Some weeks ago I had the chance to do a shorttrip to Gothenburg, Swedens second biggest city. Because I love Stockholm so much, I naturally had very high expectations of its "little sister". Too bad it was raining almost the whole weekend. Nevertheless, I liked the city very much. Although it has a little less charm than Stockholm and has less sightseeings, Gothenburg is ideal for a shopping weekend and a paradise for all those who like me love to stroll from café to café and eat cinnamon rolls up to dangerously high blood sugar levels.
One thing I always have to do when I'm in a nordic country is to take a ferry to an island in the archipelago. That was the first thing that I did when I arrived in Gothenburg - jumping into a tram that brought me to the ferry station. I visited the cute island of Brännö. It was my personal highlight of the weekend. I took a stroll along picturesque red houses and had a coffee (and cinnamon roll, off course) in the museum-like restaurant Brännö Värdshus.
Gothenburg seemed to want to pour all its rain over me, so I was glad to be able to warm up in a café after the island hopping. I stopped in the neighborhood of Haga, a lovely district with old "governor's houses" from the late 19th century. In Haga Nygata, one café follows another, each with delicacies in the shop window that make it difficult to just walk past.
I decided to continue braving the rain and started looking for an elk, another must during my nordic trips. I found it in the Slottskogen city park, a wonderful green park and as I heard the inhabitants' favourite place for picnic. Well, obviously not on rainy days because I was there quite alone and therefor had the opportunity to have a private conversation with lovely lady elk.
It continued to rain the next day. I used this circumstance as a good excuse to go shopping the whole day. Gothenburg is a paradise for people who like Nordic design. I quickly became successful - and poorer, too!
Besides the fantastic shops and cafés, Gothenburg has a lot of street art to offer. I heard that this is because of the 400th birthday of the town in 2021. Aren't those artworks amazing?
Gothenburg is a great city for a weekend and highly recommendable for people who like nordic design, cafés and cinnamon rolls. Here are some recommendations if you plan to visit the town:
- Where to stay: I stayed one night in the "Linnéplatsens Hotell & Vandrarhem", which is a great, modern and very clean hostel. Great for people who think they're too old for cheap hostels but who are too stingy to check into an expensive hotel for a few hours of sleep. I would have stayed here for some more nights! (--> Link).
- How to get to town: From the airport, the easiest way to get to town is to take the "Flygbusarna"-bus. It leaves evey 20 minutes and costs 99 SEK. Note: You can't pay cash in the bus so have your credit card ready.
- Cash is king? Not in Gothenburg! Sweden has the reputation of being the most cashless society in the world. I was surprised that in a lot of restaurants, they don't accept cash. And also the money to go on a public toilet you pay by card. I had hard times to get rid of my Swedish crowns. So make sure you don't take cash with you but a working credit card instead!
- The archipelago is calling: If you have time, take a ferry and explore the islands of Gothenburgs archipelago. Take tram no. 11 from the city center to Saltholmen ferry terminal and jump on a ferry. I visited Brännö, a very picturesque island, but there would be so many more!
- Have a coffee at Haga Nygata. Or why would you miss the biggest cinnamon rolls on the planet?
