There were things to be seen today, and I made a valiant effort.
The 24-hour transport pass I bought yesterday gave me enough time to do some morning and early-afternoon exploration before I had to do some glamorous nomadery from the little table in my hotel room.
Gothenburg is Sweden’s second-largest city. I can’t find the reference now, but while I was looking for places to go I read it as being like Stockholm’s casual jeans-wearing cousin. It is home to many students as well as the home city of Volvo which was founded here in 1927.
So there’s clearly lots to see and do.
I decided that I’d start with the church at the top of my road, the Oscar Fredriks Kyrka, because it was the first thing I noticed when I arrived for check-in yesterday. It’s a splendid example of Northern European brick Gothic, built in red glazed brick. It opened on Easter Sunday in 1893, and is named after King Oscar II, who visited in 1898 and signed the guest book (I think I was stupid not to do the same; I could have had something named after me). At 70 metres in height, it is Gothenburg’s tallest building, which is surprising because there are a lot of towery-looking things around the port which look as if they could be taller.
Outside, there’s little to see because of some sort of renovation work on the outside which means the church is currently covered with scaffolding and plastic sheeting. That of the building I could see was basked in sunlight, so having determined it is still possible to get inside I went for a look around, and I was glad I made the effort.
The interior is an appealing green colour, set off in the chancel by some extra lighting which is helped by light coming in through the five stained glass windows at the east end. At the west end under the massive organ are paper, crayons and easels so people can be inspired to draw what they see. Hannah has a spectacular piece of work in progress which I’d love to see when it’s finished. Other people’s work is left for passing admiration.
Feeling suitably pious and impressed I’d not burst into flames upon entry, there was a short tram ride to the central station for general looking about and locating the tat emporia for a later visit. The weather changed in the afternoon and I ended up in the Trädgårdsföreningen park where I quickly found myself in the 19th-century palm house feeling much warmer than I had outside. It was a fun way to spend a dreary afternoon and after some lunch at Kaffe Kid on my way back to the hostel, I had some more work to do until the early evening.
My evening was quiet but I went out for an after-dark stroll to see what was going on (nothing). Impressed by the queues I’d seen at lunch time outside the Falafel House on Värmlandsgatan, I decided to try it myself and had a wondrous falafel wrap with pickles and chillies that probably merited more than the 5,30€ I paid for it and a can of Pepsi. Clearly I’m eating myself classy, and so far that’s been the best bang-for-buck abligurition in Sweden.
I’ve extended my stay by another night, for logistical reasons and also because I like it here.
I had been hoping to go to Oslo from here but the person I had hoped to stay with went quiet for a week until earlier today, by which time I’d already elected to visit a friend in the west of Denmark. This annoyed me a little because I was expecting to then go on to Trondheim and, perhaps, Bodø, but I suppose the joy of the unlimited ticket is I can change my mind at any moment and decide to go wherever my whimsy takes me.
Stockholm Hosts talked about a night train to Kiruna. I’d quite like to go to to Tallinn again, and that could be achieved quickly with a boat and then a train to Helsinki.
