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Adventures In Sweden
Nov. 16th, 2015 02:52 pmOur weekend in Gothenburg turned out to be largely alcohol-fueled, which was largely to be expected considering we were staying with our Untappd friend Mooie. We had met him at EF and he invited us over at some indeterminate point - we weren't expecting it to be quite so soon but with £19 flights from Stansted and a trip to London already planned, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and visit Sweden's second city. In addition to this, our visit allowed us to tick off another BrewDog bar, our third international one, and indeed it was to here where we first headed after Mooie had collected us from the airport and dropped our bags off at his house. We left his car at his work and hopped on the ferry boat across the Gota River, climbing up seven flights of stairs and highlighting just how unfit we were on the way to our first beer. We headed to BrewDog first partly because it was one of the things we wanted to do anyway but also because they were launching AB19 at 7pm and our timing was somewhat perfect. The bar was moderately busy but we still found a seat, purchasing a couple of other local beers while we waited the 20 minutes before the launch of the new one. The bar staff here were very friendly and had been expecting us on account of the tweeting I had been doing earlier in the day and it was certainly a great familiar start to the Swedish beer culture. Indeed we returned just before closing on Saturday and chatted to the bar staff some more, along with a nice American lady from South Carolina who is now living in Sweden. BrewDog here is shut on Sundays and Mondays - like quite a few of the bars (and the System Bolaget alcohol stores which are closed from 3pm Saturday through to Monday morning) - so it was good to call in there one last time and watch them put protective rubber stoppers on the end of each line.
Unsurprisingly, the price of beer in Sweden is a significant expense, with a typical 40cl measure costing in the region of 70-90Kr but the sheer range of quality craft beers, not to mention bars, made such expense somewhat more tolerable. Also, as Sweden is trying to move on to a cashless economy, we put every purchase on credit card on rotation between the three of us, which was certainly more convenient but also more difficult to follow after a few drinks. They also have a tip based system to navigate when you are purchasing by credit card and the following mornings were often panicked observations of the previous night's receipts. It could also have been worse as the strong pound as meant the exchange rate over the last two years has become far more favourable for us - all of this would have cost an awful lot more back in early 2014 when we were last in Sweden. Regardless, this was my first foreign trip ever when I didn't use any cash at all, not needing to withdraw money from an ATM. We spent most of Friday night and Saturday night too trying various beers in the bars, largely places of which I had heard due to Mooie's previous check-ins. Mooie knew most of the staff in most of these establishments so setting up a tab was easy while we also got a few special offers. Olrepublik and its sister bar The Rover were arguably my favourites as they had a nice atmosphere along with a wide selection of Swedish brews, including those from Dugges, Ocean and a brewery in the same Stockholm district as Nordic Fuzzcon. Upon leaving The Rover on the Saturday, when asking for the bill, the barman enquired "where the fuck else will you be going tonight?" in a joking way. The Steampunk bar near BrewDog, although a little out of the way, was also fantastic, particularly as it had a range of beers from key American breweries that for some reason we can't get back home. Wolfie also liked the fact the table was an old sewing machine and he kept playing with it for the hour we were there. It was here that I tried speaking Swedish with moderate success, with my new-found drunken confidence appreciated by the friendly bar staff. We also tried all three bars in a British-themed chain called The Bishop's Arms, all of which have reasonably faithfully recreated a country-style British pub with wooden panelled walls, heraldic wallpaper and stone/carpeted floors. The beer selection here was distinctly Swedish though, along with the range in the Irish bar The Dubliner, which we visited briefly on Sunday night and although we got to sample over forty beers and get a good taste of the Swedish brewing scene, there are also far more beers to try. The tram system, with its nightly service, certainly aided our evening while a three-day pass (which Mooie paid for) made the experience easier. The trams and buses - including the fantastically wobbly double bendy bus - were all clean and efficient and we had no problem whatsoever getting around. The only issue happened while we were waiting for the 01:52 service back to Mooie's place on the Saturday night. As one of the trams pulled up, we saw a gang of seven set upon another chap in the tram, swinging some serious punches. The gang then scarpered down one of the side streets, leaving their victim in the carriages. The security services turned up exceptionally quickly and we directed them towards the youths responsible while the man on the tram was being tended to by passengers. He wasn't seriously injured and after the driver had checked all was okay, the tram headed off, but it cemented an issue with gang culture from which Gothenburg has suffered for quite a time. That's not to say the city is unfriendly - far from it - and indeed waiting for the tram on Friday night next to the Copper Horse statue, we had a conversation with some guys saying that the horse was definitely male even though it clearly did not have a penis. It was a rather surreal conversation to have, particularly after a fair bit of beer, but it did highlight the friendly nature of the city somewhat.
In terms of cuisine, Mooie doesn't really eat out and is a vegetarian also so, unlike the beer choices, recommendations were thin on the ground. As we were in bars, we largely stuck with pub food - a hamburger in Olrepublik, a gourmet pizza in the Craft Beer Bar etc - although on the Sunday we did drive out to the Volvo Museum, and we stopped at Max Burger on the way home. A cut above McDonald's and Burger King, Max Burger is Sweden's answer to those two restaurants and a place Mooie quite likes as the vegetarian option is decent. I quite enjoyed it too although my cheese and bacon burger was overly sloppy and it's still not a patch on Finland's Hesburger. Despite this, the quality of the beef at Max Burger is clearly of a higher quality than that at the American chains and with crispy fries too, it was an ultimately satisfying meal if not a little average. Every morning we had toast upon which we sliced some gorgeous local cheese from a huge triangular wedge and this was more than enough for us to go through until early evening, although the reasonably late starts to our days no doubt aided this. Either way, I had hoped to try nude Swedish delicacies such as fish and cloudberry but, aside from the sausage and meatballs from the takeaways, proper Swedish cuisine wasn't readily available. It wasn't s huge issue as we have tried some in Stockholm - specifically at Pinky's taste Nordic event - but it would have been nice to have something more local. We did walk through the main food market and I was delighted to see the vast range of cheese there, of many varieties similar to those you can get back home. The diversity of cheese in foreign lands I've noticed can be quite thin but it would appear Sweden in particular has embraced its milky goodness.
The Volvo Museum was one of the non-drinking things that we did, on account of Volvo being a local company and the fact that I have already toured around museums dedicated to five other major automotive companies so I might as well complete the set. I also thought it would be something some of my furry friends on Twitter would find interesting. Volvo have huge plants to the west of Gothenburg in the main maritime area and the museum is situated by the river in the shadow of industrial cranes. Indeed it's in a very odd place, right in the middle of the industrial area and surprisingly difficult to find. Still driving around here, with the cargo loading docks and train lines criss-crossing everywhere did give one a sense of the area's trading past, one that has largely declined as tertiary and quaternary industries have developed (as evidenced by the Lindholm area of the city where Mooie works, replete with its shiny new facades dedicated to a range of technology giants such as Eriksson and Cisco). The Museum itself is far more extensive than I thought it would be, particularly as last entry is 45 minutes before closing. It's split into three parts - the Volvo vehicles, the Penta session dealing with boat engines and a huge auditorium dedicated to the Around The World Sailing Race, which Volvo sponsors. This was arguably the most interesting part of the exhibition as you got to climb through a model of a sailing vessel while you also got to pretend to captain one too. Dotted around was information about the features on the boat as well as the protective clothing and navigational devices employed by the yachtsmen. There was also footage and testimonials from these prestigious races which was also quite fascinating, with the dedication and resilience of the sailors being very inspirational. Indeed, although climbing around the scale models was quite fun, it was also an educational experience as you got to appreciate what life would be like days on end living in these places. We had to take our shoes off, which ironically gave us experience of having little grip on the boat as it was tilted. In addition to this, there was also a golf driving range and putting experience as Volvo also sponsor the Masters golf events. This was quite fun as I had never even held a golf club before, let alone used one, so this too was another delight.
