The Ion Constantin Brătianu Park is a lovely and pleasant green space for everyone, young and old alike. It is a park full of fragrant trees and walkways, lush vegetation, and benches where you can relax and let loose. There are also several sports fields that have been constructed, built solely for recreational and sports activities: three mini soccer fields, two of which can also be used as basketball courts, as both ends of the fields are equipped with baskets. The third field can also be used for volleyball, as a volley ball net can be stretched out on it.
A new basketball court has also been built in the park, which has a polypropylene playing surface to drain water when it rains. The playing surface is made of a special material that reduces the impact of falls. The court is a standard size, with a surface of 15/28 m and a total playing surface of 19/35 m. The jogging track around the park, which is approximately 1,800 metres long, is highly appreciated by those who want to lose weight or want to live a healthy lifestyle. There are also some convenient ping-pong tables, where small groups of table tennis lovers can gladly spend their free time.
Some of the park’s visitors are also happy to use the open-air gym equipment that is just like the ones found in gyms where one has to pay to use them, with the difference that these are free to use. A part of the park is designed to allow skateboarders to jump around, practicing different tricks or fascinating their audience with rehearsed stunts. The same track is also used by rollerbladers. One of the frequent visitors of the park is a young man, who gives free rollerblading courses to those who are interested in it, from time to time. Young BMX bikers readily use the same track too, sometimes even competing with each other.
Young people with regular-sized bikes can take a ride in the part of the park where a trail has been shaped with a variety of terrain differences which makes cycling even more interesting and entertaining: for example, the undulating section, which creates a cartoon-like experience when riding, or the corner where you can demonstrate awesome drifting stunts.
Parents with little kids like to take their children to the park because of the shade of the trees, the pleasant smell of the sweetly scented flowers, the fresh air, and, of course, the lively experiences of the safely-built playground with its various swings and sandpits.
By Ben Kabai
Photos: Tamás Petrus and Tamás Orosz
