GOTHENBURG (SWEDEN)

Following a most enjoyable 2 weeks in Stockholm I decided to visit Gothenburg and the regions of central Sweden just for a few days whilst I waited for my SCANRAIL pass to arrive in the post from the UK. The train trip to Gothenburg was fairly uneventful and despite there being some nice scenery, the rain managed to dampen (excuse the pun) my mood a little. I found Gothenburg to be a reasonably interesting city although it was quite different to Stockholm and gave off much more of an industrial vibe. The shipping port and harbour were like Stockholm, the centrepiece of the city although nowehere near as picturesque. However, I got a good view of the city and harbour area on a short boat cruise along many of the canals winding their way along the streets in the city centre. Also, as a half day trip I visited an island fortress which contained maritime history and a number of old cannons and artilleries used to defend Sweden from the Danes. The role play style explanation put on by the staff at the fortress made for an interesting history lesson of the region. Around the harbour I visited a number of interesting museums, including the extensive maritime museum and I also managed to get some good views of the city from one of the tall buildings on the harbours edge.

At the time of my visit to Gothenbur, the 'Gotha Soccer Cup' was also being played. Essentially this is the largest junior soccer tournament in the world and it meant there were literally thousands of 14-18 year olds walking around the city making a nuisance of themselves. Furthermore, the lack of accommodation available in the city meant I was forced to stay in a relatively expensive YMCA hostel a fair distance from the city centre and which was run by a bunch of crazy Russians...

On my return to Stockholm I stopped briefly in Linkoping and then took a bus to the small towns of Motala and Vadstena. The scenery around here was fantastic and I managed a number of great photos of the rolling plains filled with different grain crops, wildflowers and cute little red houses. I also managed a good look around the famous castle in Vadstena but unfortunately stayed too late and wasn't able to find both there or in Linkoping. In an act of desperation I continued onto the slightly bigger Norrkoping, but was again met with the same problem. In the end I was forced to sleep on a bench near the railway station for a few hours and then wondered around the city between 5am and 7am before taking a train to Stockholm. Following another fun filled weekend in Norrtalje, I gathered my stuff and headed off on a train from Stockholm to Oslo. Along the way I made a quick stop in Orebro, just for an hour or two and whilst there wasn't alot to see in the town the castle and nearby cathedral were quite impressive.

Unfortunately, I cannot complement any of this verbal description with photos because my camera and IPOD were stolen from my hostel in Oslo. However, my memories of these places are still strong and won't be forgotten in a hurry.