Göteburg🇸🇪

Monday 09/04/23

I got up around 8:30 a.m., got ready, took a bus to the main train station and then waited there for half an hour... When the train came I was very unsure whether I was on the right train An announcement then turned out: right train, wrong compartment. The train was divided in Helsingborg. At some point I made it to the right part of the train and was able to enjoy the beautiful route there. It often went directly along the sea, then again through meadows and fields and the typical red Swedish houses everywhere. At some point an older lady sat opposite me, with whom I spoke briefly in German!! I talked to her, she also went on several Interrail trips when she was young and we were able to have a nice chat. When I arrived in Gothenburg, I set myself the challenge of walking the 40 minutes to the hostel with my heavy backpack. I only managed 20 minutes, then I was so exhausted that I took a bus to the hostel. Later I met a friend who goes to school in Gothenburg. We met on Twitter about 2 1/2 years ago and met here for the first time. We first walked through the huge park right next to my hostel looking for the moose and other animals that she remembered from previous trips to the park. Since we simply couldn't find the animals and we were both completely exhausted from walking so much, we took a bus to the harbor and got on a ship there and took a short maybe 10-minute boat trip. Afterwards we quickly went shopping together for me and then we parted ways. When I got back to the hostel around 7:30 p.m. I had just enough time for a quick shower before I looked for a quiet corner for a public transport conference (for the holiday camp).

Tuesday 09/05/23

After I got a good night's sleep, I just walked around the city for a while, I went to bookstores, second-hand shops, etc. I even made a quick stop at H&M to buy more long socks because I only had three pairs with me and I needed more here in the north. Back at the hostel, I quickly cooked a portion of pasta and then met up with Alva (my Swedish friend) again. We then walked together to the Kunsthalle Göteburg and looked at the exhibition there. There were some really nice paintings there, many by Swedish artists, but I've seen too much art lately that I unfortunately couldn't enjoy it that much. After the museum we took a short detour to a souvenir shop where I bought a few postcards. Afterwards we said goodbye to each other. I laid down for a moment in the hostel and then went back and explored the park again. It's really unbelievable how big the park is, it goes up and down, small secret paths, etc. In Sweden there is the "right to roam", i.e. the right to walk around or wander around, so you can basically walk anywhere as long as you clean up after yourself (take rubbish with you, don't destroy nature, etc.). I first walked to a lookout tower, which was unfortunately closed, then I just walked around and found the animals we were looking for the day before, reindeer, sheep, goats and, to top it off, of course, the moose. Even though it's actually against my moral values to lock up animals, it was still very cool to see moose so close. I then looked for a spot in the park from where I could see the sunset clearly. Unfortunately my cell phone only had 2% left and I had to hurry to find my way back to the hostel before my cell phone gave up the ghost. Without Google Maps I would probably have been lost in the park.

Wednesday 09/06/23

On Wednesday I woke up with a severe sore throat, which unfortunately I've been carrying around with me since the end of July. The sore throat kept coming back, I was just very vulnerable at the time. And in the week before my trip it hit me even harder. So after my breakfast with a filter coffee (for only 18 crowns, about 1.50 euros) I set out to find a doctor. Since I didn't really understand the Swedish healthcare system even after extensive research, I simply walked into a doctor's office/clinic and asked if they could help me. I was given a number and a card for the Swedish health system and after about 20 minutes a nurse examined me briefly and then called a doctor to help me. After another quick examination, he said that my sore throat/inflamed tonsils most likely had a viral origin and that there wasn't much I could do other than rest (note that the entire procedure took place in English). So that's exactly what I did that day, I rested, read, listened to an audio book. At some point I set off again because I still had a few things on my to-do list. I bought a few more postcards, a new pen because somehow both of my pens were empty at the same time... and then I threw in a postcard straight away. . In the evening I somehow ate an incredible amount, perhaps to get rid of a few leftovers before my next train ride the next day.