Who cares about the weather?
Not the Swedes, that's for certain. After a week on the ground here I am thoroughly impressed with this town. Only 400,000 people here, and the sun sets about 4pm each day, but this is really a very active town. Tons of bars and restaurants, an opera, several good museums. They don't let the cold and the dark stop them from having a good time.
I've had nothing but excellent meals here. I'm staying at the Radisson which is also where our idiot in chief stayed when he was in town last summer. They have an outstanding breakfast for us every morning - fresh fish, cheeses, breads, fuits, plus the traditional English and American breakfast items. They serve a lunch at the office, which varies from meat and potato dishes to an Indian buffet they brought in today. Great stuff. Dinners have included grilled salmon, black marlin, veal with lingonberry gravy, and last night a spectacular diced sausage and potato dish topped with a fried egg.
Alcohol is very expensive here, and I'm told this is to reduce alcoholism. No doubt that the dark and cold can be depressing - I'm not sure that I'd want to spend anything more than a few weeks here. But apparently in the summer they make up for lost time and party 'til the sun sets - generally around midnight. Most of the outdoor cafes provide blankets in case the cool wind is blowing in off the North Sea (which has been the case for us 24/7).
Snow is predicted this weekend. I'm told the temps here are about 10 degrees above average for the winter, and they have not had any snow yet this year. This is very concerning to the Swedes, who take pride in their brutal winters. "Hopefully we will get some good snow this weekend" they tell me.
The Swedish people are much like you might stereotype them. Very tall, many of them blonde. Their diet is heavy with calcium and protein, and also very low in fat so I guess this is not too surprising. There is an excellent system of trams around the town and most people do not own cars. If you do drive a car, it is a law that you must have studded tires - seriously.
There is an archipeligo just outside of the harbor here where many locals live. Probably 8 or 10 islands, service regularly by ferries from Goteborg. The locals pronounce the name of the town as "Yote-bore" but then again they call me and Jeff "Yeremy and Yeff." It's cool. Hopefully we will be able to swing out to the islands this weekend. They're very small, and don't even have cars on them. The city bus service actually includes the ferry service to these islands, and many of the people out there work downtown and commute each day using these ferries.
As Goteborg is right on the water and at sea level, there are many canals that run through town. They are too small for boats to navigate, but they do give the town a unique character. Other than that it is like many other European cities. There are several parks and public squares, an old cathedral, an old town hall. We haven't seen much of the town yet so I'm also anxious to explore. I'm sure there are some things that make it uniquely Swedish, but I just haven't had a chance to see them yet.
I've had nothing but excellent meals here. I'm staying at the Radisson which is also where our idiot in chief stayed when he was in town last summer. They have an outstanding breakfast for us every morning - fresh fish, cheeses, breads, fuits, plus the traditional English and American breakfast items. They serve a lunch at the office, which varies from meat and potato dishes to an Indian buffet they brought in today. Great stuff. Dinners have included grilled salmon, black marlin, veal with lingonberry gravy, and last night a spectacular diced sausage and potato dish topped with a fried egg.
Alcohol is very expensive here, and I'm told this is to reduce alcoholism. No doubt that the dark and cold can be depressing - I'm not sure that I'd want to spend anything more than a few weeks here. But apparently in the summer they make up for lost time and party 'til the sun sets - generally around midnight. Most of the outdoor cafes provide blankets in case the cool wind is blowing in off the North Sea (which has been the case for us 24/7).
Snow is predicted this weekend. I'm told the temps here are about 10 degrees above average for the winter, and they have not had any snow yet this year. This is very concerning to the Swedes, who take pride in their brutal winters. "Hopefully we will get some good snow this weekend" they tell me.
The Swedish people are much like you might stereotype them. Very tall, many of them blonde. Their diet is heavy with calcium and protein, and also very low in fat so I guess this is not too surprising. There is an excellent system of trams around the town and most people do not own cars. If you do drive a car, it is a law that you must have studded tires - seriously.
There is an archipeligo just outside of the harbor here where many locals live. Probably 8 or 10 islands, service regularly by ferries from Goteborg. The locals pronounce the name of the town as "Yote-bore" but then again they call me and Jeff "Yeremy and Yeff." It's cool. Hopefully we will be able to swing out to the islands this weekend. They're very small, and don't even have cars on them. The city bus service actually includes the ferry service to these islands, and many of the people out there work downtown and commute each day using these ferries.
As Goteborg is right on the water and at sea level, there are many canals that run through town. They are too small for boats to navigate, but they do give the town a unique character. Other than that it is like many other European cities. There are several parks and public squares, an old cathedral, an old town hall. We haven't seen much of the town yet so I'm also anxious to explore. I'm sure there are some things that make it uniquely Swedish, but I just haven't had a chance to see them yet.
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