February 2018

February 20, 2018

GothenburgTours: my city is changing, rapidly. Come see!

What was once an industrial city is changing, rapidly, into a modern cosmopolitan city

Gothenburg as a city is changing. Rapidly. And right now, the changes are happening faster than ever before, or so it seems. I’m not sure if this is true for other cities, as well, but my town seems to need a “reason” to change. In 1921, ahead of the previous big jubilee, it saw huge changes: an amusement park, several museums and stately buildings which still dominate the landscape, to this very day.

Does it take a large event for major change to happen?

After that, the city seemed to have slumped a bit and just evolved. When I moved here in 1992, Gothenburg seemed to be a tired, beaten city. Run-down buildings everywhere, fifty-eleven shades of gray, you name it. The demise of the three large shipyards in the harbor, the troubles Volvo was going through, it all affected the spirits of the city. But there was a sense of hope, nevertheless. We had been awarded the 1995 IAAF Athletic World Championships, and we were going to clean up our city for that event. Boy, did we succeed!

Major projects underway

a changing city — This just won the design competition for the new cable car across the river. It will ferry thousands of people across the river with dramatic views. Image: City of Gothenburg

Since then, the city has grown, loads of new housing has replaced the empty spaces where keels were laid out and ships were built. Particularly on the western banks of the river Göta. But more is yet to come, and with the immense growth of that side of the city, there is a need for better transportation infrastructure.

As we approach the next big celebration of our town, 400 years, in 2021, the city is suddenly ready to take leaps into the future:

a futuristic cable car across the river as a means of mass transportation
a brand new car, tram & bus bridge to cross the river, replacing the old one from 1939
a brand new tunnel to help with traffic congestions
our first “subway” tunnel of sorts, with two new underground railway stations across the city
Karlatornet (and the entire neighborhood), which is going to be Scandinavia’s tallest skyscraper
and several other neighborhoods are in the process of being re-developed with tall buildings adding thousands of apartments for tens of thousands of new inhabitants.

Karlatornet

Here's a rendering of what Karlavagnstornet will look like, the beacon of a changing Gothenburg. — Here’s a rendering of what Karlatornet will look like, the beacon of a changing Gothenburg. Image: Serneke

Traditionally, we have very few “tall” buildings in Gothenburg. Several devastating city fires put a damper on that. However, when the city fairgrounds built their third hotel tower a few years ago (which includes Sweden’s very best hotel), that tower breached 100 m, thus officially (ridiculous compared to other cities, I know, but this is Sweden) making it a skyscraper.

When builder Ola Serneke announced the project, people went nuts. The idea was so crazy, so outlandish that nobody believed it. And against all odds, it is actually being built. All the permits are in place and many of the apartments are already sold. It’s going to be a landmark for sure, replacing Turning Torso in Malmö as Scandinavia’s tallest building with its whopping 245 meters.

Along the river

A new bridge to cross the river and brand new neighborhoods for a changing city. Image: City of Gothenburg

But there is more. About a decade ago, we tunneled the main traffic artery through the middle of the city, and that entire space is now ready for development. Sadly, in our town (I’d be happy to tell you on a tour) some of these things seem to take forever, but you can already see the changes in a few places, and with the coming train/subway tunnel, it sank some of the plans even further.

Gothenburg: a changing city — The view of a brand new neighborhood being built behind our current central railway station. Looks almost like sci-fi…

Gothenburg is built on clay and every building needs to be firmly “poled” into solid ground, sometimes dozens of meters into the ground. Not easy when you’re also building a tunnel through all of that.

Right now, a further stretch of the city freeway along the central station is decked over and an entirely new neighborhood is being developed. The sketches from the city almost appear like science-fiction.

It’s always a good time to visit…

Whether you like to see the old or watch the new city grow, or if you’re interested in how we tackle the future, which includes getting ready for the ever-increasing sea-levels, then you should visit Gothenburg now. All the rest, food, great lodging, art, fun, entertainment is in place as always, but a city in a revolutionary transformation from “industrial” to “futuristic” isn’t something you get to witness every day.

February 13, 2018

#GothenburgTours: “But if I don’t know what to visit?” #tourism #gothenburg #sweden

Good question: what if you don’t know what to expect, what to see?

