Englischer Garten

The Central Park of Munich is the Englischer Garten. It actually does remind me more of the gardens near the Serpentine Gallery in London with its winding paths and a lake... I'd say that our incentive to go was nature, but that would be a lie. In one of my guide books to Munich, it noted that the Englischer Garden was home to both playgrounds and biergartens. And in some cases--biergartens with playgrounds in them. Genius.


First, the playgrounds--there are many. And oh so welcome to two cooped-up kids. Lola was thrilled to see the swings. And Henry about flew out of the stroller to play in the dirt at the bottom of the slide. Jeffrey and I had this moment though were we realized that we were the only parents hovering over our children. The other children in this playground were all playing contentedly by themselves or with each other, and the parents (get this) were sitting on park benches around the edges, having (get this) conversations with each other. Really? We're going to try this. Not today, but soon. We may have to import this way of overseeing our children back to America.
Here's Lola hanging out on the playhouse.
And Henry scooping sand.

And here is my family in the fabled Biergarten with playground. It seems that I did not get a picture of our giant beers. But trust me, we had giant beers. Helles Paulaner, much deserved.

All in all, the guide books set you off in the right direction.