The public parks and gardens of Paris in summer

Paris may be busy in the summer period, but it is definitely a great place to be to capture the floral and greenery of the major parks here. From the large Jardin du Luxembourg right through to the smaller pockets of greenery, these parks offer a respite from the crowds.

A thing I like to do is to grab some fruit, a bottle of water, and a salad from Monoprix or from any of the groceries, sit in the park and eat lunch. It’s a cheaper way to refuel compared to going to sitting in a cafe (which is also nice!).

There was one such time near the Picasso Museum where I overheard a group of three women talking about perfume scents (I think their job involved coming up with ideas to talk about perfumes), not to mention watching the families and tourists alike mill around.

I highly recommend milling around Jardin de l’Ecole Botanique and so on and taking a look at the descriptions (if you can read the French).

 

The blue space of Treptow-Köpenick

Treptow-Köpenick is a borough of Berlin and is not what foreigners would typically associate to be a part of Berlin.  It’s just a very nice, liveable, wholesome neighbourhood filled mainly with pensioners and families, and in particular young families.

The first time I came here was to the day before I moved in.  I remember walking towards the apartment and marvelling how wondrously quiet and lush it was.  Pink blossoms were growing on a tree overlooking the sidewalk and it was mainly residential.  There were a number of people riding bikes – some with groceries or pets in tow.

And then there is the blue space of the river…

Treptow-Köpenick is probably where Berliners go to once they are ready to settle down. There are plenty of green spaces with parks and blue spaces with the lakes nearby.  This is Berlin on a whole other level.  Some people will call it suburban, some will comment how far away it is.  But for me, this was an ideal place to live and focus on work and study.  I can catch a ferry and explore the nearby lakes, I am only about ten minutes ride from the airport, many people here really only have German as their only language but they are very cheerful and welcoming.

I endeavour to take a walk up Regattastraße and into the area previously known as Köpenick. On the way you will see little houses with gardens (the Laubenpieper), also the Baumgarteninsel which is small little island reachable by boat containing small lots of houses and gardens.

Some time up north is the Köpenick Altstadt which started to look a bit English with the ducks, cobblestone streets and small houses: