Europe sized fun at Europa Park

For my first day in Munich, a friend suggested we take advantage of the extensive regional train network and journey to Europa Park, a massive theme park that, like its name suggests, is designed according to the different countries of the European Union.

Having arrived at Munich Hauptbahnhof (HBF – Munich Central Station) from Paris two hours later than I intended (after sitting in the wrong position on the 9:30pm train arriving into Munich, which landed me in Strasbourg), I was told that in order to reach Europa Park by its 9am opening time we had to get to the train station at around 3am! As I had only arrived at my friend’s place at around 12:30am and needed time to unpack and have something to eat, I was understandably exhausted and not looking forward to the prospect of even more travel. To throw a spanner into the works, we had missed our bus to the Munich HBF from where our train would depart, forcing us to take a cab instead. Despite the crazy ride, my friend assured me it was worth it, so off we went with no sleep to one of the largest amusement parks in Europe…

The journey there was very disjointed, involving five changes of trains and seven trains in total (Munich to Stuttgart HBF, Stuttgart HBF to Karlsruhe HBF, Karlsruhe HBF to Ringsheim on the way there; Ringsheim to Offenburg, Offenburg to Karlsruhe HBF, Karlsruhe HBF to Sturttgart HBF and Stuttgart HBF to Munchen HBF on the return leg). Added to that, there was another bus we needed to take from Ringsheim to the Europa Park itself. The hop on-hop off journey gave me little opportunity to sleep continuously, leaving me feeling ready to collapse. So much drama before I’d even set foot inside the Park! The kick in the face came when I found out Europa Park is actually 30km away from Strasbourg…meaning I’d basically traveled from Strasbourg to Munich three times in one day, and could have traveled directly to the Park without going all the way to Munich and back.

Forgive the pun, but I was in for one hell of a ride at Europa Park! Traveling through the different countries of the theme park, I was treated to over eight hours of fun through jaw-drop inducing rollercoasters, water rides, shoot-em-ups, cart rides, train rides and any other ride you can think of! The multicultural design of the park lends itself to a multitude of European food options, with Greek, Italian, French, German, Finnish and various others available. The park was also decorated in a fun, bright and engaging manner, with Halloween being the theme during our visit in the first week of October.

The ‘France’ region of Europa Park

The Halloween theme in action at Europa Park

Clogs of Europe!

My favourite rides were ‘Blue Fire’ and ‘Silver Star’, both of which were thrilling, unbelievably high and fast rollercoasters that made me laugh, scream and smile seemingly all at once. I even went on the Silver Star twice at my friend’s bequest!

Attraction details – Europa Park

Directions: Europa Park can be reached by regional train. Consult the Deutsche Bahn website for detailed train and transport information.

Admission: All inclusive admission (entry and access to rides) for adults during the summer season is normally 42.50 euros, but as my friend is a journalist, he was able to obtain a complementary press pass for two. This made it exceptional value for me combined with my rail pass, which provided all day transport to Europa Park and back. Compared to other theme parks such as Tivoli which charge both an exorbitant entry fee and a fee per ride, Europa Park hits the sweet spot of being both affordable and interesting to a broad range of audience groups, with its Europe theme and plentiful options for food and rides.

Rating: 5/5. My friend was right – Europa Park is seriously the real deal. A must-do if you are in the vicinity.

Traveler’s tips:

• Pack some food and drink to avoid the overpriced food options at the Park.
• Get there at opening time to maximise your experience. Also try and go on a weekday to avoid the rush on weekends or public holidays.
• If you’re not the biggest fan of rides, consider taking an extreme ride followed by a gentle ride and then repeating this until you have done all the rides you are interested in
• Upon entering the Park, proceed to the middle or back of the Park to avoid the often congested lines at the front areas. There are signs clearly indicating the expected wait time for each ride.
• As you get more tired throughout the day, consider taking the provided intra-Park train service. The train departs from a central location and stops at several key ‘countries’ in the Park.

What has your experience been at Europa Park? What are your favourite theme parks inside and outside Europe?

Tumultuous times in Tivoli Gardens

When you’re stepping off a flight, you’re often feeling jetlagged or sluggish. You just want to get off the plane and straight to your hotel to relax and unwind. The day I arrived in Copenhagen I felt much the same. Luckily, I didn’t stay in the Savoy Hotel too long as my friend reminded me that it was the last day for the summer season at Tivoli Gardens – a garden/amusement park/shopping district hybrid.

Tivoli is quite something! Compared to amusement parks in Australia, Tivoli seemed gigantic, with its numerous rides, food outlets, shopping outlets (selling silver, jewellery, souvenirs, etc) and restaurants. There is a distinct Asian feeling to this place, with its Asian gardens and architecture. You could easily spend a whole day exploring the place, but for me and my friend, the main appeal was the rides. Note that the place really comes alive during the night, with the central concert stage often being used (a tug-of-war match was underway when we went there) and the gardens aglow in the evening making for some incredibly nice photo opportunities.

A strong Asian feeling pervades Tivoli Gardens

It costs 99 DKK to enter the Gardens, with additional fees of 1-3 tickets (costing around 25 DKK each) to go on the rides. There are also multi-ride tickets you can purchase for unlimited rides for 199 DKK. My friend and I purchased these as we worked out if you go on 3 or more rides, you are better off paying for the multi-ride ticket. And it ultimately proved to be insanely worth it!

The three rides I tried were one of the rollercoasters, Vertigo (a giant swing and spinning ride) and The Golden Tower, which drops you from a tall height. The most intense of these (for me anyway) was actually The Golden Tower due to the lurch you feel when dropped, comparable to a really sudden drop in an aircraft. The rollercoaster had its moments but was nothing unmanageable. Interestingly, Vertigo wasn’t anywhere near as stomach-churching as I thought it would be – I found it very pleasant in fact. And the views of Copenhagen from atop these rides is simply unrivalled anywhere else that I went. For a video of Vertigo, click here.  It is exhilarating, thrilling and undeniably impressive. Here’s a video from YouTuber showing what I experienced.

A major downside of this ride was that it made me feel nauseous for a good 30 minutes after getting off. This complicated things as I didn’t feel like getting on another ride while I was feeling ill, and I had no motivation to keep moving. Instead, I had to sit down and breathe deeply for around 30 minutes until I felt better. I ultimately lived to fight another day, albeit with a giant grin on my face whenever I recall those fateful moments. Me and my friend still discuss it every now and then, and have a good laugh about my ‘illness’.

Despite getting slightly sick, I highly recommend Tivoli for its one-of-a-kind rides, beautiful atmosphere and sheer abundance of leisure options for the casual traveler. I would stay away from the restaurants at Tivoli unless you want to pay the higher prices in this popular tourist site.

The Taj Mahal lookalike building at the front of Tivoli

Attraction details:

Name: Tivoli Gardens
Address: Vesterbrogade 3, 1630 København, Denmark
Directions: Tivoli Gardens is located on Vesterbrogade, which is the main city street in Copenhagen. You can’t miss it, but if you do, it’s near the fast food outlets (McDonalds, etc).
Rating:5/5. With so much on offer in terms of food, rides and entertainment, Tivoli is a must-see for anyone coming to Copenhagen, even if the rides can make you nauseous!