Goteborg, Sweden

Sunday, 19 August - I've made it to Goteborg, Sweden. It took forever, partially because it's impossible to get anyplace from Burlington (including Vermont). Burlington to Frankfurt to Goteborg. For some reason the security was really tight today - unusual for Burlington, although not unusual for Frankfurt. Say what you want about the Germans, they're damn serious about this whole terrorism thing. I don't think I've ever passed through Frankfurt where I didn't wait through two or three security checkpoints.

Goteborg, so far, is cool. Sort of an odd combination of Vienna and Amsterdam. It feels heavy architectually, which is a description for Vienna that I borrowed from my friend David Kite. There are also canals, which reminds me of Amsterdam - which is not surprising because there were apparently Dutch planners involved in laying out the city. I guess it's sort of a "nice" Amsterdam. I had this feeling on the way here that my response to Sweden would be much the same as my response to Australia - that is, I didn't think I would be blown away by it like someplace like India or Jordan, but it'd be a place that I automatically knew that I could live there. It's early, but I suspect I will feel the same way about it as Australia. Sweden has surprised me so far because 1) it's much more multicultural than I thought, and 2) the Swedes seem a lot warmer than I thought they would be - both pleasant surprises. I guess I've watched too many Ingmar Bergman films. I did see someone taking a streetcar with death, but they weren't playing chess.

I arrived late in the afternoon so I haven't done too much other than walk around and try to figure out where Goteborg University is (I have meetings scheduled there on Tuesday and Wednesday). I did spend a while walking through the Tradgardsforeningen (Horticultural Gardens) which was very nice. There were beautiful walking trails and rides for the kids and live performances - the places was pretty lively. Since I can't make up my mind whether or not Goteborg is more like Vienna or Amsterdam, I guess the confusion of purpose impacted on dinner as well. I ended up eating at a Spanish restaurant called E Corazon and had the mixed tapas, along with a Carlsberg beer (which is Danish). I guess I'll sort this whole Swedish thing out tomorrow.



Speaking of which, tomorrow I have to catch a train to Skovde for meetings at the university there. It's supposed to be easy, which means I'll end up in Oslo.