ATTRAC TIO N OF TH E MONTH
Nordic adventures in breathtaking water landscapes Fantastic and mythical scenes, Scandinavian landscapes and 25 new attractions are amongst the highlights of the newest Europa-Park extension: 'Rulantica' is an indoor water park which is open all year round for children and adults alike in front of Europa-Park's gates, including a neighbouring themed hotel and some great Nordic gastronomy on offer. TEXT: JESSICA HOLZHAUSEN I PHOTOS: EUROPA-PARK
‘Rulantica’ tells the story of two orphans and their journey to a mythical Nordic island. The publisher Coppenrath released the story as a book, while visitors can now follow their traces through the adventure world. For example, they can go to ‘Rangnakor’: built on stilts, it emerges from the water, while slides go down from the top. In ‘Vinterhal’, the sea snake Svalgur, frozen to ice, watches over the slides on a gigantic glacier. ‘Lumåfals’, the home of beautiful mermaids and with a colourful waterfall and pool, showcases a more romantic side to the attraction. At the end of November, the EuropaPark opened the first part of the 450,000-square-metre new resort extension. ‘Rulantica’, as one part of this new 54 | Issue 81 | December 2019
extension, contains 25 new water attractions across nine themed areas. Among them, are 17 new slides. When finished, the groundbreaking project will create one of the largest water worlds in Europe. Indoor fun for adults and children The attraction has a 32,600-square-metrelarge indoor area, so that children and adults can enjoy fun in the water all year long. ‘Trølldal’, for instance, caters for the needs of smaller children. Older children, meanwhile, will enjoy the sunken three-master ‘Skip Strand’, an adventure playground for pirates of all ages. And as for keen swimmers, the outdoor area not only houses the large swimming area ‘Frigg Tempel’, but also the ‘Vildstrøm’, where the stream carries swimmers through typical Nordic landscapes.
New hotel and culinary experiences with Nordic flair ‘Rulantica’ also impresses with the according culinary choices befitting the theme: the self-service restaurant, ‘Lumålunda’, is open all day long, a kiosk offers sweets and treats in between meals, and the aforementioned ‘Rangnakor’ houses the snack restaurant ‘Snekkjas’. Anyone who does not even want to leave the water, meanwhile, will be happy to find the pool bar ‘Skogbar’ situated in the cosy ‘Skog Lagune’. Among other highlights is the new themed four-star superior hotel ‘Krønasår’: situated next to ‘Rulantica’, it invites guests to relax and dream the night away after a day full of adventure. The Europa-Park is most definitely worth a journey in wintertime, too. In December, the theme park sparkles with Christmas lights and, during the winter season, many of the regular attractions are open – combined with a unique winter show programme. www.europapark.de www.rulantica.de