Gothenburg, July 21 - August 6

Our travels have been busy and the action-packed pace meant that a bit of quiet time would be welcome for both of us. Thanks to Naomi's cousin who lives in Sweden, what better place to wind down than in a penthouse apartment in the center of Gothenburg!
We did get out and about from day to day, but the main focus was to build up strength for our next destination. We were going to need it. You'll see.

The apartment was very spacious, and ideally located for walking through the town center. We discovered a few good spots for coffee, and became familiar with streets, parks and the Gota Alv river. The Haga district was a nice contrast to the commercial bustle of the center, with its cobbled alleyways and old wooden buildings.
Many hours were spent reading on the balcony, watching dramatic sunsets at 11pm.


Many hours were also spent watching America's Next Top Model on television. To balance, we also became hooked on the Australian show, Border Security. It was interesting that a program about Australian Customs police helped to connect us with home after all this time traveling.

Other connections with home popped up from time to time - including a real treat for Naomi.

It was Georgia! For those who know her, it really is no surprise to find Georgia back in Sweden. Much to their mutual delight, our paths were able to cross for a brief period and we shared an evening meal together across the other side of the hill from our place.

On our walk home, Naomi made a brief transition - either it was an ascension into a new faith or a descent into tourist cliche...


The days were long, and most of the time we had deep blue skies with a few scattered clouds that seemed to hover nearby purely for aesthetic purposes.

We made a day excursion to Stora Amundon, an island a short bus ride to the South of the city.

It was a beautiful location. Lush forests covering low hills and then picture perfect granite boulders rolling down to the deep blue water.

We stopped at a few spots along the coastal walk, to sunbathe and admire the scenery. Swarms of wasps made lunch an unusual experience.

We swam in the clear waters, and watched others clambering amongst the rocks and diving from different heights.

The scenery was stunning and it helped a lot to have the warm sunshine softened by a gentle breeze. We had expected the water to be cool, but thanks to the Gulf Stream it was just right for a quick dip. Certainly warmer than what we are used back home in Victoria.

Back at the apartment, I was tickled to find a whole collection of Paul's airline kits.
It seems that Naomi's cousin likes the Newson packs... clearly he is a frequent flyer.


Much to my delight, his kids also like the Qantas pop-up dog that I designed years ago. You can see it at the bottom of the pile of travel packs. Maybe one day, more of my own design work will pop up here and there. I would like to think so. In the mean time, we will have to make do with the folding doggie.

Eventually, our time in Gothenburg came to a close. We had organised our tickets to the next destination, and enjoyed a few more episodes of Top Model and Border Security.


Our departure at the crack of dawn had a few highlights.

The taxi driver, a percussionist in his other life, told us about a fire in one of the neighbouring buildings a few days earlier. We had seen the smoke and the engines, and the burnt out shell that followed. The whole building was gutted, thanks to a silly man who had tried to illegally install his own home-built sauna. Thankfully for us, the fire was contained to one apartment building. The driver's closing remark on the story was "He'd better leave town. If I was him, I would get out of here, fast".

Upon leaving the taxi, I saw some discarded underwear hanging out of the door pocket.

I got out there. Fast.



Our final image from Gothenburg is one that impressed me more than it did Naomi. Many buildings in Northern Europe use paving stones that contain fossils. This excites me quite a bit, and I would often stop to gaze at these remnants of another world, life from millions of years ago.
Depending on where you look, every building becomes a museum!