Gothenburg

For the trip from Oslo to Gothenburg, there was some rail work going on which meant I'd have to take a bus from Oslo to Moss, and from Moss we'd take the train to Gothenburg. The bus ride was a nice change of pace, seeing the highways and tunnels of Scandinavia. The train ride was nicer, I was in the quiet car (didn't stop a guy from taking a phone call, sigh) and was reading on my Kindle. I looked up while reading and smiled at the amazing view of the countryside rolling by.

"Auto Awesome" picture of the view

When I arrived in Gothenburg, I walked to my hotel. My hotel was just a kilometer away, and I didn't think it'd be worth paying a transit ticket. Plus I'd get to see a bit of the city as I walked by.

Train from Moss in Gothenburg

My train at Gothenburg central station

The hotel I booked was really nice. It's the Mornington Hotel Stravaganza in Gothenburg and it's considered a "boutique" hotel. It's themed with butterflies and is reminiscent of something you'd see for Tomorrowland. My room, while small, was well equipped and I had free breakfast, so I was really happy.

Hotel room as you step in

The bathroom

Shower

Looking back from near the window

I ate at a local restaurant and took that night pretty easily, looking up what I'd do the following day. The next day I took out my camera and went around to the local sights, and you can see those pictures on the Flickr album for Gothenburg.

My first stop was the Skansen Kronan (Crown Keep), which is a 17th century fortification in the city. It's a climb to get up there, but the views are fantastic. It was also surprisingly quiet, a few tourists were there but it almost seemed like a hidden gem in the city.

A short walk from the keep is the Haga district, which has lots of little cafes and shops. It has that traditional European pedestrian street feel to it, though nothing like the old town of Stockholm.

From there I took the tram to the end of the line, at Saltholmen, where they have ferries that take you to the southern archipelago. Taking the ferry was interesting. There's a large seating area inside, a cafe upstairs, and an outdoor area that's great for taking in the sights (and where I took pictures).

I took the ferry to Styrsö, one of the larger islands. It was like being transported to another world because the island didn't really have cars, most people either had bicycles or three-wheeled motorbikes with a flat area in front to put bags or whatever. A few people had golf carts. The only cars were for like ambulances or construction.

While walking around the island, it started to rain. Since I was walking down a residential area, I had nowhere to go but try to make it back to the docks before I got drenched. I ended up getting wet but luckily I had my DSLR camera safe in the sleeve I carry it around in. I got lunch there at a small cafe (rain lasted only a few minutes) and waited to take the ferry back in town.

I made my way back to the hotel to rest a bit, walking through the "King's park" on the way. It was just a small green area but I still love the small little green areas in European cities.

I went back out to go to Slottsskogen, a large park in the city. Unfortunately, a lot of the park was closed as they had just hosted "Way Out West" a few days before and were in the process of packing everything up. I went back to the hotel to drop off my camera before dinner and noticed something about the Burger King.

WTF

I was amused, and in my amusement I apparently snapped a picture of the ground without realizing it. The great thing about the picture is that it's something I never really considered taking a picture of. The cobbled streets are common across Europe, and would probably spawn millions of lawsuits if they existed that way in America. Luckily I didn't fall, but a few times I did nearly sprain my ankle.

Accidental picture

That evening I went to dinner at a vegetarian restaurant in the Haga district. The food was quite good, and I took the time to take a couple more pictures of the surroundings.

Across from the restaurant

Good place to eat

You can see the Crown Keep from here

The architecture is always great

More old trams!

The next day was the day I'd leave Scandinavia for Germany. I planned it so I'd go from Gothenburg to Copenhagen and change there for the train to Hamburg, spend a night in Hamburg, and go to Berlin the next day. I took some pictures outside of Gothenburg's train station.

All those trams!

The station is quite nice

I was a bit early at the station, but the train was originating there so I was able to watch it come in and promptly find a good, unreserved seat for the journey to Copenhagen.

Train arriving at platform 14!

I still can't get over how silly these trains look

Silly-looking train, but it'd bring me safely to Copenhagen!

I'll cover more about taking the ferry from Copenhagen to Hamburg in my next post. I didn't do much in Hamburg as I was really only stopping there one night to cut on the trip. Look for a combined Hamburg/Berlin post in the days to come!