July 14, 2025
We packed up the Liseleje (North Zealand) house and hit the road before 10am. The owners arrived a bit before then to see us off but thankfully didn’t perform a walk through while we were there like the Corsica home owners had.
We had wanted to go to the Louisiana museum but were bummed to learn it was closed on Mondays. Instead we decided to stop at a playground we had flagged en route to one of the Dambo trolls since we had a few hours before we could check into our Copenhagen apartment. Google maps has failed us a few times in Denmark and it gave us issues once again in trying to find this playground. The navigation took us to a suburb where we spotted a small playground and assumed it had to be the one we were looking for. We started to wander around and realized it was actually a school/daycare and there was even an unattended baby in a pram outside one of the doors. We thought it was weird that there was a baby, now awake, left entirely alone but I remembered reading about Nordic parents who let babies sleep outside in the winter so perhaps they do the same in summer as well?
We scoured the map again and did find the playground with the zip line we had been in search of. The boys loved the zip-line and were also happy to see pull up/ hanging bars to practice on. There were also big blocks of wood with ropes attached meant to act as makeshift weights for playground patrons to use. This sort of thing would get ruined or stolen so quickly in Hoboken.
Our next stop was the sleeping Dambo troll just outside of Copenhagen. My mom and dad had seen a bunch of Thomas Dambo’s troll’s in Maine and knew the boys would love them as well. This sleeping troll was lying down so you could climb on and through him though the ground was quite muddy so we discouraged the crawling part. We’re hopeful we can see another one or two during our time in Denmark, too.
There was a small hiccup when we went to check into our Airbnb as an incorrect address was listed on the rental page. We drove in circles for a bit and consulted Google Earth but eventually found the correct address on the house manual book. We also learned that the apartment is a 4th floor walk up which means its technically 5 floors up given European floor naming conventions.
The Copenhagen apartment is a family’s true home so it feels more cozy and is also well stocked with toys. There is even a separate playroom which the boys immediately tore through and discovered many of their favorites including Minecraft toys (they’ve never played this video game but recognize and love the characters), Pokemon, Brawl Stars (a new app Ollie acquired), a chess board and superhero costumes for Len. Ollie even noticed a few sizable sticks in the playroom and said, “Man these kids are so lucky, they even have sticks!!” There is also a pull up bar in one of the doorways so the boys can practice their hangs!
Kyle soon took off again in the van to return it to the rental car agency. He needed to fill up the tank so went to the first spot Google Maps recommended– Gasoline Grill. He saw a line around the block and a bunch of people gathered but assumed it had nothing to do with the gas station. He pulled the massive van in next to one of the pumps and tapped his credit card only for the machine to not be in service. When he got home, me and my dad told him that Gasoline Grill is one of the most famous burger spots in the city and is actually a former service station. We’re still not sure why GoogleMaps would send him there, though.
The hiccups continued into the evening when Len literally blew up dinner. He excused himself from the table to go to the restroom and soon called me to help him. When I got to the bathroom I immediately saw and smelled a problem– there was poop smeared over the walls and on the pipes. This was a true first for Len and something he has never done before even as a baby. He was stammering trying to get the words out fast enough to explain what had happened, in short– he was having issues going to the bathroom so he felt around with his hands and then tried to clean his hands without realizing just how dirty they were. He was so upset and melting into me looking for a hug and consolation. Len and I excused ourselves from dinner to have a proper clean up before finishing our meal.
Before putting the boys to bed, we took them to the neighborhood playground on our block. Kyle timed them as they ran loops on the playset and took it very seriously. Len had to deploy some patience when other kids were climbing on the playset as well and we were happy to see him wait patiently behind them versus pushing through them to win the race. Their intensity also had Kyle and I worried about them slamming their faces in the pole above the slide but both made it out unscathed if covered in dirt.
We found Uno, No Mercy at the Airbnb and the boys are excited to give it a try— especially because the front of the box showed a 10+ card!
