I've added some background music to play as you read. If you don't like it, just click it off.
Paint It Black
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
The second largest city in Sweden, Gothenburg*mdash;Göteborg in Sweden—has become
an up-and-coming city break destination for culture, shopping, and entertainment.
Altering its image from industrial seaport to contemporary cultural and international
sports venue, Gothenburg has also acquired a stellar reputation as one of Northern
Europe's most exciting gastronomic hubs. A handful of the city's sights and
attractions are located within easy walking distance, as are most shops,
restaurants, and cafés.
Funny money.
Our bus driver was Thomas, but I don't even remember what the tour guide looked
like. Note how astute I was at the beginning of our trip versus being dog-tired
and having sore muscles and bones this far into the trip.
This tour was supposed to be a great overview of Gothenburg, but except for the
Botanical Gardens, was a long drive by of places better viewed on post cards.
We began at the Gustav Adolf Square and learned about the history of Gothenburg
and the significance of the canals to Gothenburg as a trade center. Then went
down toward the water to admire the famous Gothenburg Opera House.
I think some tourists on our ship had more fun going to the Volvo offices that
were dockside.
The Gothenburg Botanical Garden differs in many respects from most traditional
botanical gardens on the European continent. It was conceived and planned by
the municipality of Gothenburg in the 1910's as a botanical garden with an extra
emphasis on horticulture, and with a broad scope in the Swedish community life.
I haven't identified this little guy yet, but I think it might be a magpie.
Feel free to correct me.
The tour continued with a visit to Masthugg Church (dating back to 1914 and
built in a national Romantic style) from where we saw a view of the surrounding
city. This church was much a let down compared to the rich décor of those we'd
already seen.
Other architecture we found during our ride.
Note the details of the doors of the building on the left.
The final highlight of this tour was a forty-five minute stop near a modern
mall. We were extremely disappointed in not being taken to an Old Town
section.
We met for our casual dinner and talked about the four or so shore
tours that Jan and Mike bicycled to. For one of these, I
think they talked Julie and Laura into taking.
After we ate, my one highlight for this evening was joining our dinner mates
for a shipboard game called Quest. Lesley declined the invitation claiming not
to feeling up to it. She was still dragging her wagon. Secretly, I think she
just wanted to finish reading her seventh or eighth book that she brought.
The rest of us were all sitting around a table, satisfied to watch and not
participate because the others had seen the Quest results from a previous night.
A couple came up to us and asked to join our team, wanting to play. When we told
them we were just watching, they coaxed us into participating. We agreed if
the man, who wouldn't give us his name afterwards, would be the captain/runner.
So we played!
Rules of the Game
Teams of 4 or more, including at least one male participate in a kind of a
scavenger hunt—but with a twist. The emcee/cruise director requests an item.
The first team to present their team number and item to the emcee gets 10 points;
2nd person—5 points; and 3rd person—3 points. Once that item is pronounced
'CLOSED', no more can be accepted. At the end, the team with the most points
wins. Borrowing and stealing items is fair.
We were team 17. The last request was to dress up a man on your team to look
like a girl. This is the reason the newcomer wouldn't give us his name.
Although we didn't win, we gave it a valiant effort.
We turned our clock back an hour.
The tour in Gothenburg left a lot to be desired. In addition to a lack of
noteable items, although we did stop at one old church, the view of the few things
point out were blocked by trees or buildings and we were not able to photograph
them. The Gothenburg tour had nice 45-minute stop at the botanical gardens,
but I didn't walk that far into it. Lesley took my camera for photos of some
of the lovely flowers.
I didn't need the only other stop to be a modern mall. We've got at least
five of those in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. There was still no souvenir
shopping for us there. What happened to Old Town Gothenburg?
New architecture in Sweden, since the 1930s and after the wars, was really
boxy and ugly.
