Due to my aversion to queuing for more than five minutes for anything I hustled everyone up and out of Esther to get to Steinwasen Park (50 min drive away…) as it opened at 9am.
It might seem a slightly odd choice as the campsite is less than 2km away from Europa Park, Germany’s answer to Alton Towers. I try not to get sucked down the wormhole of TripAdvisor reviews but there were lots of people saying it was a better, more manageable option with smaller children.
The first thing that strikes you about Steinwasen is it’s fabulous location nestled deep in the forest in Oberried.
It’s not Alton Towers (or Europa Park) but there was enough mild peril to keep everyone in our party happy. There’s a river splash ride, a pleasingly fast and rattly runaway train rollercoaster and a ride called Spacerunner which accelerates neck crickingly fast.
There’s also a long coaster ride on tracks down the hillside and an 800m bobsled run (rodelbahnen) both of which were great fun.
Such a great word!
The queues were pretty minimal in the morning (*smug*) but it started to fill up around lunchtime so we treated ourselves to an early lunch on the rooftop restaurant. The food was lovely and they were tolerant of my clunky GCSE German.
After lunch we headed to the impressive 30m suspension bridge to take in the fabulous Black Forest views.
I look relaxed, I’m not. It’s high and wobbly…
There’s all kinds of animals at the park as well including wild boar, deer and raccoons. Throw in two adventure playgrounds and SC was a happy camper.
I haven’t been to Europa Park but I can say that Steinwasen Park is great option for smaller kids. We had a lovely day out in a beautiful setting.
Lots of exciting plans for the next few days. Lakes, mountains, lakes and mountains…. more sausages, more beer. It’s my kind of holiday!
Adventures with Bernice 