A day at the Artis Zoo

The only thing better than a day at the zoo, is if that zoo is located in Amsterdam. The Artis zoo is hands down amazing. Admission includes the zoo, aquarium, zoological museum planetarium, geological museum butterfly pavilion, and lots more. There are hundreds of exotic creatures to gawk at. Too bad all the info was in Dutch, we had a hard time figuring out what was what. At one point we came across a critter that looked like a cross between a giant cat, and some kind of rodent. The beast looked angry, its eyes sunken in, its ears were full of rips and holes, and it had a snaggletooth that said "I mean business". I don't know what kind of beast it was, but the warning sign on the cage got the point across (see above picture). The zoo was built over 100 years ago and as a result, some of the animals habitats are either too small or too close for comfort. Some of the animals seemed stressed and just continually paced back and forth. Some of the animals would stick their heads through the fence and try to bite us. While this was sad, it was still the best zoo experience I have had. Also I should note the aquarium was small but equally impressive. I could have spent all day in there...but looking at all the animals and fish made me want to eat. For more info go to www.Artis.nl