Easter Weekend in Göteborg

King Gustaf II Adolf

We took our first inner Sweden trip this weekend to the country’s second largest city, Göteborg (pronunciation link). Gothenburg is the English name for the city.

The King of Swat

Located on the western shores of Sweden, Göteborg has a rich history of seafaring trade. The official founding of the city is anchored in the 1621 declaration by King Gustaf II Adolf that, “The town shall be here.” A statue of a pointing king commemorating this declaration is reminiscent of our own King of Swat, Babe Ruth, declaring the placement of his next home run in the 1932’s World Series.  We, however, had far less certainty of what to expect when we arrived on the train from Stockholm.   

The Viking

We wandered city streets and the pedestrian walkways and were delighted to discover that not everything was closed. Dinner that evening was on a 1906-built four-masted sailing ship that once ferried Australian wheat to market and was now converted to a hotel / restaurant. 

 mounted whale w/seating inside 

The next morning we headed to Slottsskogen, an expansive park, to visit the Natural History Museum.  Our first pleasant surprise was to learn that our 40 crown each ($6) entrance fee included admission to four other museums, as well!  The Natural History Museum is a gem, offering exhibits on fish, mammals, birds, human evolution and a “bucket list” qualifying exhibit of the world’s only stuffed blue whale. Benches along the interior of the whale attest that Jonah-like visits were once encouraged.  

 City Museum next to Canal

Exhibits inside City Museum

The City Museum was another gem.  Jay, a history buff on early European spice trading, was humbled to discover that the museum building was once the headquarters of the Swedish East Indian Company.  Who knew the Swedes had an Indian trading company? There were excellent exhibits on Göteborg’s history, artifacts and old photos, all in a magnificent building. Late in the afternoon we stopped at a grocery store then retired to the Royal Hotel for wine, cheese, crusty bread, salad and a movie. 

Flowers made of tiny shells

Our final day included a long walk along the 19^th century constructed Göta Canal and a visit to the Maritime Museum and Aquarium. We skipped the aquarium, but were again impressed with the museum’s displays. Insights on boat building, harbor construction and hundreds of models from 400 year old sailing vessels to modern seagoing luxury and cargo ships filled the exhibit space. Boats in bottles and other seamen handicraft also shared space with a model of the MS Stockholm that has a place in history for colliding with and sinking the Andrea Doria in 1956. Large pictorial exhibits told the story of Swedish emigrants  awaiting passage to America. They were the travelers with true adventure stories to share.

Water bus in foreground

We ended the day with a short ride on one of the “water buses” that ply the canal with predictable regularity.  Back on the train by 3:45, we felt our own weekend adventure had been filled with home runs.