So the blogging in Sweden started out alright and then collapsed. Sorry guys! I'll now try and give a quick overview of what I got up to.
On my first (full) day I met up with an old school friend, Jakob, at Hagakyrkan (a church) and went to his university's cafeteria for lunch. I ate a baguette with some sort of Swedish shrimp mornay (I don't even know what mornay is) for which I was left pining for for the rest of my trip. Yum! I mentioned to Jakob my quest to replace my beloved, and lost, Cheap Mondays (Swedish Jeans) and so he took me straight to the source, a shop called Weekdays where I found exactly what I was looking for for 400sek. We then had a expensive (but good) coffee (okay, it was actually mocha and hot chocolate) at a fair trade cafe, where Jakob helped me with my first Swedish practice - Jag tar Moccha, Tack.
That night an Icelandic band of which I had heard of but not heard called 'Benni Hemm Hemm' were playing at Pustervik (not far from my backpackers). I'm rarely won over by bands just from live shows but I would describe them as 'amazing'. I even bought a t-shirt, whoa! One of the guys from the band informed me that he was touring Australia with Mum later this year. Oh, I should also mention that it was at Pustervik that I indulged in 'Cactus Cider'. WTF? It wasn't repulsive but I sha'n't be having it again.
Post-Pustervik we headed to a club called Uppåt Framåt (Upwards Forwards) which I quickly fell in love with. The music was unknown but completely likeable (something that's very rare) and the decor (mainly the bar) was awesome too. Had a couple of Pear Ciders there and went home. Unfortunately didn't return :( Probably next time.
Next day I woke up late (backpacker bed was great) and then just went for a walk by myself though the city. Looking at shops things. All I bought was some discounted Cheap Monday gloves and two bottles of cider (one blueberry and one flower blossoms..???) from the System Bolaget. Swedish government has a monopoly on the sale of alcohol (except light beer and light cider) and so alcohol must be bought from a System Bolaget which close about 8pm. That night I went to a housewarming gathering of Jakob's friends and then onto a club called Svanen (The Swan) which was freakishly similar to the Depot. We stayed till close and I implemented my new-found ability to always be able to find my way home in Gothenburg no matter where I am.
Friday I slept till 4pm (I tell you, it was a good bed!) and I decided I should probably get some rest. I forget what I did for the rest of the day but I'm sure it was uneventful but nice.
Saturday was when I went up to Slottsskogen's and took a bagillion photos. Lots of pretty flaura and captive fauna to look at. I'll let the pictures (they're on facebook) describe it rather than my blog.
Saturday night I went to a gathering (once again, Jakob's friends) where I confirmed that, yes, all Swedish interiors do look like IKEA show rooms, and all swedish apartments/houses have 'shoe rooms'. A room for shoes. And jackets. It's the first room you step into as you enter the house and yes, you MUST take your shoes off. The night was enjoyable, everyone spoke in Swedish (except when speaking directly to me) so I had little idea what was going on, but I don't mind that. I spent most of the time trying to follow topics of conversation based on my poor Swedish lsitening ability. Later on we all headed to a night club but the lineup was huge and I was tired so we went home making a few stops along the way.
Sunday I caught up with another friend and Monday I decided to go on a massive walk around the city trying to cover as little familiar ground as possible. The walk was fun. Saw a lot interesting sites and took some photos. Ate at a place called Cafe Tin Tin. And got sore legs.
Tuesday I left and I was pretty sad to leave even though I was looking forward to going back to London. I'll definitely be back. All the locals say it's amazing in Spring, so maybe I should take their word for it.
