Laura Nüesch; Vivian Li Report: Pick & Choose Activity September 2016
St. Stephen's Green
St. Stephen’s Green is a public park located in the heart of Dublin, Ireland. It is very close to Trinity College and the District Temple Bar, where we stayed. The park is just next to the shopping center St. Stephen, which was named after the park, and one of Dublin’s principal shopping streets, namely Grafton Street. Its location doesn’t only make it easily accessible for the local people, but also for the foreign visitors to rest, since there are several tourist attractions near it.
As we went past the park several times during our city tours, we decided to explore the park as our pick & choose activity so we could enjoy our free time, relax and have a breath of fresh air.
As the St. Stephen’s Green has been the scene of some historical events (e.g. the Easter Rising 1916), it is provided with many sculptures and memorials, such as a memorial of the Great Famine in Ireland between 1845 and 1852, a James Joyce sculpture and a Wolfe Tone (a leading Irish revolutionary figure) statue.
Beside the historical and informative part, the park is also perfect for people who want to have a rest, enjoy a break from work, have a picnic with friends or just lie on the grass to relax or to read. The park features a large lake, which is why there are a lot of pigeons and swans and other birds, so people might bring some bread to feed them. Furthermore, the park also provides a children’s playground and a floral garden with fountains.
There are rarely any big and well-equipped parks in Switzerland’s city centers. Personally, we think that city parks are nice opportunities for an escape from a stressful everyday life. It seems that many people think so, as you can see in the picture above. The park is packed with people even in the afternoon of a normal working day. We really enjoyed the walk through the park because there were some very picturesque sceneries.