DAY 139 SATURDAY AUGUST 11 GOTHENBURG

After another lovely breakfast we walked through the cobbled streets finding the usual disgusting mess on the ground after Friday night parties.  The train took us across the long, long bridge to Sweden and Telstra duly sent us another 4 messages at 50 cents a time.

WHAT WE SAW OUT OF THE WINDOW IN SLOW MOTION

Then up the west coast past some beaches to Gothenburg. We arrived just after midday and looked for our First G Hotel finally realising that it was directly above us in the station.  We had some Euros left from France still, so converted 100 Euros into 745 SEK.  Sounds like a good deal until you look at prices.  We thought prices were higher than in Denmark but later realised Swedish Krone is worth .9 Danish.  Big sub from the Cafe Espresso set us up for the rest of the day, so we walked along the canal and the river.  As it was yet another glorious, sunny day the locals were making the most of it sunning themselves in the parks along the river.  We read that this town was built on marshes and had burned down because they built in timber.  Dutch settlers took over the rebuilding and made a magnificent job of it. They even have a lock on the canal right in the middle of town.

 This is probably the best planned city we have been to.  The streets are wide and nowhere seems crowded.  We were fascinated by this statue of Prometheus.  Why does he have a concrete pyramid on his head?  Is that his liver in his hand? Try http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/giftfire/prometheus.html

HE WAS THE ONE WHO STASHED ALL THE EVILS OF MANKIND INTO THE BOX THAT PANDORA OPENED

At the end of the river in the harbour we found the city's namesake ship Goetheborg, completely rigged and ready to sail.

If you cannot find a steam train in the town, a wooden sailing ship is an even better find.  Look at the work on the bow.  This city was famous for ship building.

All that time we spent putting galleon jigsaws together on the container ship helped us appreciate the hundreds of kilometres of rope used. Further along the harbour we came to the other local old ship, the Viking, which is now used as a hotel.

Ther was a continuous stream of tourist boats like the green one above which meant more space for us to walk on on land.  No statue at the station today but this one near the ships caught our attention.

Perfect weather and location for a wedding.

Nordic beauty almost as beautiful as our granddaughter-in-law. We celebrated with a choctop ice cream and wandered back to our luxury hotel to contemplate a marvellous day.  We love Gothenburg.