Wednesday June 28th we took a bus from Oslo to Gothenburg. Just to clarify in Swedish it's called Göteborg. This was a first for us, taking a bus long distance instead of a train, but it ended up being cheaper and faster. In some ways it was a lot easier, there's no rush getting onto the bus and trying to figure out where you are going to put your luggage like it is on a train. The bus came into the station for 15 minutes or more and you put the luggage underneath like a normal coach bus. But downside is, you can't really walk around on a bus, there is no bar/cafe car on a bus and there's only one tiny bathroom. All in all it was a pleasant journey and some very pretty views coming into Sweden. First impressions of Gothenburg were not great. There is a LOT of construction here, it seems like everywhere you go there's a big hole in the ground and they are building something. Even though Gothenburg is on the water, there doesn't seem to be much to look at, except big shipping cranes and ferries, and plain brick buildings on the water's edge. Where we are staying is outside city center but there's not much around. We are close to the water and there is a decent little promenade with restaurants and some shops along it, but overall not the prettiest. Our Airbnb though is fabulous, 3 story townhouse, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a big kitchen and living room, a front and back courtyard, with a park in front of us and behind us. The only downside is, it's a personal property again and there's no place to unpack clothes, except onto the floor. Luckily I pack in packing cubes, so I basically live out of those anyway.
Thursday June 29th I put together a walking tour of the city that I found online and we took a ferry across the river to the starting point. We actually found some very lovely areas that seemed hidden by all the boring buildings and construction sites. Such as, lots of green parks, nice older pedestrian only shopping streets lined with cafes and unique shops and a cool food market hall. I found some yummy gluten free Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, gravy, lingonberries, peas and pickles (and no, not from Ikea!) I was a happy camper!
Kyle shaking hands with a statue in front of the Fish Church-unfortunately it was closed for repairs.
Pretty fountain and flowers in one of the parks.
Friday June 30th Paul really wanted to go check out the Volvo Museum since Gothenburg is the home to Volvo. We explored the museum and saw lots of old Volvo cars, trucks and buses. It was a nice little museum, but definitely more aimed for car-lovers. It didn't take us too long, so afterwards Paul headed back towards our Airbnb and the boys and I headed to downtown to see the science museum, although we never made it there. Next to the science museum is an amusement park called Liesberg, which the boys decided would be a lot more fun than the science museum! They had a ticket where I could gain admission into the park but not ride any rides, which was great, because rides these days aren't my favorite thing. I ended up sitting in the biergarten drinking some wine, reading my book and people watching all those beautiful Swedes as the boys enjoyed the rides.
On Saturday July 1st we took a ferry out to the islands in the archipelago. It was beautiful out there. We went to the most southern of the islands called Vrango and took a little hike around the untouched areas of the island. It was so cool to see the island covered in rock and grasses. Felt like you were away from everything. The boys found a spot to fly a kite and we played on a cute playground in the center of town. We eventually got back to the ferry where we decided to go to another island. Halfway through our walk around Donso it started pouring. We had rain coats and umbrellas, but those did little for our legs, which were soaked! I had used a waterproof spray on our shoes before we left Charlotte and it worked like a charm for the boys and I, but unfortunately, Paul had very wet and cold feet. We eventually found the only hotel/restaurant on the little island and tucked in for some food for the kids, drinks for Paul and I waiting it out until the next ferry. By the time we finally got back to our apartment, we were all extremely wet. We found a cute playground to play on.
After resting for a bit and drying off, Paul and I decided we should go out for our last night in Gothenburg. We walked down to the water's edge and found a little Italian restaurant that had a 4-seater bar in it. We sat at the bar and made friends with Johan, the bar tender from Peru who moved with his family to Sweden when he was 10 years old. Then two people came in and started setting up to play live music. There was an older couple sitting at a table close by and the woman came up to us and told us this was their daughter who was going to be singing. They were very proud of her, and rightfully so, she did a great job! She sang a few songs in Swedish but then switched to English, I think specifically for Paul and I, since we were the only American's in that restaurant. I think Johan wanted to shock Paul and I and gave us a shot of something from Argentina. Paul was a trooper and knocked it back with Johan, I took a very baby sip of it-it was awful!! I did force myself to have a few more tiny sips, but there was no way I was finishing that shot. We felt like locals leaving that bar, saying good bye to everyone. A great way to finish our trip to Sweden....until later that night when we discovered someone had stolen our credit card details and charged a hotel in South Carolina! We assume someone obtained our info months ago and just got around to trying it out, because we've been out of the US for a month now. We freaked out for a little bit when we realized we had to cancel our credit card-the only thing we've been using to pay for everything over here. We are left with an Am Ex, which isn't really accepted many places and a debit card, which charges international fees on every transaction. We asked the credit card company to send the new card to an Airbnb we are staying at a week out. Figuring we just had to deal with it for 1 week. But thank goodness for modern digital technology, our new card was accessible on our bank App, which we could add to Apple Pay and Pay Pal and start using tap to pay with it immediately! Luckily we are in the world of tap to pay everywhere. Crisis averted. Walking to the Italian restaurant, this little gem was parked in the harbour! If you can't read it, it's very close to my name underneath! ;)
