Munich Kids

Jogoli’s Fantastic Kinderland is…fantastic! I visited it with my 3-year-old son.  Over and over, I kept thinking, this is exactly what a group of kids would create if they were told to build the perfect, most fun, most exciting playground they could imagine.  I don’t yet know the story behind Jogoli’s, but I can guess that it must have been dreamed up and executed by a group of very imaginative, creative, fun-loving adults, all of whom must be parents to young children and keenly aware of the needs, wants, and dreams of children and their parents!

First, a description of the play areas.  There are two giant play areas. The first room is a 3-level indoor play park.  On the main level, there is a big ball area where the kids go down a slide and play in hundreds of colorful, plastic balls.  They can practice climbing on a small climbing wall, jump up and down gleefully on an big, inflatable bouncing area, or take their pick of dozens of Bobby cars, tractors, and tricycles to drive around the race track.  There are various ways you can climb to the upper level, including a long incline that doubles as a wide slide.  Upstairs, there are giant red balls to bounce on, obstacles to jump over, and a swing that transports you from one end of a corridor to the other, and back again.  There is a long tube slide that leads to the underground area.  Alternatively you can use a fire pole, or the more conservative means of getting to the lower level, using the stairs.  The underground level is a maze of corridors and play areas with an underwater theme.  

The second largest play area is for younger children.  This is where the infants and toddlers seemed to spend most of their time, although, there were plenty of toys that could be used for an older set of kids.  This is another very large room, and it is filled with every toy a child could want to play with.  There was an amazing model train set that took up almost an entire wall, and a good toy train set as well.  There were trucks, giant legos, dolls, a grocery store, a play house, a tent, puzzles, a few books….Literally, almost everything a child would want to play with.  The room is big, but it is divided into smaller play areas, so children don’t feel overwhelmed by its size.  Also, because it is so big, there’s enough space for everyone.  Kids don’t fight over toys, and don’t feel crowded.  There was close to 20 toddlers in the room when we visited, and my son felt like he was playing in his own room, with no more competition for toys than he gets from his two brothers.  Additionally, there are park benches placed along the sides of the room so that parents have a comfortable place to sit.  Soothing music is piped in from speakers throughout the play area, providing a very calming, fun atmosphere.

In between the two main play areas are a quiet room, cafe, and  a coffee room/office for parents.  The quiet area holds a large television with dozens of movies to choose from.  There are soft cushions and sofas to sit back and relax on.  The room is darker and mellow.  On one wall is a projection of an aquarium full of fish.  So, you can relax quietly and watch the fish swim by, or watch the movie.  For nursing mothers, this would be a perfect, quiet, semi-private place to feed your baby.

The cafe provides fresh food, e.g., pizzas, sandwiches, crepes, juices, water, and coffee-drinks.  We only had an apple juice, but the food smelled delicious!  There are several long tables to sit at.  Several of them were reserved for birthday parties, which is another option that Jogoli’s provides.

The coffee room/office looks very inviting, though my 3-year-old had no interest in checking it out or staying there.  There are 4 or 5 small tables, a comfortable sofa, phones, and free internet service available.  The coffee room is in-between the two main play areas, so you are very close to your kids if you choose to stay in there.  Additionally, there are cameras throughout Jogoli’s, monitoring the kids in each area.  If you stay in the coffee room, you can keep an eye on your kids by watching the flat screen tv that shows what’s going on in each section of each room by alternating from camera to camera. 

In addition to the play areas, Jogoli’s offers a learning park.  Classes from yoga to cooking to English lessons to dance are on offer.  Look at the website for class listings and details. 

Jogoli’s prices are very, very reasonable.  Children can stay for 2 hours for 5 EUR or 5 hours for 10 EUR.  There are reductions available for groups of 4 or more.  Adults are not charged an entrance fee. 

In addition, Jogoli’s offers childcare.  Children between the ages of 3 and 10 can be left under the supervision of the Jogoli staff, for only a minimal fee.  For example, child care for 2 hours is only 2 EUR more than the entrance price, or 7 EUR total! 

Birthday party packages are available as well.

