Sculpture Park Köln

Get off at the tram stop Zoo/Flora in Cologne and you will suddenly be spoilt for choice for things to do. Should you take the cable cars across the Rhine or visit the Zoo and Aquarium? A leisurely walk around the Flora and its botanical gardens or how about a visit to the Sculpture Park? On a grey Sunday afternoon I chose the sculpture park and it made for a nice change. Firstly because it didn't cost a thing (unlike the Zoo and the cable cars), and second because it was pleasantly thought provoking. You can't help asking: Why the car crashed around a post in a hole in the ground? Why the round block that looks a bit like a toilet made out of orange perspex, and why the big gold ball? I didn't buy a guide and so still don't have the answers, but even with an explanation from the website, the answers are no clearer: Apparently the 'Kölner Reihe' (big gold ball etc.) by Florian Slotawa is "an arrangement according to size, constellations now become visible that allow each individual work to appear in a new formal context." My favourite however was Sou Fujimoto's Garden Gallery, three concrete walls with 'windows' which frame views of the surrounding park. The grass on the inside and the tree in the middle make you feel like you are on the outside when you're inside and vice-versa. It's a calm and medative way to spend an afternoon. Until the children climb on a pile of old rocks and a whistle blows to tell them to get off the 'sculpture' - some of which are easier to identify than others... Worth a visit: Sculpture Park Köln