Global Wanderer

23/1/26 – 25/1/26

I left Oslo at 10:15am, on a VR train bound for Gothenburg. As Sweden’s second city, and its major university centre, I was excited to see what kind of atmosphere it would have. The train ride took under 3 hours – the trains up in this part of the world are undeterred by a bit of light snow! – and before long, I was pulling in to Gothenburg’s Central Station.

The train sign at Oslo bound for Gothenburg, and the city’s Central Station

Gothenburg is a city built on a canal system, and one of the main canals runs right in front of the train station. I was staying a bit of a walk away from the city centre, but it was a very simple process to get there, as all I had to do was follow the canal! After dumping my bag off, I headed back out into the city, hoping to make the most of my short time here.

The city streets of Gothenburg at night

Friday evenings in Gothenburg are home to a tradition known as ‘After Work’ – where drinks and accompanying food at bars in the city is discounted after 4pm on a Friday to encourage people to head out and spend money! I managed to only take photos of places that had nobody around, but I promise you, some of those streets, particularly around the central avenue, were absolutely heaving!

In search of cheap eats, I had come across Benne Pastabar, a pasta restaurant that served up cheap, piping hot pasta to the masses. It was actually set up by a chef in a Michelin-starred restaurant, Emanoel, who decided he wanted to provide decent food to people at a fraction of the cost. I stopped off in one of the Benne stores in the city centre, and demolished a bowl of cheesy pasta – fresh, hot, and cheap, it was exactly what I was looking for (definitely recommend if you’re in Gothenburg!).

The next morning, I made my way down to Lilla Bommen, part of the harbour, and the location of the tall ship, Viking. This ship was built in 1906, and is the largest sailing vessel ever built in the Nordics. It serves as a hotel now, but it is still an incredibly impressive sight!

Lilla Bommen harbour – frozen over, and the Viking

There’s quite a lot of construction work going on around this part of Gothenburg at the moment, but in spite of the detours, I was easily able to make it to my next spot of the day, Gustav Adolf’s square. Named for the founding father of Gothenburg, King Gustav II Adolf, the square is home to a large statue, and is the location of the Gothenburg city municipal building, and the law courts.

Gustav Adolf looking out over his square, and a heart facing the canal opposite

This part of the city is home to some lovely buildings, streets, and churches, which I spent the next hour or so wandering through. Gothenburg was rapidly built up after the 1600s due to its favourable location as an important port city, and the buildings certainly reflect this era. There are also some interesting buildings you can come across, such as Feskekôrka (fish church!), a building shaped a bit like a church, but home to a fish market!

A statue I came across in the city centre, a view of a main street, and the Feskekôrka building

I then made my way along Vallgraven canal, which led me to the Trädgårdsföreningen – the Garden Society of Gothenburg – which maintains a number of tropical palmhouses in the middle of the gardens by the canal. The snow was starting to come down a little heavier, and so I took the chance to sit inside one of the palmhouses and watch it fall around the gardens – a very pretty sight!

Inside the palmhouses at Trädgårdsföreningen

My next stop of the day was the Gothenburg City Museum, which contains the remains of an actual Viking ship, the Äskekärr ship, which is apparently the only one on display in the entirety of Sweden! The museum also housed some interesting exhibits about Gothenburg’s history as a fortress town that grew to become a thriving industrial port city. The other interesting featured exhibit at the museum was dedicated to the artists of Lillhagen, a psychiatric hospital which had operated in Gothenburg until 2013, and was home to a world-leading study program into art and creative courses for patients. Many artworks were created out of this program, which were exhibited around the world and sold to collectors – this exhibit features around 300 of them!

It was mid-afternoon at this point, and despite the respite in the Museum, I was still feeling cold. I decided it was a job for a warm drink and something to eat. Gothenburg’s pastry specialty, the Kanelbulle, is their own variety of a cinnamon bun, and I was desperate to try one! I’d read through a number of places online that sold them, and eventually settled on a café called Ahlstrom’s, located in the middle of the city.

I managed to stumble completely by accident into some of the remains of Gothenburg’s old fortifications surrounding the town en-route to the cafe!

I knew I made the right call when I went inside, and could not for the life of me find a single place to sit! I ordered myself a hot chocolate, and a Kanelbulle – a Swedish cinnamon bun! This, unsurprisingly, did not disappoint!

Kanelbulle and hot chocolate at Ahlstrom’s – a winning combination

Having been well warmed up, I ventured back out in the cold for another decent walk – this time up a hill to Skansen Kronan! This fort, in Gothenburg’s Haga district, was built in 1698, to prevent attacks on the city from the Danish, and was actually in use up until 1900, when it was turned into a museum for preservation.

Skansen Kronan, and the view out over the city

You get fabulous views out over Gothenburg from the hill the fort is located on, and you can easily spot the city’s landmarks – additionally, it had been snowing all day, and so all of the rooftops were covered in a layer of white.

The city’s canals had frozen over – which made for a beautiful sight!

As the sun began to set over the city, I headed back towards the centre of town – my last stop for the night was at a pub hosting Gothenburg’s Liverpool Supporters Club, to watch the match! Despite a rubbish result, I walked back to my accommodation pretty happy with the few days I’d spent in Gothenburg. This is a city rich in character, young in nature, and should definitely be part of your travel plans if you’re coming through this part of the world – I’m sure I’ll be back!