Here's to our last weekend in Gothenburg. We decided to keep it cheaper and stay in Gothenburg instead of traveling. Plus, last week was exhausting, as fun as it was.
Originally we were going to go to Copenhagen until we split up groups and Madilyne and I ended up going there already. Then we thought we'd all go to Stockholm, until Virginia decided to meet up with family in Berlin. We thought about Berlin, but it was a little expensive for us to go to for less than 2 days.
Staying here turned out to be a great experience since we could explore our area more. We hadn't really gotten the chance to walk around before. Instead of planning every trip and detail, we just went with the flow.
Friday
After school, we went shopping! Surprisingly, I didn't buy anything at all except food. Everyone we talked to in the stores and restaurants were so nice to us! Not that we hadn't met nice people in other places, but these people like actually enjoyed talking to us and hearing about where we are from. One thing about Swedes is they don't normally do small talk with strangers, but everyone we met that day did. The girl in the Fjällräven Kånken (arctic fox) store was bubbly and cute. The Fjällräven is basically the Patagonia of Sweden, with high-end outdoors bags, coats, etc. I really wanted to verify the pronunciation of the bag by a Swedish person and she gladly did it.
We went to a jewelry store and the lady in there was very sweet about showing us the rings we wanted to look at and adjusting them. Even when we weren't sure about buying, she said there's no harm in trying it on. She even gave us a recommendation for the Gothenburg Islands when we asked her. We never made it to the islands, but it was nice of her to write it down for us.
Lastly, at an Italian restaurant for dinner, the server enjoyed that we were from Texas and said she'd been to Vegas before. Caroline wanted a dish that someone else in the restaurant had an the waiter was happy to tell her what it was and translate it.
It may seem small, having some small talk with strangers, but it made our day. Usually Europeans aren't as open to talking to strangers or talking in English for us. To them, we are interesting because they see TV and listen to music in English from America. They wonder what it's like and think it's cool to meet an American, the way I think it's cool to meet a Swede.
Saturday
We had originally planned on going to the Gothenburg archipelago islands. However, it was too cold and deserted to go. No one would be there, there'd be no place open, and the ferries timetable was too spread out.
So instead, today was a day of museums! One great perk to Gothenburg is that a lot of the museums are free to the public. It is strange to walk into a museum and not have to show a ticket or get stopped. Granted, the exhibits were small, but it's great to look at for free!
World Culture Museum
The first museum we went to was the World Culture Museum. It was a nice modern museum with interactive displays. The bottom floor was about Human vs. Nature and how humans are destroying the environment. It talked about materialism, using animals to our benefit, eco-friendly choices, our emotions, Utopia, etc. I loved this exhibit because it was relevant issues in today's world. I would have loved to take a class there and have them discuss the two-sided arguments to each display. Another floor had a kids play area. We went to the crossroads exhibit which had artifacts. I really liked the streamer piece which let me put on a streamer for what I think is important for democracy.
Palm House
We also went to the Palm House. This was a big greenhouse which was like an indoor rain forest. I'm not a big plant or flower person, but it was gorgeous to see! There was also a wedding going on inside. The grounds must be amazing in the summer when the flowers are in full bloom and the grass is green.
Röhsska Museum
After that, we went to a fashion and design museum. It was interesting to see how interior design styles have changed, along with clothing styles. My favorite was the retro 70s era, 90s Mac computer and Robot Vacuum. Some things in the museum were very abstract or modern. It's interesting to see what some people consider "art". They also had a design studio where you could book a time and work with carpenters to design and build a chair for display.
Port Marina
At the end of the day, we humored Caroline and went to the bay area where the ships were. Since we didn't go to the islands, we just walked along the water on the dock. The boats were really cool. I'd never seen a marina before. I'd barely been to the lake before. The sun was setting at this point in the day, so it looked even prettier.
Sunday
IKEA
Madilyne and I had been wanting to go to IKEA since before we left. In fact, I needed to get things from IKEA in Texas before I left but never got the chance to go. But this trip was fulfilling. Caroline wanted to go for the real Swedish Meatball experience.
Since it was my idea to go, I was responsible for finding directions. It was very simple and we got on the connections in time. The bus ride was a little rough...the girl sitting across from me fell onto me at one point because the bus driver slammed on the brakes and she wasn't ready. Luckily she apologized and it was awkward.
When we got there we saw the Bistro cafe. We thought that was the food court everyone was talking about. It was very anticlimactic. The only food they had there were hot dogs. All of us intentionally did not eat before hand so that we could get meatballs there. So Caroline was a little upset and didn't get any food. Madilyne and I decided to get hot dogs since they were cheap anyway. At the market area, I got berry gummies for about 80 cents. They had frozen meatballs there for about $5 if we wanted to take them back with us.
After grabbing the quick bite, we started exploring. Madilyne and I were geeking out big time in the show rooms. I love pretending I live there. We literally opened every cabinet and drawer. Scandinavians are so innovative. They also live in apartments, so that's why the IKEA furniture is meant for people who live in small spaces and need storage. I hadn't been to IKEA in forever, so the styles of furniture and design have definitely changed. I didn't even know IKEA made cabinetry for kitchens and bathrooms. The layout is basically the same as American IKEAs and the products are the same. However, I did grab a free pencil to say I got it from the IKEA in Sweden.
What's great about IKEA is that it wraps around endlessly. Eventually we found the real food court! The food area and the food itself was amazing! There were Swedish Meatballs, pasta, potatoes, etc. Everything was so cheap too! The meal I got was about $6 for the Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, peas, bread, chocolate mousse, and drink. It was the cheapeast meal I've gotten and it came with so much! I looked up American IKEA restaurant prices and they are higher, as are the gummies I bought. I should've stocked up on them...
After that, we quickly made our way through the rest of IKEA to get to an art museum before it closed. Caroline sped walked through the whole store, weaving around the displays and people. When we got to the entrance/exit, we looked at the tram/bus board and realized our bus was coming in 3 minutes! So we literally ran to the bus stop after we left the store. We saw the bus at the stop and sprinted even faster. Luckily we made it. If we hadn't we would've had to wait about 30 minutes for the next bus.
Art Museum
Caroline found a free art museum to go to (free for those under 25). I am not an art museum person. If anything, I like modern art. We got there within 30 minutes to closing. So we did the quickest museum walk through ever. There were 3 floors to look at and the gift shop. 30 minutes was perfect for me since I just look at the artwork and move on. Some of the pieces I liked. They are pictured below.
That was our last "free" weekend to do activities and explore. Also, all the activities were literally "free". Therefore, it was a literal and figurative title to this blog post :)