The main Volvo Museum dealt with the history of the company from its founding in 1924 all the way through to the present day. Many cars were on display, in chronological order of manufacture, and it was great looking at these wonderful machines, particularly the older cars from the 1920s and 30s which possess an elegant style sadly lacking from more modern vehicles. Of course the famous, rather boxy Volvos from the 80s and 90s, what I would say was the iconic family estate, featured heavily while there was also interesting sections on their successes in rallying and touring cars, along with a showcase of some of the concept cars they have designed. One featured a video presentation as it was a vehicle solely designed by female designers and marketed to women. The processes of market research and procurement were interesting to follow and the example car on display was certainly a snazzy vehicle, although I would question the door opening mechanism which, due to its roof hinges suggests to me a pain in the arse if you are in a narrow parking situation. As well as all this, there was a section dedicated to Volvo engines in heavy vehicles from diggers all the way up to military aircraft, and I even went nose-to-nose with a modern Swedish jet fighter. In the end, we ended up staying for two hours until it closed, with me probably needing an additional 15 minutes to do the final Penta exhibition justice. This was the more technical part of the museum, detailing boat engine design, which was a little too dry for my taste. Having said that, I guess it's all relative as I spent quite a while reading up about the three-point seatbelt, a design which has saved a million lives and was first brought into cars by Volvo in the late-Fifties. This was something I did not know. Oh and the Volvo car built entirely from Lego was of course another highlight.
Aside from this, we did explore Gothenburg too, largely on a bitingly windy Saturday afternoon before going to some bars. Considering it's Sweden's second city, there isn't an awful lot to see, although the narrow streets and canals do give it a feel of Amsterdam, which shared the same designers. The centre of the city focuses along the Stora Hamnkanalen and it is here where Gustav II founded the town, with his copper statue on Gustav Adorfs Torg pointing to the spot where it is claimed he said he would found the city. It was the fifth attempt to build a settlement away from Danish influence and it proved to be a flourishing city and major port. We also saw the Radhuset with its Neoclassical facade built in 1673, along with a few churches and the Stadsmuseum, which used to be the headquarters of the Swedish East India Company. We went down to the port area near the central station, which is now a place for pleasure boats largely, although there was a huge sailing vessel in port which is now a restaurant, while we also got to see a couple of cruise ships arriving and departing taking tourists around Scandinavia. On the side of the river near the port is the Utkiken, designed by Ralph Erskine, who also designed the Sydney Opera House. At 86m high, it's most predominant feature is its shape, with the top part painted red so it resembles a half-used lipstick. It's a building that dominates over the city somewhat and acts as a gateway for all tram, train and road traffic coming in from the north. This all converges at Central Station, built in 1856, making it the oldest station in Sweden. In the wood beams of the old ticket hall, there are heads carved in the likeness of key local councillors of the dar although to me they looked more animal-like than anything. Wandering around the station, there was a high number of beggars, largely Syrian refugees who have probably made the journey across Europe to Sweden. There were a few shops across the city proclaiming 'Refugees Welcome' and the ones we saw were seemingly just left to their own devices although I'm not sure of the exact situation. Either way, it did make the recent crisis more evident, not to mention human, particularly as I live in a country that has largely been shielded and isolated from it. Speaking of beggars, there were a similar amount in Gothenburg to that in Leeds, many of them lying prostrate with cup in hand. This is one aspect that made Sweden very much like the UK, along with similar levels of things like graffiti and a range of architecture that wouldn't look too out of place back home. This was particularly evident on Vasagatan and Engelbrektsgatan, with a range of towering stately buildings demonstrating the city's nineteenth century wealth. In a top floor window of one of them there was a Cyberman, staring out across the street to the Rohsska Museum dedicated to design and fashion. Sadly we didn't have time to visit. The houses on Vasagatan in particular are quite ornate, with ceramic tiling and stone and brick animal carvings exuding wealth. The street itself is rather wide with a pedestrian and cycling boulevard in the centre underneath some trees. This made for a pleasant evening stroll before we intersected Avenyn, where we had been before.
Avenyn is the main showy street in the city and has a range of restaurants on either side of another rather wide street. Gothenburg's Hard Rock Cafe is situated here and upon seeing it as part of our Saturday wander, we dropped Arc a message as we know she collects the T-shirts. She did indeed want one so we picked this up after we had paid a call to the Konstmuseum, from which you have a bird's eye view down Avenyn towards the centre of the city. Looking down this major street is one of the iconic sights of the city, and not to be missed, as is the statue of Poseidon on Gotaplatsen right in front of the museum. This seven mere high bronze statue of a body builder has a shockingly ugly face, not to mention a rather minuscule penis. It's original size caused outrage in 1931 when the statue was first revealed, but sculptor Carl Milles had the last laugh. From the front, it looks like Poseiden is battling with a giant fish but when you view the statue from the side, on the steps of the concert hall, it is clear that the fish is the original penis in all its glory, standing proud for all to see. How this got overlooked in the Thirties I have no idea but it is a fantastical sight. We didn't get chance to go into the art museum, which was a shame due to the range of famous artworks it contains, but hopefully we will get the opportunity during a future visit.
