are training our sharks and we would like all our sharks in the long run to come to the visitor. We are proud of this.” It offers 1.5m gallons of displays, and 20,000 animals in 450 species,
■ Den Blå Planet Copenhagen, 1.5m gallons, 20,000 animals in 450 species, great piranhha collection and hammer ■ head sharks. Dubai. 33,000 animals in an underwater zoo, where you can explore three different kinds of ecosystems ■ Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, USA). 7.1m gallons of marine and fresh water, 120,000 animals of 500 different species. ■ Lisbon Oceanario (Lisbon, Portugal)
3,000 of which came from the old aquarium and 17,000 were sourced elsewhere. It is particularly proud of its collection of hammer head sharks, and a rare sea dragons which cost 8,500 each to buy from other breeders. They have a massive piranha tank. “We started with 3,000 piranhas,” Anders says. “We don’t know how many we have now. Those guys can eat their brothers.” The aquarium opened on March 22nd. It is not the bigger than Lisbon Oceanario, although both Valencia Oceanografic and its near neighbour Nordsøen Oceanarium are bigger, as are the American giants in Atlanta and Chicago.
L
ong a city where people went for the mood, Copenhagen is now a place people go for the food. The standard bearer of the culinary revolution is Noma but there are dozens of others. Not many of us have the patience to book six months in advance or the budget to go to Noma. Equally flavoursome and wholesome pickings are on offer at many of the city’s 2,000 restaurants. We chose to go tradi-
tional. Peder Oxe Restaurant opened in 1975, quickly earned a eputaiont form its salatbord, and was named (is this a first?) for the country’s 16th century finance minister. Think of the Michael Noonan happy meal and wonder how weird that sounds. It is still furnished in 1970s pastels, brown door frames, and a quirky switch so you can make the light over your table go green to let them know you are ready to order. It is a good place to see
■ Aer Lingus flies six times weekly from Dublin to Copenhagen. One-way fares start from €52.99. For more information on great fares and schedules, please visit www.aerlingus.com ■ See www.visitdenmark.co.uk and www.visitcopenhagen.com ■ For the Copenhagen card see www.visitcopenhagen.com/book-your-stay/copenhagen-card Hotel 71 Nyhavn is at www.71nyhavnhotel.com and www.arp-hansen.com
THE STORY OF THE AGE OF AQUARIUMS
1.1m gallons, 16,000 animals in 450 species, ■ Lisbon Oceanarium 1.2m gallons, 160,000 individuals of 450 species in 4 biotypes, each recreating one of the world’s coastal habitats ■ Monterey Bay, 1.4m gallons of wager, 35,000 animals in 623 separate named species on display ■ New England Aquarium (Boston, USA) 600,000 gallons, 20,000 animals in 600 species
the Danish open sandwich in action in al its grandeur. The menu is like a customer feedback slip and offers a multiplechoice selection from which you chose three sandwiches. Make sure you remember who ordered what and in which order, especially after the 7.1pc Elephant beer by Jacobsen or the Evil Twin Pale Ale. If you don’t want to go indoors the hot dogs rimilede with crispy onions on top is as authentic as you will get.
■ Nordsøen Oceanarium iun Hirtshals, north Jutland, Denmark 1m gallons,, 12 different habitats from the North Sea - from the sandy bottom by the jetties to the muddy seafloor ■ Okinawa Churaumi in southern Japan, 4.6m gallons, 20,000 animals in 740 species, four floors, with tanks containing deep sea creatures, sharks, coral and tropical fish. ■ Osaka Kaiyukan, 1.2m gallons 29,000 animals in 470 species, in sev-
eral habitats. Visitors could enjoy creatures as if they were playing in the sea. ■ Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, USA) 4.2m gallons, 32,667 marine animals in 1,500 species ■ Valencia, Oceanografic 9.2m gallons, 45,000 animals in 500 species with 9 underwater towers, serving home to some animals like sharks, dolphins, sea lions and penguins. Built in two levels, these towers represent the major ecosystems of the earth.