With the holidays over, the family gone and the winter doldrums a sure thing, Michael and I decided to relive our month on the beaches of the Adriatic and Ionian seas with a visit to Budapest's Tropicarium yesterday. The Tropicarium, which is on the southern outskirts of the city in the Campona Shopping Center, opened in 2000 and is the largest aquarium in Central Europe.
We were hungry when we arrived at the mall and decided to get some Greek food. It was only after we sat down that I realized the name of the restaurant was "Kerkyra," the Greek name for Corfu and the final stop on our September trip.
We spent more than two hours in the Tropicarium. We touched stingrays in the open stingray pool, taunted pythons, kissed sharks and talked to monkeys. The Tropicarium featured a fascinating diversity of species, from jungle reptiles, snakes, spiders and birds, to freshwater fish native to Hungary, to 15-foot long barracudas and brightly colored sea anemones. A tubular walkway cut through the center of the massive shark tank, putting us inches away from the predators we feared most on our trip. We saw alligators, a coral reef, a giant scorpion, poisonous frogs and blowfish.
We picked up pamphlets for scuba diving certification on the way out and dreamed about our next beach trip. To placate us in the meantime, we decided we need a fish tank for our living room.
Stingray
Kiss, kiss
Sharkie
Marmoset monkey and iguana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_wSMvzG6BI
(video: MW)
We were hungry when we arrived at the mall and decided to get some Greek food. It was only after we sat down that I realized the name of the restaurant was "Kerkyra," the Greek name for Corfu and the final stop on our September trip.
We spent more than two hours in the Tropicarium. We touched stingrays in the open stingray pool, taunted pythons, kissed sharks and talked to monkeys. The Tropicarium featured a fascinating diversity of species, from jungle reptiles, snakes, spiders and birds, to freshwater fish native to Hungary, to 15-foot long barracudas and brightly colored sea anemones. A tubular walkway cut through the center of the massive shark tank, putting us inches away from the predators we feared most on our trip. We saw alligators, a coral reef, a giant scorpion, poisonous frogs and blowfish.
We picked up pamphlets for scuba diving certification on the way out and dreamed about our next beach trip. To placate us in the meantime, we decided we need a fish tank for our living room.
Stingray
Kiss, kiss
Sharkie
Marmoset monkey and iguana
(video: MW)
