Parks

Even as the weather turns cooler, we are spending a lot of time at local parks. 

Nikolai is learning to swing on his own (albeit begrudgingly):

The blurry picture below is the only one I have of the lovely tree-lined entrance to the main park. It has busts of Moldovan writers lining it, and it's always a joy to walk down. 

Niko spotted this climbing wall the other day and made it all the way to the top. I was very impressed!

Ok, I already posted this one on Instagram but I just can't get over how old Niko looks here. It's nuts! Also, almost every time we go to the park, the kids both beeline to this silly little bouncing seat. Niko, having longer legs, obviously makes it there first. Miriam, eternally feeling the fire of injustice, often throws herself into the dirt in protest. It's a lovely tradition. 

Here's Nikolai at the top of a playground:

Oh, I've been meaning to mention: most (if not all!) playgrounds here have these little exercise areas next to them, with all kinds of equipment for working out. I think the idea is that parents can work out while their kids play, but I also like the idea that being able to exercise is a public good and people ought to be able to have access to exercise equipment (as opposed to having to pay for a gym membership). Sure, I see little kids playing on it a lot, but I also see a fair amount of adults that look like they've come there just for that purpose, which is cool. 

Last week we explored a new city park, Valea Trandafirilor. It's a little ways away (we had to take a bus instead of walking) but it's huge and has three lakes in it. One of the lakes has paddle boats for rent, and I think we might try one next summer (when we're more sure Miriam won't try to dive out into the water). 

It's a good thing there's so many great parks here, because we like spending time at them!