Kletterwald

For Bob's birthday, he got a coupon for Kletterwald (Climbingworld in English).  It is this really cool climbing park in the Heide- the largest urban forest in Germany.  There are miles and miles of walking and biking trails and its especially nice in the fall with all the foliage.

We took the tram up to the edge of the Heide and hiked in to find Kletterwald.  Fortunately, there were plenty of signs.  The Heide is a very easy place to get lost and wander around in for hours and hours... not that that's ever happened to me...

It took us about 15 minutes to reach Kletterwald, but the walk was really nice, so we didn't mind.

Bob wasn't having very good luck taking breaks on railings...

(just kidding again... but these pictures are SO funny!!)

Once we got there, we were harnessed up and given a safety course on how to use the climbing equipment and not fall off.

I'm always surprised at how difficult and dangerous things in Germany are compared to things in the US.    For example, they have some insane playground equipment here- for little kids!  Like 3 story slides, spinny-discs that you run on while kids sit on the edge and fly off, wooden trampolines and giant spiderwebs.  Maybe sometime I'll walk around and take pictures of all the crazy playground equipment here, but for now, back on track...
Like I was saying, things here seem just a little more dangerous.  At Kletterwald, after the intro, you climb around all by yourself and its up to you to make sure you're hooked on right and using everything correctly.  Once in Maine I went ziplining and they attached you, unattached you, sent you off, caught you, and pretty much did everything for you.  It must be a liability thing.

I LOVED the do it yourself attitude.  I was so excited to climb around on all the crazy stuff they had in the trees.

Bob and I had a great time climbing around, hanging from cables, balancing on tiny platforms, and ziplining... but climbing and heights aren't for everyone.

A few of my favorite "obstacles" in the climbing park were the sled:

the trapeze:

 and of course, the zip lines:

In total, we spent about two and a half hours climbing through five ropes courses.  It was fun but exhausting!  Our new favorite place in Dresden is definitely Kletterwald.