Today I am writing about the second largest city in Sweden, Göteborg (Gothenburg).  Göteborg is located on the West coast of Sweden and has a population of about 500,000.  I had been wanting to go to Göteborg for the longest time, but I just never seemed to get around to it.  Sometimes I think that you take a country for granted when you live there and think I will go there someday or next time.  I said this very sentence about many places in Italy when I was living in Rome, and today I have several regrets of a few places I never made it out to.  I decided I would not have them this time around living in Sweden, so I made sure that my wanting to visit Göteborg became a reality.  Train tickets and cheap hotel booked, we set out for a long weekend in October.  Although October is not the ideal month to travel in Sweden, it was still very beautiful and we ended up having very nice weather (sunny) despite the chill factor.

Götaplatsen Public Square

Our hotel was nothing to write home about and it felt very far out so we ended up losing so much time walking to and from the hotel.  Our rule was that once we left the hotel we were not coming back until the evening, meaning we were on the go all day long!  Once out and about I instantly had a great feeling and vibe about the city.  There was something about the laid back city and its people that made it feel friendly and welcoming.  This could also be that Göteborg is home to two large universities in Sweden, Göteborgs universitet (University of Gothenburg) and Chalmers tekniska högskoka (Chalmers University of Technology), making it also a very student-friendly city.  Everywhere you looked, there were students walking, studying or catching up in cafes giving off a very cozy feeling and reminding me of my student days long ago.

City view of Göteborg

Skansen Kronan

Oscar Fredriks kyrka (Oscar Fredrik's Church)

There were many things to see and do that we were not sure where to start first, so we decided to walk into the city and get a feel for it.  One of the main attractions in Göteborg, which we did not go to, is Liseberg.  Liseberg is the largest amusement park in Scandinavia and attracts about 3 million people yearly.  In the summertime, there are also many live perfomances and concerts.   After walking for a few hours, it was time for a snack and went to the Saluhall (Food Hall) where we snacked on delicious pastries and coffee.  I think that I like the Saluhall in Göteborg better than the one in Stockholm because it was housed in an older building and seemed to be more authentic with more food vendors and choices for everyone.  Our next stop was the district of Haga with picturesque wooden houses from the 19th century.  You will also find several Bohemian streets near Haga full of cafes, shops and restaurants.  We enjoyed a nice and cheap vegetarian buffet lunch at Andrum.

Later that afternoon we headed to Botaniska Trädgården (The Botanical Gardens), which also has a very nice cafe/restaurant in the middle.  It was absolutely beautiful in the gardens, full of trees, flowers, a greenhouse and a rock garden!  The Botanical Gardens are also perfect for taking a long walk or enjoying a picnic lunch, weather permitting of course.  We finished off the day by heading to Skansen Kronan (Crown Keep), which is a hilltop fortification located on the southern part of the city and was built in the 17th century.  Once you are at the top of the hill you will get a spectacular view of Göteborg.

The following day we walked out to Slottsskogen (Castle Forest), which is a very large park located in the city.  Within the park you will find several attractions to keep you busy: a mini golf course, an observatory, a museum, a small zoo with Swedish animals, a large pond with seals and penguins and a Swedish heritage area with houses from the many counties of Sweden.  Slottsskogen is also home to the annual Way Out West Festival.  The Way Out West Festival is a three day music festival held in August, mainly hosting artists in rock, hip-hop and and electronic music.

For our last day in Göteborg, we decided to head out to the archipelago!  Göteborgs skärgård (Southern Gothenburg Archipelago) is located outside of Göteborg with ferries running daily thanks to most islands being populated.  One unique fact about  Göteborgs skärgård is that it is completely care free, transportation is carried out via bicycles, ferries, and mopeds.  It is truly a unique and peaceful place to relax, ideally for a long weekend.   Göteborgs skärgård landscape also differs a bit from the Stockholm Archipelago as it is more rocky and has less of a beach coast line than you find in the Stockholm Archipelago.  Since we only had one day, we chose the island of Styrsö to spend our afternoon in.  It is a small island with about 1000 people living permanently on it.  Since it was October there was not much going on so we just spent our time exploring and enjoying the island of Styrsö!

Talia Klundt is the Europe Editor for Wandering Educators

All photos courtesy and copyright Talia Klundt