Göteborg Helgen

Göteborg has lots of new trams, but still keeps some of the old ones maintained and running the downtown routes. This one goes to the amusement park.

Last weekend we were invited to a PhD graduation party in Göteborg (called Gothenberg in English). the party was on a Saturday night, so we decided to spend a little extra time on Sunday looking around the city. The party was lovely, and the city was very nice too. Göteborg is on the West coast of Sweden, and between the jet stream and it being further South than Stockholm it has a different climate. The first thing we noticed is that spring is a lot further ahead there, with cherry blossoms and bulbs and forsythia and even magnolia, which I have never seen in Stockholm.

Göteborg was founded 400 years ago as a merchant/trading port at the river delta and is the second-largest city in Sweden. Lots of the architecture reflects seagoing heritage, its 2 big universities give it a youthful vibe, and it has a history of production and manufacturing as well. Volvo is headquartered here, and if we had spent more time I would have been tempted to go to Volvo World.

We are not in general big on shopping, but it is neat to walk through a new city and see all the downtown shops and cafés.

Multi-media extra: Håkan Hellström is a popular singer-songwriter in Sweden, and one of his earlier (and still popular songs) is ‘Känn igen sorg för mig Göteborg’ (Don’t cry for me Gothenberg). Coles notes: a young man lost in the nightlife, finds emptiness, does not want pity.