A Weekend in Göteborg (Gothenburg)

Göteborg is fairly close to Jönköping so myself and a few of my fellow Villys (People from Vilhelmsro) traveled there for a quick weekend trip. We headed out on Saturday morning and returned on Sunday evening. Since arriving, I had not traveled anywhere so I really wanted to get out to see the rest of the world and what the other Swedish cities had to offer.

Göteborg was a pleasant surprise for me. It is the fifth largest city in the Nordic countries, with over one million people in the metropolitan area, but seemed like a small city while there. Coming from the country, I generally do not feel the safest in big cities, but so far in Sweden I have felt very comfortable walking around and not having to worry about anything.

Some highlights of the trip were the City Museum and seeing the many beautiful and old portions of the city. It was very interesting to learn how Göteborg came to be, starting all the way back with the Vikings, to now. Göteborg is even known as Little Amsterdam because it was designed similar to Amsterdam and was built by the Dutch. It is a port city so a ton of supplies have gone through the city throughout the course of time.




A few other stops were the Art Museum, the Natural History Museum, a park called Slottsskogen, and the Fish Church. I learned that I am not a huge fan of art, but I do like landscapes scenes of ships, olden times, or battles. I also was able to see the only stuffed blue whale in the world. The park was huge with many activities for children, a zoo, and plenty of ducks. The Zoo was unfortunately closed but the seals were still there so we checked those out. The Fish Church is not actually a church at all, it is a fish market! There were no fish left by the time we got there due to the early closing time on the weekends. (Things in Sweden open late and close early by USA standards).

I also tasted one of my favorite treats, Prinsesstårta, or in English, Princess cake. It is a traditional Swedish cake and is absolutely delicious. I could talk so much more about my adventure but that would spoil all the wonder. I would love to return in the spring to visit the amusement park, Liseberg. It is suppose to be one of the best amusement parks in Scandinavia! I had my great first travel experience since arrival in Göteborg. Hoping for many more to come!