All in all then, it was a supremely successful trip although I have now returned to England with a nasty phlegmy cough, a throat ache and the start of an ear infection. I think I picked this up on the train to Stansted Airport on Friday as the man sat behind us was hacking his guts up for the whole journey. Mooie was a fantastic host who was delighted to visit some sights in his home city that even he hadn't visited before and all in all it was a very memorable trip indeed.
Unsurprisingly, the price of beer in Sweden is a significant expense, with a typical 40cl measure costing in the region of 70-90Kr but the sheer range of quality craft beers, not to mention bars, made such expense somewhat more tolerable. Also, as Sweden is trying to move on to a cashless economy, we put every purchase on credit card on rotation between the three of us, which was certainly more convenient but also more difficult to follow after a few drinks. They also have a tip based system to navigate when you are purchasing by credit card and the following mornings were often panicked observations of the previous night's receipts. It could also have been worse as the strong pound as meant the exchange rate over the last two years has become far more favourable for us - all of this would have cost an awful lot more back in early 2014 when we were last in Sweden. Regardless, this was my first foreign trip ever when I didn't use any cash at all, not needing to withdraw money from an ATM. We spent most of Friday night and Saturday night too trying various beers in the bars, largely places of which I had heard due to Mooie's previous check-ins. Mooie knew most of the staff in most of these establishments so setting up a tab was easy while we also got a few special offers. Olrepublik and its sister bar The Rover were arguably my favourites as they had a nice atmosphere along with a wide selection of Swedish brews, including those from Dugges, Ocean and a brewery in the same Stockholm district as Nordic Fuzzcon. Upon leaving The Rover on the Saturday, when asking for the bill, the barman enquired "where the fuck else will you be going tonight?" in a joking way. The Steampunk bar near BrewDog, although a little out of the way, was also fantastic, particularly as it had a range of beers from key American breweries that for some reason we can't get back home. Wolfie also liked the fact the table was an old sewing machine and he kept playing with it for the hour we were there. It was here that I tried speaking Swedish with moderate success, with my new-found drunken confidence appreciated by the friendly bar staff. We also tried all three bars in a British-themed chain called The Bishop's Arms, all of which have reasonably faithfully recreated a country-style British pub with wooden panelled walls, heraldic wallpaper and stone/carpeted floors. The beer selection here was distinctly Swedish though, along with the range in the Irish bar The Dubliner, which we visited briefly on Sunday night and although we got to sample over forty beers and get a good taste of the Swedish brewing scene, there are also far more beers to try. The tram system, with its nightly service, certainly aided our evening while a three-day pass (which Mooie paid for) made the experience easier. The trams and buses - including the fantastically wobbly double bendy bus - were all clean and efficient and we had no problem whatsoever getting around. The only issue happened while we were waiting for the 01:52 service back to Mooie's place on the Saturday night. As one of the trams pulled up, we saw a gang of seven set upon another chap in the tram, swinging some serious punches. The gang then scarpered down one of the side streets, leaving their victim in the carriages. The security services turned up exceptionally quickly and we directed them towards the youths responsible while the man on the tram was being tended to by passengers. He wasn't seriously injured and after the driver had checked all was okay, the tram headed off, but it cemented an issue with gang culture from which Gothenburg has suffered for quite a time. That's not to say the city is unfriendly - far from it - and indeed waiting for the tram on Friday night next to the Copper Horse statue, we had a conversation with some guys saying that the horse was definitely male even though it clearly did not have a penis. It was a rather surreal conversation to have, particularly after a fair bit of beer, but it did highlight the friendly nature of the city somewhat.
