Freibad Flingern ain't so 'frei' any more

Last weekend, I checked the weather for this week and it seemed that it would rain all week - bar Monday afternoon. On Monday morning, therefore, I reserved a place for me in the 'after-work' slot at the newly re-opened (after 2 years of re-building) Freibad Flingern. I had to show my reservation code when entering and leaving the place.

As the rebuilding work also included re-erecting an indoor pool, the place is now no longer called a 'Freibad' (literally 'free bath', i.e. outdoor pool), but 'Allwetterbad' (all weather bath).

Sadly, it seems that the designers got a fair bit wrong outside. Don't they ask people what they want or like about the pool before they go in and change things? Don't they even try out the complex for a day or two to see how things work?

In the past, the children's corner (paddling pool and play area) was tucked away in a corner near the entrance, far, far away from the adult pools and separated from them by a long stretch of lawn and some shady trees.

Now? Now the paddling pool (between 5 and 25 cm deep) and a strange play area (no sand) which presumably will have water jets coming out of the weird sculptures there are right next to the adult pools. Right next to the diving pool and shallow end of the not-so-serious swimming pool (1 m in depth). A few flat 'benches' separate the two areas. I have visions of children running and slipping into an adult pool.

Why do I say that things are no longer so 'frei'? So free? Because the children's area is fenced off and placed precisely where I used to sit on the grass, watching the swimmers. Right there, where you could leave your stuff, go swimming and still keep an eye on things from the pool. A huge chunk of lawn has disappeared.

And the rest of the lawn is surrounded by flower beds, forcing people to go through two areas of flower beds to get onto the grass. Do the designers really think that adults and children are going to meekly walk through a 'corridor' of flower beds to get to the grassy area? Hah. I predict people trampling across the flower beds in no time.

Where the fences are, there's just one small access to the lawn and that's via a shower. People would have to squeeze past, getting wet and possibly bumping into anyone standing under the shower.

The place feels so restricted now. No longer 'free and easy'. Such a shame compared to how it felt in 2017, when I was last there.

WHAT WERE THE DESIGNERS THINKING OF???

Having said that, even though it was an overcast day, only 23 C at 5.30, it was extremely pleasant to be outdoors and in a pool again. It'll be interesting to see how things develop when it gets really sunny and hot again and people are there in droves.