Hitting the streets of GBorg - Produce to Port to Porter

After getting very excited by the produce that I saw, it was time to see what else we could locate in the city of Göteborg. As I may have mentioned previously, I have been to Göteborg before, some 13 years previous. All I remember was having fun in the Tivoli precinct and pretty Swedish girls. So now it is a chance maybe to be more cultural.... one would hope anyway.

Planning ahead.

Always a good idea especially if you know if you are in a city with a church and little houses.

Sea ports and flags, kind of goes like Pickles and Sausage

Unless all of a sudden the flags change format somewhat.

I liked the sad little puppy type creature. It reminds of some of the great pictures by a friend Klaudia who now lives in Malta in the sun!

The Mallard thinking about some manscaping

The cool kids

Even a squirrel needs an iPhone

So not all Swedish girls have great taste....

This one was for one of my students Zuz.

My door fetish kicks in again.

If you are going to make a bridge why not make the balustrades pretty?

Handy

Chicken bits

Shell free snail

That is a different shell.... but I am sure it is warm

Next we will stroll to the waterside of Göteborg to see what is about in the port.

Around the Gborg city central

So after finally finding our way through the suburbs of Gborg to the delightful house of my fantastic Icelandic connection, namely Þórhildur and Þórður, we cooked some dinner and relaxed a little. The next day we came back to meet the quasi locals of Coops and Meels to head for some brunch in the Trädgårdsföreningen in Central Gborg. It is full of manicured lawns, sculptures and pretty plants and their blooms. We were just there for food, and coffee, not a botanical tour though.

I dare suggest the sign speaks for itself.... if you speak Swedish

Off to feed the gang

Someone walking funny

Ominous clouds

Is it the Red Light District?

Nope, just a very busy cafe

And what is that?

More globules

The little almost Schnitty looks good

The blondest of the gang

More than the Red head Dad

Sharing peas

Happy with the peas

I think someone is about to steal some food

Yep, I was right.

Scent of a woman

Swedish stocks

Dogs aren't barking

Not so happy chappy

He is even crying bird poo!

Now time to get a look around, poke into alleys, shops, things we knew not what they be.

Swerving in Sverige, Getting Garth to Göteborg

So we took a week up in the place which sends us here in Poland weather. Sweden, yes the home of IKEA, ABBA and Volvo from the modern to the annoyingly catchy to the just plain boring. So we hoped to enjoy all of these things. I hadn't been to Sweden since 1998, and those were the days of backpacking hostels, cheap beers, staring at the blondest of the blonde secretaries of Stockholm in awe, and staying in the beautiful southern areas around Ängelholm and Båstad. This time we were off to Mariestad and Göteborg to catch up with some FUCCers. No I am not swearing, it is old boys from one of my spiritual homes, Flinders University Cricket Club. The FUCCers do get around the world. At present, as far as I am aware, we are in Ireland, England, Poland (of course), USA, Canada, all major cities in Australia, and obviously Sweden.

So, we set sail, or rather flight, to Göteborg. The second biggest city in Sweden, and home to the aforementioned Volvo and the Liseberg amusement park. Funnily enough, we never got there. Basically, as we were heading for Mariestad which is a small city on the Lake Vänern which is the largest lake in Scandinavia, largest in the EU and third largest in Europe. Which is about twice the size of Luxembourg.

Miss Em getting gas bagging away

The thing you notice about the Swedes is that blonde is really blonde

Plenty of bikes at the station

The sun is glowing, as is EmEmEm

Time for a lie down as we wait for the train

Long legs and stumpy shadows

This was one of the very few girls in Sweden that wore heels.

The Polish girls would be shocked!

The city of Göteborg all laid out in map form

The geologist nerd came out in me, I loved that the train station floor has fossils in it. Most people just think they are weird chewing gum constructions. Not I, I was walking around looking down for the first time in a long time. Details people!

Look at them, so pretty!

This one got chopped for the tile. But, it is still cool

You just have to love some parts of being a science nerd I think these are some form of Nautiloid but hey, it has been a long time since my world in the rock lab.

So we jumped on the train to Töreboda full of sunshine and hope

 Next stop after some fascinating place names like Floby was to be Töreboda, sometimes referred to as Tora Bora. Happy times ahead.