Gothenburg
We were fortunate enough to fly and explore Sweden for 3 weeks during May and June 2023, in their Spring time. The weather was lovely and varied between 14°c and 22°c during the day. You’ll find the locals tanning on any given day Spring day where there’s full sunshine and the temperature is over 15°c. While the locals are tanning in their swimming costume on their balconies or in the park, I find myself dressed in at least three layers, with boots and wearing a beanie. 15°c in South Africa would be considered a winter’s day, for these locals, it’s summer! We stayed at the Scandic Opalen which was excellent and would highly recommend it for anybody wanting to visit Gothenburg. It’s located very central to public transport, touristic areas, parks, museums and restaurants.
Sweden is big on e-cars and being environmentally conscious. You’ll find charging stations all over and along with lots of e-car models such as BMW, Tesla, Volvo, VW etc.
To get around the city, you have several options. You will find your trams, trains, metro, busses as well as e-scooters. We always try to make use of every type of public transport during our visit.
- Download the To Go (Vasttrafik) app. You can use this app to search your to and from location, and it will tell you which trams, busses, trains or ferry to use. It’s specific to the colour, number and time. It will give you a breakdown of your whole trip and you never have to worry about a thing. The public transport is on time and works efficiently. You can load your card on the app and choose to purchase a single journey (which is normally valid for 90 minutes), or choose from several other options such as daily, weekly or monthly deals. We noticed that Gothenburg relies heavily on the trust system when getting on public transport. During our two week stay, we were not asked once to present out purchased ticket. However, if you are caught using public transport without purchasing a ticket, you are fined 1 500 SEK.
- You will find various branded e-scooters everywhere in the city. Every brand has it’s own app which you can download and sign up. The brands differ in payment. Some charge per km, some charge when switch it on etc. We used Tier. You pay to unlock the e-scooter (12 SEK) and then pay per minute (3 SEK) that you ride. When you’re done, you park it, take a photo of it and then end your ride.
You’ll find the streets are designed in such a way that there is always enough space for pedestrians, two lanes for civilians on bikes or e-scooters, and separate lanes for the cars. Talk about efficiency!
A recommended nature reserve to visit in Gothenburg is the Delsjoomradten. I was fortunate enough to spend the day catching up with my high school friend who I had met in Kazakhstan who lives in Denmark. He travelled by ferry for 3.5 hours from Denmark to reach Gothenburg. At Delsjoomradten Nature Reserve, there is a 10km route around the lake with 298m elevation gain. You’ll find all ages either walking, running, cycling or riding a horse. There are also boats you can rent and row out into the waters. It has the most gorgeous views with the combination of the lake and the forestry.
Their traditional food is mash with meatballs with a creamy gravy and lingonberry jam/sauce. Smörgåstårta is a dish that is known to be served on special occasions such as namnsdagar (the day a name is given to a child), graduations and funerals.
Maritiman museum is a fascinating visit where visitors can explore various ships that went out to war. Visitors can go into ships and see the size of the rooms, what rooms there were. It’s just incredible to see how large the ship is, yet to think of living aboard for several months, could feel quite space constraint. However, I can image it would be easy to get lost. You would literally run in circles looking for each other. Purchase your ticket online prior to your visit to save some money.
Dedicate about 2 hours to spend at the Universeum. It’s made up of 3 floors of incredibly cool sections exploring topics of visuals, matrix (maths), space, the chemistry lab, human, ocean zone, reptilarium (reptile + aquarium) and an impressive rain forest. Each section has very interactive consoles available in both Swedish and English. Don’t be afraid to play around and try out everything you can. The area of the tropical rainforest is mind-blowing. It’s temperature and humidity has been adapted to represent the tropical environment. So brace yourself for a very warm (25°c) and 83% humidity wet feeling as you enter the doors. Take a moment and listen to the sounds, the flow of water, observe the birds and your surroundings.
We enjoyed a late afternoon boat ride with a guide around Gothenburg. Their architecture and skyscrapers are impressive to see. One also feels so small as you pass these massive ships that roam the waters. We were later also fortunate enough to enjoy an evening on the boat, filled with buckets of delicious seafood, fun entertainment and wonderful colleagues.
Visit the Avenyn which is made up of restaurants, pubs, shops and a mall or two. It is a very touristy area, so the prices are high. However, you’ll find a mixture of various cultures in their menu from local, to French, Turkish, Greek, Indian, Pakistani, Mexican and even Thai.
Make sure you visit the impressive Gothenburg Central station too. There are lots of small cafes, stalls and pretty impressive setup with all the forms of transport that passes through the station.
I took up the opportunity to enjoy a sauna experience during our stay in Gothenburg. I was well aware that the sauna’s were not gender specific.
TMI but funny story regarding the entrance to the sauna: I had a good giggle when I mistook “herr” for ‘her’ in English and got changed in that room. Only to realise when I exited that the other change room had the word “Dam” on it. It took me a second to realise, Dame in French means woman. Note for future, dam = female and herr = male.
