Confession time: I did a big roadtrip through most of Europe and completely forgot to write about it.
I would go back and write about it now but… I fear it has been too long and my memory will be somewhat hazy. Of both the order and the activities. I have pictures to back these things up, of course, but somehow I still manage to mess things up (case and point: Mexico).
So, a quick surmise of the roadtrip:
- Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
- Unsuccessful camping
- Lots and lots of castles (including Lichtenstein Castle which is not in Liechtenstein the Country. And also spelt differently, something I’ve only recently learnt)
- New Zealand reunions
And here, have a picture. Don’t say I don’t spoil you.
So, speaking of reunions, the purpose of the subject of this post was to visit my friend currently living in Sweden. Niels, my Dutch friend, who I met in New Zealand, and now lives in Sweden… it does get a little confusing.
Now, I could probably split this into two posts, but due to time constraints (meaning I have more travels to post about), it shall be condensed down to one. Onwards and upwards, James!
My friend lives in Gothenburg, southwest Sweden. Naturally I spent most of my time there, with a few trips out. There were several viewpoints we visited within the city/just outside.
The city itself is my kind of city. Walkable, with a lovely mixture of urban and greenery. You walk for five minutes from the centre and you can be in a huge, sprawling park (with a small zoo-type thing in it… unexpected).
A lot of the trip was weather-dependent. Several days were spent hiding inside due to an unfortunate amount of rain. We did have one very nice day, where we took a trip out to a small fishing town called Fjällbacka.
It is mostly known as a summer tourist destination, but there were plenty of lovely spots, including a hike that took us up on to the big rock that dominants the centre of the “village”. Naturally, this provided exceptional views.
Another daytrip was out to Styrsö Island, one of the (many) Gothenburg archipelagos.
This, I must say, was a very cute experience. Again, mostly a summer destination for a lot of tourists, it was nice to see the place in the quiet season. This is generally a theme in my travels (intentional, before you question that).
The only way for the locals to get to and from the city is by ferry, and without a car. This leads to a very peaceful environment to wander. Plenty of hiking trails to keep you occupied, too.
My favourite thing about it though is that there are no cars. Admittedly we did see a few, but they were all workmen (how they got their vans on to the island I still have no idea). But instead of cars, the locals mostly have bikes with biiiig trays on the front to carry things around with.
OR, in even more spectacular fashion, they ride around in these things:
How cool would that be?! My kind of place.
The last thing of major note that I did in Sweden, would be a lovely kayak trip along the river that curves through Gothenburg.
I have to count myself as lucky, for my friend works for the kayak rental place so I got to go for free, wahey!
I feel I got very lucky with the weather as well. Mostly blue skies for my whole trip (for that day, at least). Other tourists loved the idea of a lone kayaker traversing the city. Pretty sure I’m famous across many countries, now.
There are a lot of strange sights along the banks of Gothenburg, most notably a place called the Feskekôrka. The literal translation of this odd building is: “Fish Church”.
That’s right, my friends, Gothenburg is home to a faux-church which is actually a fish market. They have a strange humour, I won’t lie. But, it does at least mean that it has some charm.
That about sums Sweden up, in a very condensed fashion. A very enjoyable trip, one that has managed to make it on to the blog (unlike the Europe roadtrip, that was arguably bigger and better).
As I write this, I am currently in Scotland. So, I’m sure (/really hoping) there will also be a post about this in the near future.
A Weary Traveller 