Day #150 - Goteborg, Sweden

Jan and I in the double kayak

Getting my first experiences in a sea kayak

Waterfall at Liseberg Amusement Park

Alot of fun on cultural day in Goteborg

Wednesday, August 11th

Today I got up early and went into the city of Goteborg with Jan. It was about a 45 minute car ride from their lake house in Alingsas. Jan had some appointments with work for the day, so he let me out near the bus station and I was off to visit the 2nd largest city in Sweden. We would meet back up later around 5pm for our return trip to Alingsas.

I first had to take care of some errands and find a post office to send a few cards out. I then set out to see the sites. Right away, what I noticed about Goteborg is the amount of lakes and canals running through the city. That always makes for some great scenery and atmosphere. The 'Goto Canal' connects Goteborg on the North Sea with Stockholm on the Baltic Sea. This canal stretches for 322 nautical miles, was dug out by 60,000 soldiers who removed 200 million cubic foot of earth and rock, and has a series of 58 locks.

There was also a cultural festival going on today. This meant that there were many little bands playing on small stages and several booths scattered around town. I stopped in a few of these tents (some better than others -- Jan & Ulla know what I mean here). I walked down to Liseberg Park. It's a huge amusement park area in town. (It's unique here in Scandanavia so far - the amusement parks are generally right in the main town. This is different than my experiences in the states. In St. Louis - Six Flags is way west of the city. In Minnesota, Valleyfair is south of the city.)

Other top attractions of Goteborg were the many museums (history, art, and sciences). There was also a large botanical garden area for walking. It was an all-good day. I did have some rain in the afternoon - but that's why that make rain coats.

I met up with Jan and we drove back over to Alingsas. We had talked the night before and Jan mentioned that he kayaks alot out on the lake. He has both a single and double kayak. He had asked me if I would be interested in going out on the water. I jumped at this opportunity. I've never used a real kayak like this before.

We had returned about 6:30-7:00pm from Goteborg. We quickly switched into lake gear and took the double person kayak out for a test run. I listened to his instructions and gave it a whirl. My only hesitations about kayaks have always been - if the thing flips - will you be able to get out of the boat. Jan said: "No problem - easy to get out".

We took a ride up and down the shoreline. It was awesome! No flipping. It took me a little while to get the hang of it. I was in front and had control of the foot pedals connected to the rudder in the back of the boat for orientation. (I didn't know kayaks even had foot pedal controls). I could see how this sport would be alot of fun. Your close to the water, it's fast, it's peaceful. We got some pictures of us as we neared the dock. A "Thanks" to Jan for this really cool experience.

We followed this with a feast for kings. We had fresh crab for dinner - recently caught and provided to their family. What a treat! Some great conversations again and it was getting pretty late.

Another fun and unique day on my journey.