Not Wildnis Park Zurich
So now that we are a few weeks away from this little mishap, I feel like I can share without being scolded. I thought it would be super fun to take the kids to Wildnis Park in Zurich the first Thursday in Zurich. There is this beautiful park that boasts you can "experience fascinating nature adventures, recreation an an insight into the rhythm of nature." The brochure shows pictures of bears, bathing in the river in the wild and wonderful flowers. Sweet, I'll go.
I followed the directions to get there. I arrived at the train station with my beloveds in our little joovy stroller, ready to climb. My first clue should have been when I asked for directions. The ladies looked at me and asked if I was going to take the kids? No, I'm going to leave them sitting at the train station while I go hike for awhile. Of course I'm taking my kids ladies- oh, and by the way, did I tell you this was a conversation with a mix of German, French, Spanish and English? I can hold my own in French- it was a very interesting thing to watch, all this translation going on with each of us knowing some words in some languages but not any in others. I digress. So it becomes obvious to me they think I'm crazy and theytell me it will be at least a 45 min walk. I chuckle, thinking, maybe for YOU, but not for the powerful momma. So politely nod and say thank you and continue on my merry way.
We pass by deer and are walking a good twenty minutes when I begin to think, surely I misunderstood something. So, I ask an older man in my pathetic German, switching to Spanish when I get nervous and then realizing that's no good either. He looks at me and asks, "With the children?" What IS it with you people? Yes, with my kids. Duh. He tells me it will take me forever going the way I am going and to go back. I say no thank you and ask if he has better directions. He shakes his head at me, clearly disappointed in my parenting, and tells me to go back the way I came from and I'll find a better suited entry for my kids and I.
I am hot. I am sweaty. My kids have asked me no less than thirty times if we are there yet (which, by the way, whenever they do, I always reply "Yes we are. Go ahead and start walking" and then they stop for about ten seconds). Fine. We go back to find "the easy way." Again, I'm walking a good twenty minutes... clearly I have misunderstood something. But hallelujah I find some woman who speaks English and tells me the reason I have missed the sign is because of all the construction. Again, she looks at me and asks if I am taking the kids... what IS it with you people? She wishes me luck, which I clearly don't need. So, I go through the construction through some ghetto gate that says private, no trespassing, which very obviously means its for me :) but then I see the sign and I know we finally made it into the park. We are so excited.
The kids get off the stroller and start to walk. The hill is steep and they are getting tired, so they get back on the stroller. I'm pushing up hill and pushing up hill, thinking I reeeeally wish I had my Vibe or my Valco because plastic wheels just aren't the same as rubber. I only see one other family come down the hill. We keep trudging along going up and up and I'm not seeing any beloved animals. Whatever, they said it was a hike so we'll keep going. I get to a cross road that says, "easy path" and "steep path", I ignore the stubborn part of me and decide to take the "easy path."
I'm not entire sure for who this path was made easy.... Gold Medal Olympians, perhaps? I am pushing and pushing and pushing this stroller and I swear to you, I have never been so exhausted in my life. It was HARD. REALLY HARD. But I am determind to find these animals for my kids. They give words of encouragement, like "Wow, Mommy, you are really sweaty. You must be doing a good job." and "Mommy, I know you are tired, but can you please go faster? I'm bored." and "Run Mommny run! You can do it!" and "Mommy, maybe you should excercise more so this isn't so hard for you." I'm feeling really awesome. At some point, when I couldn't feel my thighs anymore, I gave up. It was too hard. Really... just too hard. And I had been pushing the stroller up this cliff (I swear) for an hour and a half. And I never found that blessed park. I come to the cross roads again where it says "steep" and "easy". We are going to go down hill so I figure, I just want to be done and go home. Plus, I noticed we were the ONLY people in the park... good job me. I give in to my stubborn, tired side and go for steep. It'll be much faster and then we can all get some ice cream. I tell the kids the animals have gone to sleep and that's why we didn't see any. I proceed to find imaginary animals in the trees and tell them to look in the branches because that's where they are. They humor me and tell me they see them. The hill starts to drop... fast. No big deal, I just hold on to the stroller and brace my legs, leaning back. But then the hill starts slanting also to the right- where there is like a one hundred meter drop off. I decide I'll turn around, walk the 200 meters up the steep side and then go down the "easy" side. But when I turn to look at the hill, I realize I can't do it. It's too steep to push the stroller and the kids can't walk up it. So, down we continue. About a minute later the stroller starts to slide to the right, really fast. And since there is no tread on the tires, because they are plastic, it keeps going with the momentum of 70 pounds of kids in it. I'm not kidding, I was terrified. Its not like I could call for help- didn't know how and by the time someone heard me we'd be laying in the trees down below anyway. I dug my heels into the ground and started trying to run backwards with everything that I had. The stroller stopped less than a foot from the edge.
I dont know why Colton chose THAT moment to be his first obedient one but when I told him to get out of the stroller, and how, and where to si up against the rock, he listened to me. And Gabriela, for the first time, didn't ask why. They just did it. We walked the rest of the way down, hugging the left side of the walk way thanking God we didn't go over the side.
