Spending HALLOWEEN in the EUROPARK RUST, GERMANY

Last autumn we decided to visit the EUROPAPARK in Rust, Germany. 

If you don't know it, it's a huuuuuuuge amusement Park. You can almost compare it to the big US theme parks like Disney World or Universal Studios. Although I love theme parks, I had never been to Europapark before. It wasn't really on my radar... not until my sister's boyfriend suggested to go there for Halloween.

I have been in love with theme parks ever since I visited Disney World, the Universal Studios and even Sea World in Orlando when I spent three weeks in Florida with my family. So naturally I jumped at the chance to visit another theme park!

We went there for the Halloween weekend of 2015. We started our journey on Saturday morning from Munich. And when I say morning I mean early early morning. You know, that time you usually think doesn't exist. ;)

From Munich, it took us about 4 hours to get to Rust. Rust is situated in county Baden-Württemberg near the French border. The closest french city is Straßburg.

WELCOME TO EUROPAPARK

TICKETS & OPENING HOURS

SUMMER |9am - 6pm|
WINTER  |11am - 7pm|


Summer; 1-Day-Pass |Adult|: 44,50 €
Summer; 1-Day-Pass |Children|: 38,50 €

Summer; 2-Day-Pass |Adult|:  84,00 €
Summer; 2-Day-Pass |Children|: 72,50 €

Winter; 1-Day-Pass |Adult|: 38,50 €
Winter; 1-Day-Pass |Children|: 32,50 €

Winter; 2-Day-Pass |Adult|: 65,00 €
Winter; 2-Day-Pass |Children|: 55,00 €

HALLOWEEN DECOR EVERYWHERE

As soon as you enter the park, it is pretty noticable that Halloween is around the corner. There are hundreds and hundreds of pumpkins in all imaginable sizes and shapes decorated all around the park. It's an amazing sight. If you haven't already been in a halloweeny-mood before, you will be now for sure. But it's not just the pumpkins that give the park its' spooky look! Here and there you will find spooky skeletons and spiders and all kinds of dark magic ;) Even the huge rollercoaster Eurostar has been turned into a giant evil pumpkin!

HALLOWEEN THEMED SHOWS AND PARADE

Iceskating Show: Surp'Ice in the Haunted Castle

The different sections of Europapark are divided into european countries. The greek section for example has a rather spacious iceskating rink. During Halloween celebrations they put on a spooky ice show in full costumes. As I enjoy ice skating myself very much, I really liked the show. It was definitely a highlight within the theme park experience.

Europapark Musical

The park has its' own little theatre in the italian section in which they put on plays and musicals. During the Halloween weeks they put on a musical called "Spook Me!". To be honest it wasn't my cup of tea because the story was seriously lacking but still it was entertaining enough. And don't worry that it takes up too much of your time in the park, the musical only takes about 45 minutes.

Europapark Halloween Parade

Another event you shouldn't miss while visiting the Halloween weeks at Europapark is the Halloween parade. The parade passes through all of the bigger streets of the park. We had a very good spot watching it in the English section. 

HALLOWEEN FACE PAINT (not only for children ;) )

To complete the halloween experience, my sister and I had our faces painted. Our guys on the other hand apparently were too grown up for that kind of shenanigans ;) There were a lot of designs to choose from and we could even decide on colours. And just so you know, we weren't the only adults with paint on their faces^^

FAVOURITE RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS

As I am kind of prone to motion sickness, I can only go on certain rides that are not too shaky or spinny. These were the ones I really liked and didn't make me sick.

• "Schweizer Bobbahn" in Switzerland
• "Poseidon" water rollercoaster in Greece
• "Piraten in Batavia" in the Netherlands (calm pirate ride)
• "Atlantica Supersplash" waterride in Portugal
• "Arthur, the ride" in the Kingdom of the Minimoys

My more thrill-ride enthusiastic company however couldn't get enough of these rides:

• "Silver Star" rollercoaster in France
• "Matterhorn Blitz" rollercoaster in Switzerland
• "Euro Mir" rollercoaster in Russia
• "Blue Fire" rollercoaster in Iceland
• "Wodan" wooden rollercoaster in Iceland

Poseidon water ride

Euro Mir

Wodan, wooden rollercoaster

Arthur and the Minimoys ride

HOW WE LOST OUR CAR TWICE!

Be sure to remember where you park your car so you will find it again when leaving the park in the dark of night. Because we didn't.
We were soooo excited for the park that we jumped out of the car completely oblivious to the fact that the parking lot was huge and we should maybe remember our parking space. Oh well, when we left the park it was already dark and none of us had an idea where we were parked^^. Fun times, right? 
We did find our car after a while but we did not learn from our mistake. Same thing happened again on our second day in the park. But hey, we had a good laugh at our stupidity but we definitely learned from the second time. ;)

Great city view over Verona - Castel San Pietro

The Castel San Pietro is situated on a hill in the north-west of Verona. It towers directly above the Teatro Romano di Verona, which is a half open amphitheater that is still used to stage theatrical performances. 

on the right: Castel San Pietro Hill

Getting there is rather easy. When coming from the city centre, cross the Ponte Pietra (Pietra Bridge), cross the little street on the other side and you will find the foot of the stairs that will lead you up the hill. I have to admit, it is quite the hike and there are a loooot of steps. The italian sun doesn't help either and it can get a little bit exhausting. So in case you aren't sporty Spice, just take it easy ;) I can usually deal with a lot of steps, but the sun just wore me down this time! 

Ponte Pietra

Once we arrived at the Castel on top of the hill, it was all worth it. We had the most beautiful view over the whole city. And if you time your visit right, I suggest you go for the golden hour when the buildings and the river are lit on fire by the evening sun. 

It's not only tourists who enjoy the scenic view from up here, but also locals who sit down with a couple of friends and open a bottle of wine and chat. It was a really nice atmosphere sitting up here enjoying this thing we call life ;)

Also it is a very romantic spot, wink, wink ;)

Attached to the Castel is a rather fancy restaurant with Bar. We wanted to stay for the sunset, but didn't have anything with us to drink. Not even a bottle of water, so we decided to make a nice evening even nicer and have a drink or two at the TeodoricoRe Restaurant. We sat on their terrasse overlooking the northern part of the city and enjoyed the beautiful evening.

It was the PERFECT spot to watch the sunset, it was plain gorgeous! I had never seen a sunset as colourful and bright orange-red before! My boyfriend and I swore, that when we come back to Verona someday, we will have the most scenic dinner date ever up on the Castel San Pietro Hill.

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