The Swedes call it Göteborg

It's international name is Gothenburg. It's a city on the west coast of Sweden, and it is my favorite so far. I took the train from Uppsala to Stockholm and then from Stockholm to Gothenburg. I was only there for a couple days, but I greatly enjoyed my trip.

I left early Friday morning, slept on the train, and then went and had lunch at a really pretty cafe called the Eva Paley in Gothenburg. 

   

I walked around part of the city, through some University of Gothenburg buildings, and saw the Vasa Church (where I stepped inside to hear some organ music) and the Oscar Frederick's church. I saw the sunset from one of the high points of the city, the skansen kronan, a former fortress, and it was so breathtakingly beautiful. 

On Saturday, I took a walk through Slottskoganparken and the outdoor zoo there. I loved the zoo. It reminded me so much of home with peacocks running around everywhere. I have a magnificent photo of one male peacock who was so arrogant and beautiful. 

After my walk through the park,  I went to the Saturday market in Haga and bought a cinnamon bun from a street vendor. There were a lot of interesting pastries that people were selling, along with clothes, candles, herbs, teas, and soaps and other random items.

I visited Poseidon. I find it interesting how the Scandinavian countries connect to Roman-Greco mythology: Helsinki has Aphrodite, Gothenburg has Poseidon.  The statue is right in front of the konstmuseum which is a big building with very little art inside of it but is apparently world famous. I did enjoy the Segel Gallery ("the pink floor") which had some beautiful paintings, but most of the modern art fell flat for me. If I don't know what it means, how am I supposed to find beauty in it? Or is the point that there is not meaning other than the beauty of the art? But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Philosophy aside, I became a science geek and went to the natural history museum. The museum is impressive with its collection, but also eerily fascinating, because where did they get all these things. It reminded me of Mr. Venus's shop in Our Mutual Friend. I visited it after the zoo, and it was weird to go from living animals to the dead.

In my tour of the city, I walked past many university buildings, the Dutch church, Haga kyrka, the kronor building (which is one of the oldest buildings in Goteborg), and the Gustav Adolf square. I also went to the fish church and walked along the river.

I also wandered through another city park that had a palm house with roses and flowers. I love spring and was very happy by the flowers. They have started blooming here in Sweden.

I loved Gothenburg and want to live there one day. I love Sweden, and I can't believe I only have eight more weeks left in this amazing country.