Water parks are perfect for fun and relaxation for every member of the family. Dad can splash around a bit and then sit back and relax while listening to some music and reading his newspaper; Mom can put on some sunscreen on and take a sunbath, while the kids want to go on every ride there is, and Grandma watches over all of them. In the summer, it would be quite a lovely pastime, but what happens when it’s too cold to stay outside and play pool games? The answer is simple: go to an indoor water park!

Indoor aqua parks have first appeared in Canada, around 1985, and since then they went through a great boost of popularity, first in the USA, and then in Europe. The Canadian World Waterpark (as it was called), was built in a big shopping mall in the city of Edmonton, and it caught on quite fast. This is because there are many rainy days a year in Edmonton, and it is a city quite far from any beach: the Pacific Ocean is 1500 km away, and Hudson Bay is 1400 km away (not that there are many places resembling a beach at Hudson Bay).

So the indoor water park in Edmonton was a great idea, and people started coming, and coming, and coming…and they still do now. People love the water slides, the indoor river (they have a “lazy river” which is quite fun), the tube slides, body slides, 3+ family rides, and everything else a good indoor water park is made out of.

Speaking of good indoor water parks, let me say that there are some requirements that make such a place meet the standards: a good one must have at least two tube slides, two body slides, one river (be it slow-flowing or “angry” torrent), one children play area with everything they need (sand, buckets, geysers etc) one wave pool and other features.

Nowadays, in Europe, you can find tens, maybe hundreds of very good indoor aquatic parks. In Germany, for example, in Stralsund, you will find one of the most beautiful water parks of them all: the Hansedom Water Park. It is not only indoor-based, it also includes outdoor parks and gardens, making it very attractive to tourists around the continent. Besides the requirements I mentioned in the last paragraph, the Hansedom Water Park has a lot more features, like massage lounges, fitness clubs, sport clubs, saunas, and much more. In German such a park is called “freizeit park”, which means “leisure park”.

Other very interesting water parks can be found in France, Spain and Austria, but we’ll leave that story for another time. Nothing is better than spending a day or two at a “freizeit park”, believe you me. It’s a shame that we can’t go there every weekend, but hey – that’s life. But if you ever decide to go to such a park with your family, remember to keep a close eye on your kids, as sometimes these slides and rivers can be dangerous.