July 16, 2025
Our 4 month trip-a-versary! Today saw more homeschool in the morning and exploring the city on our bikes in the afternoon. Meme also snuck in a tooth check with some dental instruments she brought from home. The boys might have a few problem spots we need to get checked out at some point during the trip.
We started our city exploration at the Rundetaarn (Round Tower) downtown and walked up the spiral ramp inside. We were thrilled to see a kids’ scavenger hunt and stickers when we got in. The kids had to find the corresponding animals on the windows of the tower to then add them to their map. This was a hit with both boys and prevented them from complaining about the climbing entirely. At the top, Kyle and I shared a rhubarb juice which was sadly more sweet than bitter and Len enjoyed his first ever candy necklace.
Kyle, my dad, and Ollie all enjoyed authentic Danish hotdogs for lunch while my mom and I searched for a bakery to grab some sandwiches. Ollie took his nearly fully loaded (mustard, ketchup, raw onions, crunchy onions and pickles) though he ate the pickles one by one before eating the rest of the hot dog. After watching everyone eating, Len decided he also needed a hot dog for lunch so he and Kyle went back in the queue.
Next it was time for the long awaited Lego store trip. Len has been fired up to go since my Mom told him they would buy him an early birthday present while in Denmark together since we’ll still be traveling in October. Len has reminded our entire group at least 5 times a day that he was promised a trip to the Lego store and that he is set on getting a submarine. We don’t know where this submarine obsession came from but its been his favorite topic of conversation our entire time in Denmark. Thankfully, the submarine was in stock so Len gleefully held onto it and walked around the store while Ollie struggled to make a choice himself. After making a few more laps around the store, he ended up with two smaller super hero legos.
Next, at my dad’s direction, we biked towards the Nyhavn neighborhood to check out the canals and colorful houses. When there, we made the last minute decision to take a 60 minute canal tour by boat. The boys were not thrilled with this decision but the lure of snacks (cinnamon sugar nuts from a street vendor) while on the boat got them over the hump. We saw a ton of the main architectural landmarks on the tour and it was fun to compare the view of Copenhagen by water versus that of Amsterdam. We saw the back of the famous Little Mermaid statue which felt fine by us as the mobs of tourists and tour buses gathered on land there removed any motivation we might have had to try and see the front as well. We were sat at the back of the boat so the noise from the engine competed with the tour guide, but we did pick up that at one point the water in Copenhagen was so dirty that all citizens took to drinking beer for hydration— even kids!
We biked home in the drizzling rain then parked the bikes before walking to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for dinner. Kyle and my mom stayed at the apartment while my dad, me and the boys made our way to the store. Len insisted on sitting in the seat on the grocery cart but soon after complained of feeling “trapped” so we delicately extricated him from the seat without tipping over the cart. We picked up ingredients to make a fresh summer tomato sauce with pasta, mozzarella, basil and pine nuts and a double batch of garlic bread to go with.
While I cooked dinner, lego submarine construction began with Len being assisted by Kyle. Ollie insisted on building his two superheroes on his own and was successful save for a few minor hiccups which caused some backtracking. Lenny’s lego box noted that it was for ages 9 and up and Len says to Kyle, “You’re not 9 but you’re up!” Half of Len’s submarine was built before dinner was ready but he insisted on trying to finish in one evening even though we told him it would be at least a 4 hour endeavor. We told him he could either work on his submarine or watch a movie with Ollie after dinner. He tried to get the best of both worlds by requesting to, “build the submarine while you clean up then I’ll also watch the movie with Ollie.”
Everyone enjoyed a frozen bounty bar (coconut ice cream and chocolate) for dessert. We’re hoping we can find these at home in the states because they are so tasty! It was my turn to put the boys to bed and we followed our usual routine:
Each boy selects a post by the “pottery boy” (@sunriseceramics.co) on Instagram to watch,
Each boy selects a song to listen to on Spotify, and
I select a final song to close out the night. Tonight, Len selected The Use in Trying by Alessia Cara from the Paw Patrol movie, Ollie chose The Other Side from the Greatest Showman and then he asked that I choose Rewrite the Stars, also from the Greatest Showman, for my song. I asked him if he likes songs about love and he grinned massively but then covered his face with the covers.