In a previous post here, I underlined the importance of talking to your tour guide, to let them know what you want to see, do. This has prompted some reactions, both online, on social media, but I’ve also received an e-mail, from Paul, living in Manchester. He writes:

“…but what if I don’t know what do see, what to do in a new destination? Clearly then, a standard tour may be a better option for me, to get a flavor of what the place is all about?”

Allow me to clarify…

don't know? Let me know what interests you, and I'll take care of the rest... — There are things to see for anyone and you can get really “nerdy”, e.g. the construction of a new bridge across Sweden’s biggest river.

First a big thank you to Paul for his e-mail. I do understand your point, and tour companies selling standard tours make it very well, in destinations all over the world. I’d not want to see my post or this company as a competitor to those offerings. We’re a complement, for the most part.

If you spend a week or more at a destination, if you have plenty of time, I think those off-the-rack tours can be very valuable. We recently spent two weeks on Madeira and spent one day on one of those hop-on-hop-off buses as a means to get an overview of Funchal.

There are pros and cons to everything

But with every offer, there are pros and cons. With a standard tour, you have no choice. You’re either in, or out. You get to see things you want to see, and you’ll be dragged to see things, or do stuff you don’t care for. As I exemplified in my very first post, one of my personal pet peeves is shopping on tours. For someone else, it may be architecture, or museums, or…

Trust your guide

I've lived in Gothenburg and guided people here since 1992. I know that most people will want to see Carl Milles' famous statue of the sea god Poseidon, even if they don't even know he exists... — I’ve lived in Gothenburg and guided people here since 1992. I know that most people will want to see Carl Milles’ famous statue of the sea god Poseidon, even if they don’t even know he exists…

So what if you don’t know what to do, what to expect. Trust your guide. We’ve lived in our cities for a long time, we know what people tend to like. I’ve guided visitors through Gothenburg since 1992, and I know what people like to see, and what they will wrinkle their noses at.

The whole point of customizing is to provide that little extra. Allow me to exemplify: say you love architecture, building techniques. I could spend days just showing you different buildings here, I could show you differences in Sweden’s building standards, fire safety and even take you to homes to see how we actually live. One tiny topic, we could ‘nerd’ for days!

Any information you provide makes your tour better

I maintain: the more information you provide your guide, the better and interesting your tour will be. You don’t need to know your destination, but I presume that you do know what you like, and if you tell me to just surprise you, I can do that, too. But you’ll forfeit the right to complain about my choices… 😉

Make sense? Welcome to Gothenburg. Contact us here.

February 6, 2018

#GothenburgTours: “Smultronställe” is what we call a secret spot in #Sweden #Tourism #Gothenburg

“Smultronställe” is a place you cherish and do not (necessarily) share with everyone

Smultron is the Swedish word for wild strawberries, this super yummy, flavorful tiny berry that kids in Sweden love to thread on a dry grass straw to enjoy in peace and quiet. It’s a berry that grows all over Europe and elsewhere, but in Swedish folklore, it has almost magical properties. Smultronställe could be related to either a place where you can find them (that you wish to keep to yourself, just like your favorite mushroom places) or a place where you can sit in the sun and enjoy them.

Over time, the term has been expanded to be used for other purposes, meaning. Today, it simply stands for a secret spot, a place you cherish but do not necessarily want to share with anyone. It could be your backyard, a particular beach etc. And it doesn’t have to be “secret” or “hidden” either. But because no one else knows about it, it becomes that, even though it may be a very popular place. “It’s in the eyes of the spectator”, as the saying goes in Swedish.

Smultronställen can be found everywhere

I recently visited South Korea and had hired a tour guide for a couple of days. He showed me to the places we had discussed, the research I’m doing for my book. After the first day, we were done, and I asked him to show me Seoul off the beaten track, the Seoul of the locals, where you wouldn’t see tourists (normally), and I was curious about his favorite spot (his smultronställe) in Seoul. This is where he took me:

This is one man's smultronställe, by the banks of the river Han in Seoul. — This is one man’s smultronställe, by the banks of the river Han in Seoul.

Smultronställen around Gothenburg

To understand a smultronställe means seeing that place through that person’s eyes, or at least from their point of view. I understood Yaek-Wang’s reasoning. It is a serene place, and I think the panorama reflects some of that.

I have many smultronställen to show you here in Gothenburg and the surrounding towns. These are places that speak to me, not necessarily from a historical point of view, but because of their beauty, their serenity etc. They have a purely emotional appeal. I look forward to showing them to you. Feel free to contact me to learn more.