Today marks my first full day in Gothenburg. I got up at around 8 and had to check what time it was several times as it was still very dark. I was immediately reminded that Gothenburg is a bit north of us in Kenosha so it makes sense. Surprisingly it appears that we are just under a thousand miles north of Kenosha, not to mention about 4,200 miles east. I had actually slept very well. I jumped in the shower and went to breakfast.
I had breakfast at the hostel across the street, went back to my room, then was in the lobby of the hostel at 10:50 for a bus tour around the city. It lasted around 3 hours, but we got out of the bus several times and walked around, checking out some of the sites of the city. Our first stop was at a place called The Fish Church. It looks like a church but is really a fish market.
Next, we stopped at a large statue of Poseidon, which is at the top of a street which is named Kungsportsavenyn but is more commonly refered to as Avenyn. Think a Swedish Michigan Avenue. At the top of the street, they had a nice museum and a statue of Viktor Hasselblad, who started a camera company in Gothenburg called Hasselblad. Hasselblad cameras were used on the moon when we first landed. They know that there are atleast 6 Hasselblads left on the moon, but that number could be as high as 8. They arent exactly sure. Buzz Aldrin actually came to unveil the statue as he used the cameras on the moon.
We got back in and We stopped at a church that the locals call Christinae Church (after Queen Christina who inaugurated the church in 1748) and I added my name to the visitor book.
We jumped back in and were informed about some of the history of the city’s not defunct ship yards. Our tour guide spoke about the large crane, which can be seen in the photo below. She spoke on how the shipyard was a large employer but was beat out by it’s asian competition and sent it’s last ship out in 1989. During this period there was a fair bit of concern as to if the city would survive. They did, and have actually thrived into a really unique city. The crane is actually a point of pride for them. Next, We stopped at a church that overlooks the city and took some photos.
We ended the tour at a little cafe in a neighborhood called Haga, and had a giant cinnamon roll called Fika. I thought that it was pretty good, but I’m partial to the cinnamon roll that I have eaten for as long as I can remember.
We wandered around the neighborhood and found another bar called Doktor Glas. I got a whisky sour. Drinks are a bit pricey here. I think my drink was 89 SEK, which is about 8.90 USD. To be more precise, 100 SEK is worth 10.50 USD.
We walked back to the hostel and recharged before dinner. It had been rainy all day, which I have been told is very typical of Sweden during the winter. We left for dinner and walked to a sports bar called O’Leary’s. I got a burger.
After dinner we walked back to the hostel and I called it for the night.
Daily Impressions
Do more research before walking to a resturant
Tobacco use is much more common here
Biking is easily possible year round here
The uber eats drivers are crazy on the roads
Alcohol is sold more logically here (my cl, so you can get 2, 4 or 6 cl and the spirits are priced by cl. They also have state controlled liquor distribution for anything over 3.5 percent)
Sam's Trip to Sweden 