Baden

Here is the conversation I had with Sam and Luke last Friday night during dinner:

Me, "Hey boys! What do you guys want to do tomorrow?"

Sam thinks for a moment, and then replies, "How about we find a new cathedral and tour it!!"

(At this point I'm staring at him, thinking how desperately we need to cut back on this cultural business and get that 7 year old enrolled in a sport.)

While I'm thinking the above, Sam continues, "But I think we should go to Germany, and not France. The Germans are much nicer than the French."

(I then realize that I really need to start keeping my opinions to myself.)

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We settled by spending the bulk of our Saturday touring Baden- a little Swiss town about an hour away. It was beautiful (a cathedral was even briefly toured), but the highlight had to be the playground we encountered. Oh. My. Gosh. Watching our kids play, Andrew and I felt like our childhoods had been cheated. Set on a tree filled hill, beneath a huge bridge, this was a playground unlike any we had ever seen. My pictures do not even begin to do this place justice. In fact, it was so cool that I think we may just start touring the Swiss playgrounds from here on out.

And now... THE playground. What strikes us most about these playgrounds is that they are filled with things that you would NEVER find in a US playground- all because we would be too afraid that a child would get hurt. The Swiss really allow their children to explore and figure things out on their own. Also, I'm drawn to their simplicity and use of natural materials. Again, these pictures do not do adequately capture this place- it was enormous!

Afton coming out an underground fort and passage way. Behind her underneath one of the bridge's aqueducts was a soccer field. The other aqueducts contained a ball maze and chimes the children could play.

Oh to be a kid again...