It seems as though all those people knew what they were talking about. I have been humbled. I'm not sure where in the heck we went... but it was NOT Wildnis Park.
I followed the directions to get there. I arrived at the train station with my beloveds in our little joovy stroller, ready to climb. My first clue should have been when I asked for directions. The ladies looked at me and asked if I was going to take the kids? No, I'm going to leave them sitting at the train station while I go hike for awhile. Of course I'm taking my kids ladies- oh, and by the way, did I tell you this was a conversation with a mix of German, French, Spanish and English? I can hold my own in French- it was a very interesting thing to watch, all this translation going on with each of us knowing some words in some languages but not any in others. I digress. So it becomes obvious to me they think I'm crazy and theytell me it will be at least a 45 min walk. I chuckle, thinking, maybe for YOU, but not for the powerful momma. So politely nod and say thank you and continue on my merry way.
We pass by deer and are walking a good twenty minutes when I begin to think, surely I misunderstood something. So, I ask an older man in my pathetic German, switching to Spanish when I get nervous and then realizing that's no good either. He looks at me and asks, "With the children?" What IS it with you people? Yes, with my kids. Duh. He tells me it will take me forever going the way I am going and to go back. I say no thank you and ask if he has better directions. He shakes his head at me, clearly disappointed in my parenting, and tells me to go back the way I came from and I'll find a better suited entry for my kids and I.
I am hot. I am sweaty. My kids have asked me no less than thirty times if we are there yet (which, by the way, whenever they do, I always reply "Yes we are. Go ahead and start walking" and then they stop for about ten seconds). Fine. We go back to find "the easy way." Again, I'm walking a good twenty minutes... clearly I have misunderstood something. But hallelujah I find some woman who speaks English and tells me the reason I have missed the sign is because of all the construction. Again, she looks at me and asks if I am taking the kids... what IS it with you people? She wishes me luck, which I clearly don't need. So, I go through the construction through some ghetto gate that says private, no trespassing, which very obviously means its for me :) but then I see the sign and I know we finally made it into the park. We are so excited.
The kids get off the stroller and start to walk. The hill is steep and they are getting tired, so they get back on the stroller. I'm pushing up hill and pushing up hill, thinking I reeeeally wish I had my Vibe or my Valco because plastic wheels just aren't the same as rubber. I only see one other family come down the hill. We keep trudging along going up and up and I'm not seeing any beloved animals. Whatever, they said it was a hike so we'll keep going. I get to a cross road that says, "easy path" and "steep path", I ignore the stubborn part of me and decide to take the "easy path."
I'm not entire sure for who this path was made easy.... Gold Medal Olympians, perhaps? I am pushing and pushing and pushing this stroller and I swear to you, I have never been so exhausted in my life. It was HARD. REALLY HARD. But I am determind to find these animals for my kids. They give words of encouragement, like "Wow, Mommy, you are really sweaty. You must be doing a good job." and "Mommy, I know you are tired, but can you please go faster? I'm bored." and "Run Mommny run! You can do it!" and "Mommy, maybe you should excercise more so this isn't so hard for you." I'm feeling really awesome. At some point, when I couldn't feel my thighs anymore, I gave up. It was too hard. Really... just too hard. And I had been pushing the stroller up this cliff (I swear) for an hour and a half. And I never found that blessed park. I come to the cross roads again where it says "steep" and "easy". We are going to go down hill so I figure, I just want to be done and go home. Plus, I noticed we were the ONLY people in the park... good job me. I give in to my stubborn, tired side and go for steep. It'll be much faster and then we can all get some ice cream. I tell the kids the animals have gone to sleep and that's why we didn't see any. I proceed to find imaginary animals in the trees and tell them to look in the branches because that's where they are. They humor me and tell me they see them. The hill starts to drop... fast. No big deal, I just hold on to the stroller and brace my legs, leaning back. But then the hill starts slanting also to the right- where there is like a one hundred meter drop off. I decide I'll turn around, walk the 200 meters up the steep side and then go down the "easy" side. But when I turn to look at the hill, I realize I can't do it. It's too steep to push the stroller and the kids can't walk up it. So, down we continue. About a minute later the stroller starts to slide to the right, really fast. And since there is no tread on the tires, because they are plastic, it keeps going with the momentum of 70 pounds of kids in it. I'm not kidding, I was terrified. Its not like I could call for help- didn't know how and by the time someone heard me we'd be laying in the trees down below anyway. I dug my heels into the ground and started trying to run backwards with everything that I had. The stroller stopped less than a foot from the edge.
I dont know why Colton chose THAT moment to be his first obedient one but when I told him to get out of the stroller, and how, and where to si up against the rock, he listened to me. And Gabriela, for the first time, didn't ask why. They just did it. We walked the rest of the way down, hugging the left side of the walk way thanking God we didn't go over the side.
It seems as though all those people knew what they were talking about. I have been humbled. I'm not sure where in the heck we went... but it was NOT Wildnis Park.
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