Jogoli’s is open from 14:00 - 19:00 on Mondays through Fridays, and from 10:00 - 19:00 on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays.  If you have babies or toddlers, and you’d like to let them enjoy the climbing, running and jumping play area, I’d recommend getting there as soon as the play park opens.  We visited on a Friday afternoon.  The play area was very quiet until about 3:00.  Then larger groups of very energetic, fun-loving older kids started arriving and turned up the volume and activity level quite a bit.  That is the time that we moved into the other play room, which seemed to be less overwhelming for my 3-year-old.

One final note.  Jogoli’s is very accessible on public transportation. It’s a 5-minute walk from the Ostbahnhof.  Check out the website for specific directions.  Website is in English and German.

Address:  Friedenstrasse 22b, 81671 Munich

Phone:  089/ 99 72 09 20

Website: http://www.jogolis.de

Nearest Public Transportation:  S1-S8, Ostbahnhof

Want to throw the best outdoor party your kids have ever had?  Assuming you have the space for it, you can rent some pretty cool equipment from the city’s sports bureau.  Think of your daughter’s friends coming over for a birthday party to find a giant (3.6m x 3.6m x 3.0m) , inflatable castle that kids can jump, somersault, and fly around on! Then consider that you can rent it for the entire day for only 50 EUR.  Want to impress your teenage son with something he’ll really like?  Rent him his own, personal, mini-halfpipe and invite all his skater friends over for the day (150 EUR).  Tons of other, much lower cost items are available as well.  Rent all of the basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, etc., that you need for only 1 EUR each.  Maybe your toddler loves the giant parachute that they bring out at her gymnastics playgroup?  Rent one for only 1 EUR per day.  You can rent lawn games, wheeled devices, giant building blocks, free-standing basketball hoops, even stilts, for really low prices.  To see a copy of the brochure, go to the following link. 

http://www.sport.musin.de/sportamt/angebot/index.html.   Under “Sportamt”, click on “Freizeitsport”.  Follow the link to “Speilgerateverleih”.  Follow a second link to “Spielgerateverleih”.  Download the PDF file. 

A copy of the brochure can also be ordered by phone or email.

Phone:  089 65 11 56 59

Email:  freizeitsport@muenchen.de

Have you taken your kids to the Hellabrunn Zoo yet?  If not, you should plan a visit soon.  They will love it!  The grounds of the zoo are beautiful.  You walk through winding, wooded pathways to go from exhibit to exhibit.  Streams feeding the Isar flow past some sections of the zoo.  You’ll find all of the animals you would expect in any large zoo - elephants, giraffes, monkeys, penguins, plus a few surprises.  There are two entrances to the zoo.  At the Flamingo Entrance, you will encounter a beautiful flock of pink and white flamingos.  At the Isar Entrance, the first stop is the large petting area, where you can pet the goats.  A good time to visit the zoo is in the Spring, late March or early April , when all of the baby animals have arrived.  The petting area is a highlight during this time as there are a dozen or more fuzzy, baby goats running around looking for goat feed and attention.  Be careful with small children, however. The goats are pushy and can easily knock the little ones over. Also, take care for the numerous goat droppings on the pavement.  One more word of caution.  Goats like to chew on anything that smells like food.  So leave your stroller that is full of baby snacks and bottles on the other side of the foot bridge entrance!  The zoo has several very good indoor areas.  Our favorites include a beautiful and extensive aquarium and the monkey and gorilla house.  There are two very good playgrounds.  A small one in the center of the park is easier for managing multiple small children than the really big playground.  The big playground is near a biergarten and cafeteria.   It has a great play structure that the kids can climb on, and up, and slide down, and swing around on.  However, the playground is almost always crowded, and it is impossible to see from one end of the playground to the other.  As a result, supervising more than one small child with a mind of his or her own can be an exhausting juggling act.   Near the big playground and biergarten is an extended children’s area that includes pony rides, bumper cars, train rides, and more.   The zoo is open year-round.  Children up to age 4 are free.  From 4 -14, children are half-price.  10-punch cards are available and can be used in combination with the Deutsches Museum.  We found this to be a great package as you can go to the zoo during the warm months, and the Deutsches Museum in the winter.  Further details are available on the website.

The zoo also offers guided tours for birthday parties

Address:  Tierparkstrasse 30, D-81543 Munich

Phone:  (0) 89 62508-0 

Website:  http://www.zoo-munich.de

Nearest Public Transportation:  Bus 52 (Flamingo Entrance) or U3 Thalkirchen (Isar Entrance)