Chinagarten Zürich, and Spielplatz 56 and 58

We spend most of our weekends out and about here: that's my preference. The kids always seem happier and easier to entertain when we're exploring, and, with with our limited time here, there's so much I want to see. And besides, what on earth would I write to you all about if I never left the house.

The outfit Ella selected had me

in quiet stitches all day. "These

legwarmers make me feel like

a superhero, Mom! Like....like

She-Ra!"

But Dennis, for the first time since we moved here, decided he really needed a break from the constant activity, and so the kids and I gave him a quiet day.  Well-earned, to be sure.

But I'm not as good at sitting still, the kids and I packed our bags and we burst out into the sunshine, aiming for Zurich's Chinagarten.

Located on the shore of the Zürichsee, just a little southeast from downtown, this garden was a gift from Kunming, sister city of Zürich, built in 1994 in gratitude for Zürich's assistance in devloping Kunming's city's clean water supply and drainage systems.  Someone had recommended the park as a wonderful place for children to scamper around and explore, which was exactly what we were all in the mood for.

We took the trams as close as we could to the Chinagarten, and across the street from the stop we found Spielplatz 56.

As you may have gathered, the Zürich government takes their playgrounds very seriously.  There are about 160 of them across the city, each of them numbered. The government website includes a doctrine of playground development, listing all of the things they hope to inspire in their children with their playground equipment: strength, creativity, balance, imagination, and the like.  And there's another motto that seems to underground their playground philosophy, one that seems decidedly Swiss, pointed out by a friend, stamped on the side of the Schmiede-Wiedikon pirate ship: "No risk, no fun."

This playground was a little lower on the risk scale than many I've seen, with only one 2-story climbing structure, but it was still so fun for the kids.

The playground included a little wooden labyrinth.

Alex made some friends, and they worked together to dam
and redirect the water.  Joey joined them and got thoroughly
soaked.

A fountain at the top of the
park flowed across the
the grounds.

And Ella spent most of her time building tunnels in the sand.
She eventually pressed Joey and Alex into service, carrying
water to supply her subterranean rivers.

We spent about an hour and a half here, but by 11:00 but the sun was already starting to get hot, and I was eager to get to Chinagarten before lunch. So we mustered and wandered the half-mile to the lake.

I've never been to this part of Zürich, although it seems to be where most of the rest of the city spends all their time.  The garden is set away from the lake, walled off, with a small entrance fee, and between it and the lake is a beautiful grass field, covered with picnickers, gawkers, and ice cream stands.

The garden was a little jewel box, with lots of curvy paths and bridges over the koi pond.  Joey, of course, was fascinated with the fish, and he spent all of his time there happily, precariously, running along the edges of the water, pointing them out.  When it because clear that I couldn't keep up with Joey, Alex and Ella stepped in and made a game of shepherding him around the garden.

Krabbenchips! Of course, the white ones were
never my favorites. I missed the florescent pink
and green and orange chips they always served
in Cleveland's Chinese restaurants. But still...
yummy!

Off to the side of the garden is a little picnic area and a Chinese take-away stand.  Alex has become picky lately, but he still devours his vegetable fried rice, and so I got a carton for lunch, as well as some crab chips, a favorite from my childhood, which I haven't seen since.  The boys were weirded out, but Ella absolutely loved them and surprised me by finishing off most of the containers.

When I finally reached my limit of cringing from watching Joey run too close to the water's edge, we left the garden and looked for a place to eat our picnic.

Just when you thought Ella couldn't get any more rainbow-y.

Every superhero needs a cool gadgety weapon.

After they finished their popsicles, the kids were delighted to find that the sticks doubled as clever little water squirters.  There was a little fountain next to our picnic blanket, and the kids played there, Joey completely resoaking any bits of his clothing that might have managed to dry.

But that's okay, because he managed to get even wetter, soaking his shoes, when he kicked at the water as he crossed the stepping stones on this little inlet.  This may have been Alex's favorite part of the day: it's the closest he's ever gotten to being Super Mario.

Examining frog eggs: the kids are
expert frog egg spotters, now.

But the kids were in a hurry to leave the lake: they were eager to get to Spielplatz 58, which we had passed as we entered the park.  Covered with soft, powdery sand, this park would have been perfect if it had been overcast and if Joey hadn't been sopping wet.  As it was, my kids were covered in sticky sunscreen and fine topcoat of sand.  And Joey took it to the next level, with sand stuck to his wet clothes and shoes and hair, as well.

These playgrounds never cease
to amaze me.

The kids made friends with some expats from Basel.

I could do nothing about the big kids but let them play, but indignant Joey was stripped down, reclothed, and then belted into his stroller.  After a minute of being pushed in the sunshine, his angry, squinty eyes turned into peaceful, sleepy eyes.  And oh, I envied him.

Funnily, this was not the only makeshift tightrope that had
been strung up in the park.  And there was also techno.

I was sorry to pull the kids out of the playground, content as they were, but I really started to worry about them getting too much sun.  So we walked back to the lake, looking for a water fountain and a public beach.  Both were surprisingly hard to find--we walked almost all the way to downtown Zürich before circling back--but we enjoyed the people-watching.  The lakeside biergartens looked awfully tempting, but instead we stopped here for a while.

Ghost-Alex, enjoying his white coating of sunblock.

And that was just about all I could manage.  We walked back downtown after a too-cold swim, and then made our way home.  The children had a bonus movie night to look forward too, but they weren't in any hurry to get home.  We took a little time to stop and smell the roses, er, dandelions before going in the house.

Turns out dandelions are surprisingly indelible. But
I wouldn't have missed this moment for anything.