On the road again - Gothenburg

Wednesday 

11 September 

Day 73

23 to go

Despite being a lovely blue sky evening, we woke to grey skies, we were expecting rain at 8am, but the morning forecast said 10am, which we were thankful for. We were awake before 7am and happy to get moving. We had showers, packed up a few bits and then headed to the breakfast room for a hearty cooked breakfast, ensuring we had plenty to keep us sustained for our journey. 

By 8am, we were ready to be out on the street and walking our bags to the Central Train Station, about 900m walk. Thankfully, the pedestrian mall was well paved and it wasn’t super busy, so we were able to make the station for 8.15am. 

The departure board listed our train on track 14, so we made straight for it and settled in to a little booth, out of the weather. We had just over an hour to wait, spent on devices and people watching.

At 9.25am, we made a move outside, only to find our train was delayed until 9.55am. We then had news, we were being changed to track 17, so it was a scramble to get back to the lift and move across to where we needed to be. We then waited on this platform until the train was ready for passengers to board. We located our seats, 31 and 32 in cart five, left our large cases on the luggage racks and sat back in the comfy seats, watching the Swedish scenery zip passed the window. 

There was plenty to note; farmland and forest being most prevalent. Towns, both large and small, dotted in between and the occasional lake glistened under the grey sky. With free Internet on board, we were able to keep ourselves entertained and even watched some more of the NBL Blitz. 

The train was running a little behind schedule, after our late start, so instead of getting in to Gothenburg at 12.35pm, we didn’t arrive until 1.20pm. We then proceeded to leave the station in search of our hotel, Radisson Blu. We knew it was only a short distance, but had to work out the direction. We didn’t need Google, as there was a great bug sign on the roof! 

We navigated the road, cobbles and tram tracks, entered the doors and registered for our room, before heading up to 493 and taking in our wonderful room. We unpacked our necessities and then it was off exploring. First stop, Pobbel Brewery, only a short walk from our hotel. 

We had a drink and got to have a tour of their brewing set up, which is in oak. We enjoyed some Spanish potatoes and then it was time to head on and see a bit more. 

We walked towards the water, following the harbour around the outskirts of the city. There was plenty of interesting street art on display. The rain started to fall, as we made for our next destination, the fish market, Feskekorka. We ducked inside for some protection from the rain checking out the various seafood offerings. 

We then wandered the open shopping district along Magasinsgatan, finding more interesting art and Brewers Beer Club, where we stopped in for a drink and then decided to have a pizza for an early dinner and a crème caramel to finish it off. It was very good.

We resumed our walk, returning to the canal that runs in front of our hotel and walked along its paved bank. We saw a pair of white swans with their three cygnets, foraging in the reeds. Across the bank was a German Church. The closer we got to our hotel, the busier the roads became with pedestrians and trams. We had found a popular shopping area. 

We walked through Brunnsparken, stopped at the seven 11 for breakfast bits and then it was back to the room for 6pm, happy to enjoy the room for the evening.