Sweden (199?) and 2009
Design, fish and… rain…
Visiting Goteborg in November is NOT a good idea! Lots of rain and it is dark most of the day. People here say “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes” and they are probably right. Kids wear a kind of ski-overall over their clothes and everybody wears sturdy boots. Even the dogs have thermo clothes on!
During the two days when it was relatively dry and sometimes even sunny, I discoved a completely different city! Lots of little cafe’s and shops. As soon as it stops raining, people have their drinks outside on the terraces, covered in blankets: brave!
The food, especially seafood is incredible here. Fresher than fresh, so close to the sea. Trendy restaurants and bars serve stylish food. Also the cakes and homemade pies are delicious!
A friendly waiter told me to go see the Feskakorka, apparently a popular church. I passed it and found nothing remarkable about it. The recommendation made me wonder. I had nothing better to do, so decided to have a look inside, maybe there would be a nice altar or something like that? It turned out to be the city’s biggest fish market! Inside the “church”! the place translated to “fishchurch” and I understand why. Swedes are religious about their fish!
Everybody I met spoke perfect english and was very willing to help. Especially business people. But when I was in a small vegetarian restaurant, the girls behind the counter just giggled and refused to look at me when I asked them if they spoke english. They were so shy and afraid to try their english! We worked it out by pointing at the various delicious cakes…