July 15, 2025
Kayleen found an early yoga class and was out the door before 7AM. The rest of us slept in a bit later and then had breakfast before our first big adventure, picking up our bikes. We all got ready and headed out for the half a mile walk to the bike shop. We passed a school on the way that had a race track which the boys could not pass up. That followed by a quick climb up the rope diamond course and we were back on track to the bikes.
After a direction mishap that sent us into the metro station we found the bikes. The shop was down a flight of stairs halfway into a metro station, on the other side of the road from where we first went. The bikes are all nice and new which is always a relief with rentals. They helped us adjust all the bikes to our liking and get them up the stairs before we set off. Meme and Papa are new to riding in the city but got the hang of it quickly. We rode back to our apartment to drop off all the battery chargers before heading to our first big park.
We headed to a large park called Fælledparken with the main attraction being The Traffic Playground. It’s an enclosed area inside the larger park that has many small roads with lines painted, traffic lights, traffic signs, etc… for kids to ride their bikes and scooters on to learn. They also give kids helmets and bikes to use in the park for free!
I waited in line with the boys for bikes their size to be returned while Kayleen hunted for food for the group. Ollie got his bike first and went off with Papa. Lenny and I waited for a bit until settling for a balance bike that was available.
Ollie was a bit wobbly at first and fell of in front of us as he was worried he would hit a little girl zipping around on a balance bike. He got up unharmed and nodded that he was OK and kept on riding. By the end Kayleen had taught him how to start from a standstill on his own and he was fully feeling the joy of riding independence. Lenny finished with the balance bike and wanted to go to a nearby park but Ollie wanted to keep riding and was counting his laps around the track. He begged us to come back every day we are here. He also did confirm that he fell a few times while he was out of sight and was able to get up with his bike and just start going again. I was especially proud of him for that.
We all continued our ride around the larger Fælledparken which is filled with playgrounds, a splash pad, massive open fields, and a large pond. We stopped for ice cream half way through our ride and then continued through the park eventually stopping at a playground that looked too cool to pass up.
The boys played on the slides and did time trials going up the castle steps and down the slides. Somehow even knowing it was a race they did not push the kids in front of them when they got stuck in a line. A large helicopter flew very low over the park which caused a bit of excitement and noise but that noise was nothing compared to two little boys screaming into sound pipes with all their might. They did this for 5 minutes right next to me and Kayleen before we had to move from our seats. The boys were OK with leaving so we took it as a signal to move on.
We continued our ride back into the city and did a full loop of the five damned lakes in the middle of the city. The bike lanes are way better than NYC but we though Amsterdam was easier to navigate even with the narrower roads. We made it home for some quiet time after a full day.
Meme and Papa stayed in with the boys so Kayleen and I could go out to dinner. Kayleen found a place called Cleo that looked nice so we headed there on the e-bikes. It was very nice for me to be on a normal bike without the two wigglers in the front bucket.
The plan was to stop at a nearby cocktail bar before for a drink but when we arrived it was closed, another Google hours fail, though this one would turn out to save us in the end. We headed to the restaurant and were able to sit down at 8:30 even though our reservation wasn’t till 9. The oysters stole the show at dinner, more so Kayleen’s with watermelon, smoked soy, and fermented chili. The rest of the dinner was OK but a bit heavy with creamy sauces everywhere.
We headed home instead of getting desert as we could see the storm clouds rolling in. We just beat the real rain storm home by a few minutes so thanks Google!
