Sweden and Norway are close neighbors. They have been close for centuries, as they share not just geographical border, but also some political and cultural aspects. Many of Norwegians tend to go shopping on Swedish borders because Sweden being part of the EU has some different products and often more affordable prices, and this was my driving force when D suggested we spend Easter holidays in Gotheburg.

I wasn’t in the mood to travel, as I have just gotten a new job as a museum guide and I had to prepare for it, but D thought it would be a good idea to take some time off. I agreed only under the condition that he takes over the planning and organizing. So it was.

We hopped on a local bus and drove 4 hours south to Sweden, witnessing a major shift in the weather when we crossed the border. Although we were later blessed with several heavy showers in Gothenburg, it was amazing to go from gray foggy to sun and bright in just minutes.

We stayed in Odin Hotel that belongs to a chain of Scandinavian hotels, very central to the train and buss station since we used the local transport to navigate the city.

The room was spacious with a kitchen and a small living room and the hotel had offered breakfast, dinner and afternoon fika, which was fantastic as we did not have to stress about searching for the restaurants and the afternoon sweets were very much welcomed not just by the younger member of the family but us as well.

Easter holidays meant that some activities were not running and some museums like the museum of Natural history was closed, but the outdoor playground and the Liseberg amusement park were open.

Playing outside in the mud and rain was much fun for our toddler than riding the roller coasters or seeing the rabbit show in Swedish.

We had a sunny day as well and we managed to hop on the free walking tour to hear a bit about the history of this second largest city in Sweden.

Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, with a population of about 1.1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area, Gothenburg is largely know as the birth city to Volvo cars, founded in 1927. At the time of our visit the Volvo museum was closed and reopened as World of Volvo; an automotive museum and experience center in late April 2024.

The city was founded in the early 1600 by King Gustavus Adolphus as a heavily fortified, and primarily Dutch, trading colony.

Gothenburg today is widely know as a student city thanks to the two major universities; University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology.

 

 

I was surprised to find out that such a small city has a large art collection with more than 70 000 works of not just Nordic artist but international as well.

In search for van Goghs paintings around the world (Europe for most, now), I stumbled on some favorites of mine like Monet or beloved homie Edvard Munch in Gothenbrug Museum of Art (Göteborgs konstmuseum).

In search of excitement we often reach out to far away destinations that are completely wrong. The idea might be great, but the concept not so much. Because what is near to us, it is far away for someone else, and even close by cities and attractions have the sam magnetism as some destination abroad. The point is, even my assumption of Gothenburg being boring and non-interesting, proved to be wrong. The city offers so much to all generations, to big and small, to art lovers and adrenaline addiction one.

Even with few rainy days our Gothenburg getaway was a fantastic way to get to know fika custom a bit more.

What is fika, you’re wondering? Stay tuned, it’s coming up!