In terms of cuisine, Mooie doesn't really eat out and is a vegetarian also so, unlike the beer choices, recommendations were thin on the ground. As we were in bars, we largely stuck with pub food - a hamburger in Olrepublik, a gourmet pizza in the Craft Beer Bar etc - although on the Sunday we did drive out to the Volvo Museum, and we stopped at Max Burger on the way home. A cut above McDonald's and Burger King, Max Burger is Sweden's answer to those two restaurants and a place Mooie quite likes as the vegetarian option is decent. I quite enjoyed it too although my cheese and bacon burger was overly sloppy and it's still not a patch on Finland's Hesburger. Despite this, the quality of the beef at Max Burger is clearly of a higher quality than that at the American chains and with crispy fries too, it was an ultimately satisfying meal if not a little average. Every morning we had toast upon which we sliced some gorgeous local cheese from a huge triangular wedge and this was more than enough for us to go through until early evening, although the reasonably late starts to our days no doubt aided this. Either way, I had hoped to try nude Swedish delicacies such as fish and cloudberry but, aside from the sausage and meatballs from the takeaways, proper Swedish cuisine wasn't readily available. It wasn't s huge issue as we have tried some in Stockholm - specifically at Pinky's taste Nordic event - but it would have been nice to have something more local. We did walk through the main food market and I was delighted to see the vast range of cheese there, of many varieties similar to those you can get back home. The diversity of cheese in foreign lands I've noticed can be quite thin but it would appear Sweden in particular has embraced its milky goodness.
The Volvo Museum was one of the non-drinking things that we did, on account of Volvo being a local company and the fact that I have already toured around museums dedicated to five other major automotive companies so I might as well complete the set. I also thought it would be something some of my furry friends on Twitter would find interesting. Volvo have huge plants to the west of Gothenburg in the main maritime area and the museum is situated by the river in the shadow of industrial cranes. Indeed it's in a very odd place, right in the middle of the industrial area and surprisingly difficult to find. Still driving around here, with the cargo loading docks and train lines criss-crossing everywhere did give one a sense of the area's trading past, one that has largely declined as tertiary and quaternary industries have developed (as evidenced by the Lindholm area of the city where Mooie works, replete with its shiny new facades dedicated to a range of technology giants such as Eriksson and Cisco). The Museum itself is far more extensive than I thought it would be, particularly as last entry is 45 minutes before closing. It's split into three parts - the Volvo vehicles, the Penta session dealing with boat engines and a huge auditorium dedicated to the Around The World Sailing Race, which Volvo sponsors. This was arguably the most interesting part of the exhibition as you got to climb through a model of a sailing vessel while you also got to pretend to captain one too. Dotted around was information about the features on the boat as well as the protective clothing and navigational devices employed by the yachtsmen. There was also footage and testimonials from these prestigious races which was also quite fascinating, with the dedication and resilience of the sailors being very inspirational. Indeed, although climbing around the scale models was quite fun, it was also an educational experience as you got to appreciate what life would be like days on end living in these places. We had to take our shoes off, which ironically gave us experience of having little grip on the boat as it was tilted. In addition to this, there was also a golf driving range and putting experience as Volvo also sponsor the Masters golf events. This was quite fun as I had never even held a golf club before, let alone used one, so this too was another delight.
The main Volvo Museum dealt with the history of the company from its founding in 1924 all the way through to the present day. Many cars were on display, in chronological order of manufacture, and it was great looking at these wonderful machines, particularly the older cars from the 1920s and 30s which possess an elegant style sadly lacking from more modern vehicles. Of course the famous, rather boxy Volvos from the 80s and 90s, what I would say was the iconic family estate, featured heavily while there was also interesting sections on their successes in rallying and touring cars, along with a showcase of some of the concept cars they have designed. One featured a video presentation as it was a vehicle solely designed by female designers and marketed to women. The processes of market research and procurement were interesting to follow and the example car on display was certainly a snazzy vehicle, although I would question the door opening mechanism which, due to its roof hinges suggests to me a pain in the arse if you are in a narrow parking situation. As well as all this, there was a section dedicated to Volvo engines in heavy vehicles from diggers all the way up to military aircraft, and I even went nose-to-nose with a modern Swedish jet fighter. In the end, we ended up staying for two hours until it closed, with me probably needing an additional 15 minutes to do the final Penta exhibition justice. This was the more technical part of the museum, detailing boat engine design, which was a little too dry for my taste. Having said that, I guess it's all relative as I spent quite a while reading up about the three-point seatbelt, a design which has saved a million lives and was first brought into cars by Volvo in the late-Fifties. This was something I did not know. Oh and the Volvo car built entirely from Lego was of course another highlight.
