OCTOBER 2023
Apparantly the pumpkin patch at Gertrudenhof near Cologne is one of the biggest pumpkin patches in Germany and we were super impressed with our visit. Pumpkin patches are an American phenomenon but over the years I noted that they have risen in popularity in Germany as well. Even the Netherlands now has some pumpkin farms that organize activities, but if you are looking for the real deal with pumpkin towers and delicacies Germany is the place to be in Europe. In this blogpost I will explain exactly why our visit to Gertrudenhof was so much fun!
Practical information
Gertrudenhof yearly organizes a pumpkin patch, it usually last about six weeks and is held in September-October. This year the park is open until November 1, check the official website for the actual times. If you want to visit during the weekend it is advised to buy your tickets in advance, you can do this on the website. Tickets are € 9,90 in the weekend and € 7,90 during the week. Children until 3 are free. We visited during the weekend on a sold out day; it was busy and cozy. There definitely were a lot of people but it didn’t get uncomfortable (no queues at toilets, playgrounds). The only unfortunate thing was parking, there are several free parking areas but we had to park in the dirt. It is also possible to visit the farm shop for free, which you can find next door.
Our experience
I was impressed with how large the grounds of Gertrudenhof were. There were multiple stands with food, often pumpkin themed such as pumpkin soup and pumpkin flammkuchen. They had pumpkin drinks as well, we found that the pumpkin-secco tasted a bit like Aperol spritz. There are plenty of seating areas where you can get cozy and have your food. I mainly came for the photo opportunities with the pumpkins, but there honestly is so much more to do. It especially was very kid friendly, Gertrudenhof features farm animals, trampolines and a large playground. Especially for the autumn season they have several bouncy castles in orange and in pumkin theme. Hugo loved the enormous barn where he could play and climb on the hay bales. Of course there are opportunities to buy pumpkins and autumn flowers, Gertrudenhof built a little village where all the deliciacies were displayed. The real highlight is the pumkin tower, where I of course had to take several pictures. Overall, we loved our visit to Gertrudenhof, it really is fun for adults as well as kids. The atmosphere was really good, people were loving all the autumn vibes. It really helps that the premises of Gertrudenhof are so beautiful, the orchards were bursting with apples, just a lovely autumn scene. The grounds are incredibly well maintained and clean. I definitely want to go back next year!
