Not all parks are playgrounds. Or are they? (Denmark Day 4)
Providing public space for the public to enjoy seems to be a core value in Copenhagen, evidenced by the wide variety and locations of parks and playgounds.
The approach that they take to teaching biking starts with push bikes. (Although the littlest tykes have the littlest bikes, they've got taller push bikes for all ages to learn.) Once they've figured out the push bikes, the learners move on to pedal bikes. Some tyke bikes come designed for adding the pedals to the same bike. As far traffic rules, the kids get told the basics and then they figure it out as they play. I say "play" because it's unstructured playtime when the kids ride around on the miniature roads traffic course. All of the practice leads to the bikes feeling like an extension of the body so it doesn't taking thinking to manage avoiding collisions. The rest of the road rules come from watching others on real roads, like when their parents bike them to a museum or school or what have you.
To fulfill one of our course quests, we set off solo or in small groups to pedal toward finding at least 5 parks. The group I pedalled with started off with a vague plan of three parks we could see on our paper maps.
From Trafiklegepladsen, we went to nearby Tåsinge Plads. This first park looked fairly recent, not new but recent, given the size of its trees. Like all of the parks that I've seen in Copenhagen, it had benches in convenient locations for relaxing. A woman reading on a bench at the park saw the three of us taking photos and explained that, in theory, the silver structures also emit water when the teeter totter tiles are, uh, tottered. (What's the verb for that anyway?) Alas, she'd never seen it work. She also explained that the park functions as a water catchment during heavy rains. She pointed us to another park not far away that had the same water management double function.
(Fellow student, Claressa, got into the spirit of play.)
The park she pointed us to looked somewhat like a linear park with a small walking trail through the lush growth and various seating places tucked away for a peaceful moment. (When I looked it up on Google maps, there's no park name. It's a planted/vegetated extension of the street named Tåsingegade.) I got distracted by a butterfly, lost track of my group, and went back to the bikes to snack on a bell pepper.
Next, we made it to Kildevældsparken, a large old park more in the style of old paintings of ponds, fountains, and genteel people strolling. The grounds also held pocket parks and playgrounds within the larger park. These pocket playgrounds looked designed for different age groups and different types of play. The theme of providing public necessities for a fulfilling life at every age shines in Copenhagen's public parks.
We set out for the third park of our original vague plan, but got distracted by another playground--a schoolyard playground. Kids were out running around and generally having a fantastic time. (I took no pictures as that felt invasive.)
We'd cruised down a slope a bit, so decided to abandon our original plan. We came across a smaller hyper local playground in the neighborhood we rode through. It's fascinating to me that people leave and share things like playgound toys in these local spots. What lessons does that behavior teach little tykes as they grow?
Honestly, I'm not sure where we were when we came across an enormous playground with hills, bridges, houses, islands, and waterways--all in miniature. Maybe it fills with actual water when it rains enough. It could act as both flood management and an awesome play place if that's the case. (It was an awesome play place anyway.)
I needed to meet up with my Scavenger Quest 1 partner to complete that assignment, so I split off from our little group. I heard another bunch of children playing as I went by a church. Since I could get an angle without any of the kids' faces, I snapped a pic of the playground. Check out the crooked little tower and the shipmast bird's nest! (And the parked lil bikes!)
Though I understand the need for designations when it comes to formally defining a "playground" versus a "park," I see how the extensive use of playgrounds and parks growing up in Denmark could lead to adults feeling comfortable playing in parks too. It might just look like grown ups chillin' and listenin' to a jazz festival.
Next up: Soundscapes of Copenhagen
Random pic of the day: A stroller in the shade--with a sleeping baby in it. Apparently, it's normal here. (I didn't realize there was a baby when I took the pic. I thought it was cool that people feel comfortable simply parking a stroller while they go do whatever.)
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