Yesterday, my first full day in Göteborg was spent visiting areas all over the city with my cousins, Anita and Birgit. We went to the Fiskekirka in Haga, a part of the city where all of the buildings are completely made of wood. It is a rather picturesque area, with lovely, tree-lined walks and small shops, but I had to wonder if there is ever a fear of fire in this part of town? After Haga, we took a ferry across the city to enjoy a tour on the Swedish ship, Götheborg. The Swedes seem to have an affinity for commemorating ships that sink. Unlike the famous ship, the Vasa, which sank within the first 20 minutes of ever sailing, the Götheborg made two successful and highly lucrative trips to and from China. On the third trip, which was supposed to take 1 1/2 years at the time, this ship was slowed down by numerous, unexpected complications. Finally, when citizens of Göteborg, Sweden perceived the Götheborg arriving back in port, huge crowds gathered to welcome the ship and crew back to Sweden. As the crowds watched, the ship ran aground with great speed and promptly sank. No one knows for certain why this ship failed with such gusto, but inquiry resulted in the crew explaining that the captain was drunk and the captain claiming that the crew was drunk. After the Swedish ship Götheborg sank, hundreds of years passed and then Sweden decided to rebuild an exact replica of the ship, the Götheborg III, which made a world tour in 2006-2007, and still continues to sail across the globe. After visiting and touring this ship, we crossed the city again to vist Göteborg's theme park, Liseberg. Under the sunshine, we enjoyed walking around, people-watching, admiring the flowers, and winning chocolate at the only game we played.
Today, despite the rain, Birgit, Anita, and I, and my second-cousin-twice-removed, Ingemar, all braved the rain to drive an hour north of Göteborg to visit the Bohuslän carvings. These rock carvings were made mostly during the Bronze Age arond 1000-500 B.C. The carvings, with images of people, animals, ships, gods, and other objects, represent religious, magical, war, birth, and death motifs. Informative signs along the way explain that the rock carvings 'are part of the world's finest historical treasures, comparable to the Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Acropolis in Athens.' We would beg to disagree. After visiting Bohuslän, we took our time back to Göteborg, driving along the coast. We stopped at small coastal towns to enjoy coffee, visit Ingrid Bergman's (here's looking at you, kid...) vacation home in Fjällbacka, and eat ice cream. I don't know if it is just because I am here and everyone wants to celebrate, or if my presence is of little importance and this is typical, but I have eaten more ice cream (usually in rather chilly weather) here in Sweden then I ever do at home. Swedes seem to like 'glass' (ice cream) quite a bit.