Europa Park
On the Sunday of our Baden Baden trip we took a trip to Europa Park, Germany’s biggest leisure park. This was really exciting for the Juniorette as she is really into rides and rollercoasters. The scarier the better in her opinion. Mrs H and I both suffer from a fear of heights so visiting parks can be a challenge for us, as we found out in Florida nearly 2 years ago. Unfortunately the Juniorette is now older and bigger, and can therefore now ride bigger, higher & faster rides. As she can now read we cannot even tell her that the sign says she is too small/young for the ride.
We went on all rides except one – The Silver Star – as the blurb says, - a ride on the Silver Star is pure thrill: with a height of 73 metres, a high speed of up to 130 km/h and enormous centrifugal forces of up to 4 g, the ride offers a great combination of speed and weightlessness – and FEAR!
The other rides were nearly enough to scare Mrs H and I to turn to religion, with Mrs H bottling out on one attraction just before climbing into the ride car. But funnily enough overcoming ones fear is really satisfying, and even becomes enjoyable after a while. Having a 7 year old telling you to relax and not be frightened tends to put it all into perspective really.
The park was clean and well kept, and we were surprised that the prices of food and drinks were quite reasonable. The park is of such a size that you really do need a full day to see it all. There are lots of milder rides for small children and the older generation. Due to the weather variations in Germany a lot of attractions are undercover and all the queuing areas are covered also. We visited two shows which were very good. An ice skating show and a Gladiator stuntmen show. Unfortunately we didn't have time to visit the rest of the shows.
We had a really great time and were lucky with the weather, in the fact that it only rained lightly whilst we were there, and rained a lot heavier as we were leaving. The thing I liked about Europa Park was that I wasn’t constantly comparing it to the leisure parks in Florida. It really did stand on its own two feet, and I would heartily recommend a visit if you are in the area of Freiburg
Technorati Tags: Rollercoaster, Europa Park, Juniorette
posted by Haddock at 11:16 AM
19 Comments:
I stopped doing roller coasters a while back. Driving on the highway is scary enough!However my daughter says I'm an old stick in the mud! She loves them!
Maribeth - I am hoping that I can stop doing them one day as well! :)
We might be planning a weekend trip to Europapark in late summer. It's only an hour's drive from Basel and we don't want to rush through everything. I love roller coasters, but I can't take anything that turns in circles too long. Go figure!
That sounds so fun!
Seems like many Expat Bloggers had good weekends / "weekstarts" :).
James - We've done some of the parks in Florida, and we are hoping to return this christmas :)
CanadianSwiss - Europapark really is good fun. I am sure you will enjoy it :)
Jen - There must have been something in the air last weekend! looks like you had great in Trier :)
it sounds fun!!! :p glad u hv a good time..
I too have been to Europa Park! It was about 10 years ago - I went with a German friend I had a teenage crush on... My sophisticated method of flirting was to pour water down her back on the log-flume. It was not a successful tactic. My flirting hasn't really moved on since then though!
Sounds like ya'll had a fun time. I used to LOVE to ride on roller coasters, but my inner ear has changed a bit since I have become older. Now I have to avoid the things unless I want to spend the day with my head in a barf bag.
Sounds like you lucked out about the food. Most of the times you have to sell a kidney just to afford lunch at those places!
Cyn
Xianfu - Thanks for stopping by
Capgas - I'm sure you are much more sophisticated now! :)
Cynthia - Feeling sick after a ride must be terrible!
very warm and fun blog ty.
The Juniorette is adventerous. We were all that in our youth (more or less). But age does have its advantages, especially that we know better. I don't care for roller coasters much any more. Especially when I heard about the woman who had a heart attack at Disney last week.
Europa Park is a pretty nice one, and it stands up well against most parks in the States. Lots of money invested on quality rides, though the “theme” seems a bit murky. What’s with the Euro-Mouse mascot?
We had the misfortune of going there during a hot summer day on our last visit.
I distinctly remember that day because a) there was a driving ban in parts of the country b) I got a speeding ticket on the autobahn and c) other than fanned ventilation, there was no AC in the indoor attractions which meant sweltering in the half hour queue while waiting for the 2 minute thrill.
That was several years ago. Maybe they have upgraded to AC since then? But I’m an American. I demand ice cubes in my coke too.
The higher, faster & loopier the coaster, the better!
Wally - Thanks for stopping by :)
Tara - Glad you can comment again :) I certainly am very proud of my daughter. She is the apple of my eye :)
Claire - I almost had a heartattack myself! Certainly in childhood the fear factor is less. I guess as adults we think too much about the conequences, and that in itself makes things dangerous! :)
Just another - I never sussed out what the Euro Maus meant either. No need for AC on the day we went, but from your experience I'll try to avoid the place on a hot day! :)
Eurotrippen - You wild and crazy thrill seeker! :)
OMG! Baden Baden. That brings back some fond memories of a trip I took to Europe one year. We got lost while driving and ended up there and loved it so much we stayed a few days. I think there was a hot springs there. I sure do miss Germany.....mostly the food. Of course that was about 25 years ago maybe things have changed cause I don't remember a leisure park being there but I do remember that big silver dome in the photo you posted. Sounds like you and the family had a great trip. I am so jealous!
Lisa -A belated happy Easter to you as well :)
Val - Baden Baden is a really nice place and you remember rightly - there are thermal baths/springs there. We had a great trip and were lucky with the weather :) Of course you probably have nice weather most of the time in California :)
oh that is all too funny, but looked like a great time. Don't ya just hate it when you can't fake out your kids anymore??? (just from the perspective of a kid for me though!)
Expat Traveller - We had a great time, but since the Juniorette has been able to read we cant 'bend' the truth anymore - we are so busted! :)
We have a lot of really great amusement parks here in the U.S.--Six Flags, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens, and of course Disney. The rides are getting freakishly scary these days though, so I stay away from rollar coasters. Juniorette is brave indeed!
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