I had kept this playground an absolute secret; until a few weeks ago, under no circumstances would I have revealed its precise location publicly. Recently we moved to a different neighbourhood, though, so I don’t feel we “own” this place anymore. The time has come for me to let it go.

Our former neighbour suggested the playground in Dezeliceva for our first playdate. When we arrived at the address she gave us, we were sure that we had written it down incorrectly. We found ourselves standing in front of a big wooden door, clearly an entrance to an apartment building.

Before we had time to phone our neighbour, a father with two little girls confidently pushed the door open and walked in. We followed them through someone’s backyard and after about a hundred meters got to a gate behind which there was a) a dog park, b) a basketball court and c) a big, modern playground! Whaaat?! Yes!

After chatting with some of the people who live there, I found out that the whole space was originally a bunch of allotments which the neighbours agreed to turn into a common space. How awesome is that? Very!

All of this in the centre of the town, hidden from all four sides by blocks of houses, not busy at all & just waiting for you to sit down on a bench and repeatedly shout at the kids ” Go and play or we’re going home! We hate playgrounds! We only came here for you!”