Gothenburg, Sweden

Hello Gothenburg!

We took a bus from Norway to Sweden and after we settled into our hostel near the city center of Göteborg.

Our first night we spent barhopping, exploring the night scene and making dinner at the hostel. 

After enjoying a slow morning, the next day we went to the local library and walked about the beautiful buildings surrounding the area. 

 The next day, we found an absolutely lovely Zoo in a massive park behind our accommodation. 

 

We walked for a few hours looking at the adorable and very peaceful animals! 

It wasn't your usual zoo because one: you didn't have to pay, and two: they were just normal farm animals. The one exception to this is the moose!! She was so huge and so beautiful. 

I whispered secrets to my new horse friend!

There were lots of very sweet duck ponds :)

Seeing all of the peaceful animals snoozing in the sun was so lovely, so we decided to stay here for a long while.

After we enjoyed some snacks and our meandering walk about the zoo, we walked to a city viewpoint with a watch tower, cannons, and this really cute archway! 

It was such a perfect day with perfect weather! We got lucky with our timing for Sweden for sure. 

Here is the pretty view we overlooked while eating our lunch of crackers and hummus.

A new highlight of this trip is to find the perfect lunch places to sit and eat before a view. 

Next, we explored the Haga area, especially the famous Haga street, and found some adorable shops and cafes. 

|While it is a tourist street, it's definitely worth the walk through, and make sure you stop in a cafe to get the famous cinnamon rolls called hagabulle!

Lena and I learned a new word that has stuck to my vocabulary for this trip: fika!

It is a loose phrase, but basically means to get yourself a comforting coffee and sweet treat! Many of the cafes in Gothenburg "sold" fika. 

I have been enjoying getting fika and spending an hour or two journaling in a cafe with my favorite lady (Lena duh) 

We then ended the night perfectly with fresh pasta at a surprisingly cheap restaurant!

Of course, we had to get Swedish candy from a pick and mix candy shop for us to eat on the train to Copenhagen! It was soooo yummy, our mutual favorite was the block of licorice fudge! 

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A lil map Lena drew in her journal: 

The next amazing day, we took a ferry to the Goteborg archipelago to go island hopping. It's really nice that you can pay for one ticket for the day and use it for all of the ferries you go on! Such a money saver. 

We went to three islands, and each one blew me away. The first one we went to was Brännö, and I loved walking through the streets because there were no cars! Pretty much everything was closed, and there weren't many people because it wasn't tourist season, but it was still so fun!! 

 

Lena and I explored the neighborhood, finding many hidden gems, of course, and then walked out to the swimming areas! 

I had a cold, so I didn't join Lena for her cold plunge, but I enjoyed climbing through the rocks to find two different swimming areas. One even had a platform to dive off of! 

After drying off in the sun, we went to get a ferry to Styrsö! 

It wouldn't come for another hour so we explored the woods on the island and found a nice big boulder to eat our sandwiches on. 

 

This island was perfect for a little hike and exploring through the woods.

 Lena and I did just that, and the view was so rewarding. 

I lay on a hill in the sun for a while reading my book, it was just so peaceful.

We also found this cute dock with a beautiful view

Then we hopped on a ferry to Donsö, and while Brännö and Styrsö were only residential and touristy, Donsö had a large marina and many restaurants and even a large grocery store! 

This island definitely felt more like a town than a small touristy beach stop. 

Outside the grocery store we met two friendly street cats.

I also met some nice statues 

Lena and I bought some mini hagabollen, and went off to explore the island. 

We found a lovely bouldery hill to climb for a view of the sparkling sea and even a swingset! ( No one is ever too old for a seaside swingset)

While up there, we ate our hagabollen while viewing a magical sunset. Life is so good. 

From the view, we noticed a long dock for the larger ships, and it was mostly empty so we thought it would be a perfect spot for Lena to jump in!

Of course she couldn't pass up a sunset cold plunge!

We went home on a ferry after dark and made some dinner to end off a fantastic day.

The next day, before heading to Copenhagen, we got more hagabollen at a cute cafe to prep us for the train ride. 

Goodbye Sweden and helloooo Denmark! 

Love ya, 

Luca