Accommodation: Elite Plaza Hotel Gothenburg

I had a great night’s sleep after all the walking I did yesterday.  I got up at 8:30am, packed my bag, and checked out at 9:15am and went to find some breakfast in the train station.  I hopped on my train at 10:29am, watched a couple of episodes of Gotham while watching the Swedish scenery pass me by, and was in Gothenburg by 1:30pm.  The train was a really nice experience as the seats were huge, there was free wifi, and each seat had a power outlet.  There was also a little station at the back where you could pick up free tea, coffee, water, and little snacks.

I got into Gothenburg and took the 10 minute walk down the canal to the Elite Plaza Hotel.  The hotel is a little bit older than the Radisson Blu I was in, but it is still very nice.  I wasn’t able to check in right away as my room wouldn’t be ready for a couple of hours, so I left my bag and headed out into the city.  I was pretty hungry at this point so I figured for the second day in a row I would have lunch at Hard Rock Café.  This was the 56^th HRC that I’ve been to.  I had a delicious beer and burger for lunch and then walked around the city center for a little while.  I asked a few people what I should see when I’m in Gothenburg, and I was given the same answer as when I asked about Stockholm.  Unless I like shopping or museums, there’s not really a lot to do.  

I came across a part of town called Haga which was pretty cute and filled with cafes.  They are well known for their cinnamon buns here not because they’re better than anyone else’s, but because they’re so much bigger.  I had to check this out for myself so I bought a massive cinnamon bun that was about as big as my head.  It cost 79 kr (£6) at Hebbe Lelle cafe, which is crazy, but when in Rome…  I only managed about half of the cinnamon bun, but I’m still glad I got it.

Gothenburg isn’t a very pretty city, and it has a more university feel to it than Stockholm.  I’m going to get a better look at the city tomorrow, but I’m not sure that’s going to take very long.

I came back to the hotel for a bit to relax, and then went out for dinner.  The receptionist at the hotel recommended a restaurant called Smaka, which was just a 15 minute walk away.  It was a pretty brisk walk, it’s just below freezing here, but it was also nice because it brought me over one of the canals and through a park.  

The restaurant was exactly what I was hoping for.  A chilled place, nothing too fancy, and really good food.  I asked the waiter what he would recommend and he said the meatballs (of course!), so I went ahead with his suggestion.  These were excellent meatballs.  The best ones I’ve had.  They were also the cheapest ones I’ve had at 220 kr (£20).  After dinner I just came back to the hotel for a relatively early night and I’ll get back out there tomorrow to see more of Gothenburg before heading home.  Another successful, but more chilled day in Sweden 🙂