Giant Cinnamon Rolls in Gothenburg

[English version below]

Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden. We chose the Slottskogen Youth Hostel here, which is a bit further from the train station but easily accessible by tram in 15 minutes. We can highly recommend this hostel, especially because of the super nice staff. Since the hostel has a 24-hour reception, our late arrival was no problem at all. When we entered our windowless 4-bed room, the smell in the room overwhelmed us. However, it must be said that this had nothing to do with the room itself, but rather with our strange, somewhat suspicious, older roommate (nothing against different or older hostel residents!!). At first, we wanted to endure this one night in this room so as not to leave a picky or annoying impression, but we really couldn't breathe there. So at 1 am, dressed in pyjamas, we asked if it would be possible to change rooms. Since no identical room was available anymore, we were allowed to move to a twin room with a window (a full upgrade) free of charge, for which we were very, very grateful. Something like this is not self-evident after all! Of course, we had to leave a good review on Hostelworld for that! #checkoutourreviewonhostelworld ;)

Since we were quite tired, we decided to sleep in a bit later the next morning. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the hostel consisting of rolls and cinnamon rolls. Since three cinnamon rolls were on sale at the supermarket, we bought three pieces immediately - as provisions for the day. #consumervictims

The sights in Gothenburg are rather manageable. Our first sight was the Trädgårdsföreningen Park near the main train station. The rose garden offers numerous beautiful roses and the palm house contains some tropical plants - also a nice place to take shelter during a short shower. ;)

In Haga, the oldest district of Gothenburg, you will mainly find small shops and cafes today. A speciality here are the Hagabullen - the largest cinnamon rolls in the world, which we enjoyed in the traditional Café Husaren. It is no exaggeration to say that several people can be satisfied with them, because the Hagabulle really fills a whole large plate. In our opinion, a must-try in Gothenburg!

Some other noteworthy sights are the Feskekörka Fish Church, restaurant and market hall for treasures of the sea (not what you would expect from a church), Sweden's largest amusement park Liseberg, the art museum and the city center.

Finally, a little tip for postcard collectors or enthusiasts: a good place to buy postcards is probably Haga, not the city center. Although all stores have the same postcards, don't make the mistake, like us, of delaying your purchase until you have only a smaller selection left at the main train station.

All in all, compared to our previous cities, Gothenburg has fewer attractions and, in our opinion, less character to offer. A visit is quite nice, but not necessarily necessary if you have limited time.

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Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden. Like Malmö, it is rather quiet and less touristy.

This time our accommodation wasn't as nicely located as in the other cities, so we needed to take a train in order to get there. The train ride only lasted around 15 minutes so it was totally fine!

We stayed at the Slottsskogens hostel where we had booked 2 beds in a 4-bed mixed dorm. When we entered the room, we were hit by a very disgusting smell. It could have come from the guy that we were supposed to share it with, we don't know, but the fact that there was no window in the room made it even worse. First, we thought it was going to be fine and we would 'survive' this one night in the room. Nevertheless, the smell got worse as the night continued. So, we decided to talk to the reception. And the guy was super nice, uncomplicated, and helpful! He let us move to a two-bed private room without expecting any additional money. Of course, a good review on the hostel is now expected from us, but since they've been so nice to us, it's not going to be difficult to write one ;)

The next day, we had some time to explore Gothenburg. We stored our backpacks in the train station's lockers and headed to the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, also known as Trädgårdsföreningen. It is one of the larger botanical gardens in Europe. Entry is free, and you get to see some nice rose beds and the Palm House, which was also a good place to hide from the rain that hit Gothenburg.

Another highlight is the district Haga, formerly known for its hippie/alternative scene. Haga is really nice and probably also our favorite attraction in the city. The area is filled with nice little cafés and shops, and the atmosphere is beautiful due to its historic flair. A specialty in Haga is the so-called Hagabullen, huge cinnamon buns. Of course, we couldn't resist trying one! We suggest trying them in their original café, The Café Husaren.

Some other viewpoints in Gothenburg include the Feskekôrka (translated fish church, but don't get confused, it just looks like a church from the outside, the inside actually hosts a fish market!), the Gothenburg Museum of Art with the statue of Poseidon in front of it, the amusement park Liseberg, and of course the inner city. The shopping area, as well as Haga, are pedestrian zones, which makes it nice for a stroll around.

Advice for postcard lovers or collectors: there are not many options, and if a shop has a larger variety, then it is mostly some weird animal pictures. There are just a few postcards actually illustrating some pictures of Gothenburg (which are honestly not great pictures), and you can find these best in the little shops in Haga.

All in all, we agreed that Gothenburg wasn't one of our most exciting destinations so far. It is a quiet nice city, and if you happen to be in the area, a visit makes sense. In our experience, 4 to 5 hours were enough to see the most important sights and even take a break in Café Husaren. :)