Aside from this, we did explore Gothenburg too, largely on a bitingly windy Saturday afternoon before going to some bars. Considering it's Sweden's second city, there isn't an awful lot to see, although the narrow streets and canals do give it a feel of Amsterdam, which shared the same designers. The centre of the city focuses along the Stora Hamnkanalen and it is here where Gustav II founded the town, with his copper statue on Gustav Adorfs Torg pointing to the spot where it is claimed he said he would found the city. It was the fifth attempt to build a settlement away from Danish influence and it proved to be a flourishing city and major port. We also saw the Radhuset with its Neoclassical facade built in 1673, along with a few churches and the Stadsmuseum, which used to be the headquarters of the Swedish East India Company. We went down to the port area near the central station, which is now a place for pleasure boats largely, although there was a huge sailing vessel in port which is now a restaurant, while we also got to see a couple of cruise ships arriving and departing taking tourists around Scandinavia. On the side of the river near the port is the Utkiken, designed by Ralph Erskine, who also designed the Sydney Opera House. At 86m high, it's most predominant feature is its shape, with the top part painted red so it resembles a half-used lipstick. It's a building that dominates over the city somewhat and acts as a gateway for all tram, train and road traffic coming in from the north. This all converges at Central Station, built in 1856, making it the oldest station in Sweden. In the wood beams of the old ticket hall, there are heads carved in the likeness of key local councillors of the dar although to me they looked more animal-like than anything. Wandering around the station, there was a high number of beggars, largely Syrian refugees who have probably made the journey across Europe to Sweden. There were a few shops across the city proclaiming 'Refugees Welcome' and the ones we saw were seemingly just left to their own devices although I'm not sure of the exact situation. Either way, it did make the recent crisis more evident, not to mention human, particularly as I live in a country that has largely been shielded and isolated from it. Speaking of beggars, there were a similar amount in Gothenburg to that in Leeds, many of them lying prostrate with cup in hand. This is one aspect that made Sweden very much like the UK, along with similar levels of things like graffiti and a range of architecture that wouldn't look too out of place back home. This was particularly evident on Vasagatan and Engelbrektsgatan, with a range of towering stately buildings demonstrating the city's nineteenth century wealth. In a top floor window of one of them there was a Cyberman, staring out across the street to the Rohsska Museum dedicated to design and fashion. Sadly we didn't have time to visit. The houses on Vasagatan in particular are quite ornate, with ceramic tiling and stone and brick animal carvings exuding wealth. The street itself is rather wide with a pedestrian and cycling boulevard in the centre underneath some trees. This made for a pleasant evening stroll before we intersected Avenyn, where we had been before.
Avenyn is the main showy street in the city and has a range of restaurants on either side of another rather wide street. Gothenburg's Hard Rock Cafe is situated here and upon seeing it as part of our Saturday wander, we dropped Arc a message as we know she collects the T-shirts. She did indeed want one so we picked this up after we had paid a call to the Konstmuseum, from which you have a bird's eye view down Avenyn towards the centre of the city. Looking down this major street is one of the iconic sights of the city, and not to be missed, as is the statue of Poseidon on Gotaplatsen right in front of the museum. This seven mere high bronze statue of a body builder has a shockingly ugly face, not to mention a rather minuscule penis. It's original size caused outrage in 1931 when the statue was first revealed, but sculptor Carl Milles had the last laugh. From the front, it looks like Poseiden is battling with a giant fish but when you view the statue from the side, on the steps of the concert hall, it is clear that the fish is the original penis in all its glory, standing proud for all to see. How this got overlooked in the Thirties I have no idea but it is a fantastical sight. We didn't get chance to go into the art museum, which was a shame due to the range of famous artworks it contains, but hopefully we will get the opportunity during a future visit.
All in all then, it was a supremely successful trip although I have now returned to England with a nasty phlegmy cough, a throat ache and the start of an ear infection. I think I picked this up on the train to Stansted Airport on Friday as the man sat behind us was hacking his guts up for the whole journey. Mooie was a fantastic host who was delighted to visit some sights in his home city that even he hadn't visited before and all in all it was a very memorable trip indeed.
