Quarter Century

Well I hit the quarter century mark on Saturday but I can't say it feels any difference. I did however have an amazing weekend to write about. Megan said she had a surprise planned and said that we needed to be up in Chelmsford, Essex (30min from my grandmother’s house) on the Friday. So late on Thursday night we drove up to stay in Hatfield Heath for the night. I awoke the next morning to fully cooked English breakfast in bed and then got ready to go. This was when I found out that we were not really going to Chelmsford but instead we had to make our way to Stansted airport. Hmmmmm...... I see where this is going.

Well Megan still wouldn't tell me where exactly we were going but she did give me the flight number once we were outside the airport. I quickly scanned the check in TV screens hoping to find out where we were going. I soon as I saw Gothenburg next to our flight number I was instantly excited. Sweden has been high on my list of places to visit for a long time. I must admit it was an outstanding present and I count myself so luckily to have a girlfriend that throws these kind of surprises.

After getting through the giant line-up for security we found our way to the gate and made the 2 hour flight to Gothenburg City airport. The airport was really strange as it was probably just a little bit bigger than Burlington's in Canada (yes Burlington does have a airport used for Cessna’s). The passport control was in a small hanger with plywood dividers. All they did was look at our passports and send us through. No questions at all. As we had no luggage under the plane we followed the exit signs down a maze of plywood dividers. At the end of this maze was a steel door with a sign saying "forbidden entry" and "do not enter". Ok......now what. Well another guy came through with us and tried to open the door but it appeared to be locked. We went back to the baggage area for a second before watching another couple go into the plywood maze. This time they didn't come back. So we went through and opened the door (which wasn't locked). On the other side of this forbidden door was...yes you guessed it......the airport exit, where we jumped onto a bus that took us into the centre of Gothenburg.

Our hotel was right downtown running next to the Canal so we checked in and then went in search of a bite to eat. As Gothenburg has 26 McDonalds we choose one and tried a Smokey bacon burger. We walked around by the river until about 9pm when we found a bar and drank a few Swedish beers. We walked down one of the many parks and a small cafe so Megs could try some chocolate and coconut cake thing and then made our way back to the hotel walking the long way back through some of the side streets.




The following morning we set out to explore the north end of the city. Our first few stops where a few statues. The one that sticks out in my mind was a statue of the cities founder pointing to the spot where he said "we shall build the city here".



There were quite a few churches on route. One of the ones we stopped at was completely deserted and was really peaceful. Megan lit a Candle (and donated 2 Kronors and then 3 more) and placed it on the globe holder. From here we went up to the University and then over to one of the main streets where we just "stumbled" across a Hard Rock Cafe. A coincidence? I think not. We had a great meal for lunch and Megan then bought me the shot glass to add to my collection. Feeling really full from the meal we walked up to the City's Art Museum but didn't go in due to the line up and the price. We kept heading north until we reached the residential area of the city before turning around and heading back. In the middle of the city is a Amusement park called Liseburg Park. It is said to have the biggest rollercoaster in Scandinavia so we went to check it out. Unfortunately it was closed over the weekend so we had to skip past it and move onto the sports arenas. As we came upon the first one there were people outside singing and chanting. My first thought was football hooligans. Upon a closer inspection I found out that I was wrong. It was Hockey Hooligans!!! It was strange to be in a Hockey mad country again after being away from Canada for nearly 11 months now. Of course we rushed to the ticket office and stood in line to get some tickets. When we were about 10 people back in line a guy came out and announced that they had just sold out for the game. This was quite upsetting to both of us but we have decided that we will just have to come back to Sweden to see a game later and pre book tickets ahead of time.

Just down the road is the football stadium with its curved ends. There was no game on so we went back to the hotel for a quick rest before the evening. We stopped off at a Spa where Megan tried to get me a Swedish Massage but that was completely booked up and we didn't see any other spas around the rest of the weekend. Oh well something else to add to the list for next time.
That night we went for a walk again north of the canals to see that part of the city by night. We stopped at the hard rock again to get a giant sundae to share followed by a beer as the rain poured down. The rest of the night was just spent walking around and taking a few night photos.

We were up bright and early on Sunday morning trying to get a much in as we could. We did a bit of souvenir shopping and before heading out to the airport at 11am. We picked up a cheap set of Sweden playing cards to pass the time at the airport until our flight. We arrived back at Stansted where my mum picked us up and we all went out for a meal at the Thatcher’s pub in Hatfield Heath. After the meal we had to say goodbye and make the long trek back down the M11, M25, and M4 in the pouring rain. It was nice to get home though. All in all it was an amazing trip and one that took me by surprise. Thank you so much Megan it was a definitely a birthday I won't forget.

Below are a few more photos we took. I had a tough time picking them out so I put another 100 photos up on my msn space for everyone to look at if they want. Enjoy.

Try and pronounce that!!!

7-Elevens still exist

The Stereotypes are true.....I am refering to the trees either side of the path...