Grugapark

Thursday was a holiday because of the church celebration of the Ascension, and it was randomly also Father's Day in Germany. Chris was working, so I took Daisy to a park in nearby Essen that I'd heard a lot about but never visited called Grugapark. 

It was awesome. I felt like I was at an amusement park or a zoo, a sort of Leisure Park that reminded me of the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. People of all ages flocked here, since there were flower gardens, live classical music, athletic fields and courts, surprise playgrounds and pieces of modern art around every corner, and endless fields for picnicking. 

Daisy had a blast. Since I wanted to show Chris what we did that day, I have quite the photo journal of our experiences:

Courageous Daisy on this glider rope

Cool park featuring wooden posts
and ropes

Cute play structure - made in Finland 

Petting zoo

Wading pool (with half-timbered, sodded-roof houses around) 

Waiting in line for her first pony ride

Loving it! 

Sharing an Apfelschorle at the end of the day

This park costs 4 Euros to enter for adults and is free for children under six. If you lived around here and wanted a season pass, it would only be 22 Euros! Although free parks are definitely a hallmark of good civilization, this one offered so much and was so well maintained that I became convinced that having a luxury park requiring a small fee is an asset for any city. Who wants to start one in Atlanta with me? We could import play structures from Finland...