XI. “Surprised by Goteborg”
May 23, 2008
Goteborg, Sweden

It was supposed to be nothing more than an overnight stop on our way out of Sweden towards Oslo. I had no expectations other than some rest and some computer time to arrange a trip to Bergen next week online. Rick Steves thinks so little of Goteborg that in his book on Scandinavia he ignores it altogether. We had stopped here on our way to the genealogical center a week ago and enjoyed ourselves, but now we have a little more time here so we decided to explore.
We began by reading and discovered that this Swedish city was planned and built by the Dutch in the 17th century. Hmm. Does that explain the presence of the Dutch restaurant where we ate last week? As we began to walk we realized there are canals here, like in Amsterdam. And cobblestone streets. The architecture of the city blocks looks like Amsterdam. Who would have imagined Dutch influence in Sweden?
As we began to walk we saw a huge outdoor stadium in the heart of downtown Goteborg that fills more than a city block. There must also be an indoor portion because we read that pre-Olympic figure skating finals will be held here. They must take their sports seriously in Goteborg. In no time we were back at the central station for trains and busses where we now began to examine the local transportation. With the help of friendly locals who took pity on tourists trying to understand what to do we soon purchased for 100 kroner a ticket that would allow us 3 trips on the trams and busses. We jumped on the first one to Haga Square, a place that looked good in the books, and when we couldn’t make the ticket work and no one threw us off the tram, we realized we could have 4 trips.
We got off at the Haga Church stop and discovered it was not open. In the park nearby families with young children walked and played, and we found a quiet spot in the sun to relax. The relaxation soon turned into a nap that energized us enough to cross the street to an outdoor café for some coffee and tea. We were on a long open street free of automobile traffic and in the heart of the university district, so the people watching was great fun. And we began to walk through the stores of antiques, boutiques, and books exploring to our hearts’ content. The purchased treasure of the day was found at an antique store where we found a blue plate made by the Royal Copenhagen company. We have a few of these collected in earlier years, and we like them so we were surprised to find them relatively inexpensive. We bought the Christmas plate for 1965, the year we were married, so we had a new treasure and an early anniversary present for 50 kroner.
We then walked to the harbor and looked at the ships. This is Scandinavia’s biggest port, and it’s really busy. I was planning to go this entire day without a single genealogical thought, but Rose Ann asked, “Isn’t this where Andreas and Lena and their family left for America in 1861?” It sure was. So I had to indulge in just a moment’s worth of reflection and take a picture. I tried not to get stuck in wondering what that was like, so we were soon back on a tram to the Domekyrka, which also was locked, so we wandered through that neighborhood until we saw another church that was open. It was beautiful, and we assumed it was a catholic church because of the confessional booths, but we met a woman pastor who assured us they were Lutheran and were progressively returning to an old practice of the church to address the personal needs of their community by restoring the confessional. This church has been around for centuries and is beautiful.
One more ride on the tram back to the central station and then another walk to the neighborhood where our hotel is led us to a restaurant for a quiet dinner. Perhaps all dinners in Sweden are quiet.
We rested well in the Albelle, a hotel worth coming back to, and we think we need to write to Rick Steves. Goteborg’s Dutch influence, its harbor, the University District, its historical churches, good transportation system, and friendly people are worthy of visiting. In addition, it almost thoroughly distracted me from my genealogical addiction.