Copenhagen Zoo is always well worth a day trip. Dating back to 1859, the zoo retains a focus on giving as much space to the animals as possible. During the last 25 years, Copenhagen Zoo has been extensively renovated with the aim of replacing cages with enclosures that recreate animals’ natural environments, giving a better lifestyle to the animals, and a more realistic experience to visitors. Norman Foster’s mightily impressive glass-domed elephant house is just one example of the progress made.
In recent years, the zoo has expanded its activities to also include other events – the now traditional Halloween event is just one example. Probably nothing will ever rival the three-month 1901 exhibition of 25 native Indians in a custom-built Indian village, visited by an estimated 180,000 people, but the zoo now also has regular events after normal opening hours (10:00-18:00) where visitors can see a different side to zoo-life.
On Wednesday August 29, the zoo will be opening its doors until 22:00 for the inaugural Harvest Celebration (Høstfest). A number of activities not normally associated with the day-to-day activities of a zoo will be on offer.
During the day you can put on your gardening gloves, dig deep and plant your very own apple tree. This will be followed up with expert advice on how to make your own apple juice/cider and the chance to sample some apple-based products.
A master butcher will be at hand to demonstrate the noble art of creating the Danish rolled meat sausage (rullepølse) – whether or not these will be fed to the many carnivorous beasts in the zoo is unclear, but human guests can sample the meaty wares on offer.
We all know that bears just love honey, when they are not pilfering from picnic baskets! Specialists in the field will be showing you how to make cakes of honey designed as tasty titbits for the ravenous brown bears. These will then be fed to the brown bears during the evening session.
In July, a baby zebra was born into the zoo world – the zoo, of course, likes to encourage the animals to sow their wild oats and has been rather successful in this endeavour. Guests, on this day, will have the chance to experiment with wheat and roll their own oats to create tasty oatmeal concoctions suitable for both humans and animals.
The day is open to everybody, but lucky holders of an annual zoo pass are allowed to bring in one guest for free during the whole day. Don’t despair if you don’t have one, as there is one cunningly hidden in an enormous bale of hay in the zoo, especially for those accustomed to looking for needles in haystacks. Bales of hay will also be converted into a maze as a gigantic intelligence test for humans!
Those readying themselves for the start of the hunting season in September will have the opportunity to listen to experienced Danish hunters and their deerhunting tales.
More traditional activities such as feeding the flamingoes, sea-lions, lions and brown bears also take place between 17:00 and 21.15. The evening atmosphere in the zoo stands in contrast to the busy daytime atmosphere and should definitely be experienced.
So, why not enjoy a promising evening out in the tranquil Fredriksberg zoo settings? It’s the chance to mingle with a variety of species while sampling cider, rolling oats, planting trees and rummaging through haystacks in search of an elusive zoo pass.
Harvest Celebration at Copenhagen Zoo
Roskildevej 38, 2000 Fredriksberg;
All day Wed until 22:00;
Tickets: over-11s: 140kr, under-11s: 80kr, annual pass holders can bring one guest in for free;
