Gothenburg, Sweden

 

Day One - 04/06/2011
Next stop, Gothenburg!  Only a few hours on the train from Copenhagen and we arrived!  We bought a bus card and got on the right bus going to wrong direction to the Hostel, so the journey took twice as long as it needed to, but we got to see some nice housing areas!  After checking in we got to our room - very fancy!  Each bunk had 2 plugs!! TWO!! And free wifi IN the room, how luxurious!  The beds were also SERIOUSLY comfortable!  We had a lot of the evening to kill so walked to a nearby park and basked in the sunshine!

Day Two - 05/06/2011 
The next morning we got up early to go out and exlpore the city!  We walked into the city centre and made our first stop at The Röhsska Museum of Fashion, Design and Decorative Arts.  Unfortunately you weren't allowed to take photos, but they had some amazing Japanese ceramics and Buddahs!  After attempting and failing a paper crane, we made our way to the City Museum and acted liked big kids!

Then, Helen finally got her wish and got to go on a big wheel.  I was scared to start with and clung to the table during the first rotation, but was semi-relaxed by the 6th turn!

To end the day we took a long (very hot and sweaty) walk to The Maritime Museum and Aquarium.  We didn't have long but managed to see all the fish!

Day Three - 06/06/2011
On day three we decided to do our 'something different' and visit the Southern Archipelago Islands.  We got the tram for free (naughty) and the hopped on the ferry to our first island, Asperö.  This was a smaller island, mostly covered with small quaint houses.  The locals get around on bicycle or electric motorised cycles!  We also encounted the FATTEST cat I've ever seen in my life!

Next we visited Vargö, a  nature reserve.  We took a short walk from one end of the Island to the other to the swimming cove!  The water was soo clear and little fish nibbled our feet!  On the way back to the ferry we saw a wild weasel!

The third and final island of the day was Styrsö, the most tourist based Island.  We expected it to be a lot busier than it was!  Again, we headed to a swimming cover which we had entirely to ourselves!  After another few ours of swimming and basking we took the ferry back to the mainland.

I think that this day was one of the best on the trip so far.  The islands were so beautiful and I am very envious of those who live such a peaceful lifestyle!


Day Four - 07/06/2011
Before leaving for Oslo, we paid a quick visited to Gothenburg's Natural History Museum, which was just up the road from our hostel.  It is the only Museum in the world to have a Blue Whale skin!  There was also the most impressive African Elephant, wearing a tutu!

Stockholm

So, I've been very excited about visiting Stockholm and seeing Sufjan. After a looong day of travel, we finally go to the POSHEST hostel I've ever been in!  City Backpackers was amazingly clean and comfortable. Most of the rooms were downstairs in the basement, which was like a maze!  It was also very close to the central train station, which was really handy!  All in all, I was very impressed!

On the first full day we explored the city, venturing to all 5 or 6 H&M's in search of bargains (new jacket...£10!).  I did enjoy the city and what it had to offer, but the cold, wet and windy weather really put a downer on the trip!

That evening was the reason we decided to take the trip...Sufjan Stevens! He really knows how to put on a show!  He played at Cirkus, a nice sized hall with seating and standing.  He opened with 'Seven Swans' and fashioning a rather large pair of wings, which gave a promising indication that he would play his older stuff, but unfortunately after that all he played was Age of Adz.  Still, can't complain, the whole thing was amazing!  The only shame was no encore!!

Other places we visited were The City Museum, The Nordic Museum and The Royal Palace, where we watching the changing of the guard and the band played ABBA!

On our last night, we booked The Jumbo Hostel, right next to the airport.  It was an interesting and comfortable place to stay, and really useful for our next morning flight back to Helsinki.