Bruges Playground in Konigin Astrid-Park

As we wandered around Bruges after our arrival, we found a playground for J and L to enjoy at the south end of Konigin Astrid-Park. And enjoy it they did.

Playground in Bruges

View from the other side, with the church in the background

J was happy to do a lot of climbing, especially up a tower that had a large covered slide for coming back down.

J begins his ascent

L did her share of climbing, though she was more interested in the shorter slide which allowed for quicker repeats. She could climb and slide faster than J. Not that it was a race or anything!

L climbs!

She slides!

They did find a happy medium in riding a turtle. This particular turtle required cooperation, so I'm glad they had each other.

One of these children is heavier than the other

The allure of the playground was so strong that J didn't even go to look at the nearby fountain. We thought the fountain and gazebo looked familiar, maybe from In Bruges.

Large fountain

Gazebo from the movie?

Queen Astrid, for whom the park is named

Neptune on the water

The park was originally part of a Franciscan monastery dating back to the 1200s. In the mid-1700s the French destroyed the monastery and the land fell into private hands. In 1850, the local government bought the land and made a (then) modern park. The park takes its name from Queen Astrid who died in 1935.

After a while we were able to pry the kids out of the park and head off to the train station. We took the afternoon train to Brussels, which was a new adventure! But first, we'll visit St. Magadalene's in the next post.