Monday 13 January 2020

Artis

I showed you some photos yesterday of several different animals. Not animals I would encounter in every day life (apart from the gold fish, which would be quite possible). And in fact, I did see them all in the zoo.

No, not that long ago...
It was a zoo I had only been to once and that was so long ago (I was a small child I believe), that I couldn't really remember anything. The zoo is called Artis and is located in Amsterdam. Not a city I want to drive a coach in, but that was exactly what happened last Friday.

Stone coral
I had looked up how to get there and I did. Just don't ask how, because I don't think the route given to me was the route taken by me! It kept sending me to small streets adjacent to canals where driving a car is bad enough, let alone a massive coach! But, as I said: I got there and parked and everybody got off. While I prepared to wait until they came back.

Well, wait? I was going to visit the zoo myself, no way was I sitting on that coach for several hours! Now, Artis is located in Amsterdam as I said. Not in the center itself, but close enough. And it is surrounded on all sides by houses, so it is not that big a zoo. But it was quite a nice zoo to spend a couple of hours. 

There was a large aquarium housing smaller and larger fish, but also fossils and the like. Very interesting. There were birds of all plumage. There were some camels (no photos), monkeys, lions, elephants and several other animals. As I said: perfect to spend a couple of hours and there were plenty of people with toddlers doing just that. 

There were also some bronzes about and there were two that really stood out for me: one of an animal keeper and one of a giraffe. The latter was one that I wouldn't mind having myself, as it was just a fun sculpture.

When all the children and the teachers had returned to the coach, we left and took a different route back. Not quite sure how or where that went, but we made it to the motorway and back to the school. 

12 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    LOL... so you had an adventure and so did your passengers!!! That is the best kind of outing. So glad you had the chance of visiting Artis. I for one appreciate your pictorial offerings - and totally agree that the sculptures are adorable!!! YAM xx

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    1. Well, the children wouldn't know one way or another anyway, and neither did some of the adults. But I did see on google maps later that I had taken a rather convoluted route. Ah well, the important thing was that I got there...

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  2. Driving in cities, even ones I know, is not something that I want to do any more.

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  3. Sounds like a fun outing...just go where the tide takes you - LOL!!! I take GPS on the phone everywhere!

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    1. So do I, but remember: a car is a teensy bit smaller than a 60 seater bus!

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  4. You sure made the most of your time at the zoo. We love those sculptures too.

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  5. What wonderful critters real and imaginary!!
    Hugs cecilia

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  6. Pleased you got there and back without too many wrong turns. I like the way you make the most of the places you have to visit.

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    1. I try! Mind you, there is no point sitting on the bus when you get free access to the zoo. Plus the weather was okay. Yeah, it turned out to be a good day.

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  7. Zoos can be such fun. I cannot even imagine driving a coach in Amsterdam. We did ride one around in Amsterdam during our visit to The Netherlands. Also, trains and boats in the canals. Enjoyed the pub near the main station in Amsterdam. You have such a beautiful country.

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    1. There were signs everywhere: no coaches here, no coaches there. Nothing over that weight, have you got the right environment sticker. Even the road I eventually drove down had a sign: no admittance for coaches! Plus a smaller sign underneath: unless you need to be here. Well, I needed, so I drove!

      I don't know Amsterdam at all really, I have never liked the city. But this year my sister and I will do all the touristy bits during our NL-holiday.

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  8. Looks like a fun zoo to visit. I love your photos and the giraffe statue is awesome!

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Any weighty (and not so weighty) comments are welcome!