Gothenburg is a beautiful city. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been overly cooperative, but I've been having a nice time sipping lattes in cafes and watching the locals trudge around in their rain gear. There are parks and trees and virtual forests all over the city. Just down the hill from my friend's house there is an entire little community of country cottages right in the city. They are not inhabitable during the winter and are accessible only on foot or bicycle.
I bought the funniest (and trueist) little booklet called a "Zenophobe's guide to the Swedes". It explains so much really - I highly recommend this series for anyone wanting to understand the subtleties of cultural d
ifference. Volvo and Saub get mentioned a lot in the booklet and it is quite true that they must make up about 70 percent of the cars on the street. I am posting this pic of a vintage car especially for my friend T.
ifference. Volvo and Saub get mentioned a lot in the booklet and it is quite true that they must make up about 70 percent of the cars on the street. I am posting this pic of a vintage car especially for my friend T. If the Swedes are often thought of as somewhat 'smug' - they do seem to have good reason, from what I have seen. Things seem to be running quite well, there does not appear to be any poverty to speak of (perhaps they are just hiding it better than we are? - although I don't think so), everyone speaks 2 or more languages, and public transit is amazing and affordable. I could go on - but I'll let you read the book - or better yet - come visit yourself.
