Culture and History of Sweden

There is no better way to learn about the history and culture of any location in the world then listening first hand from a local. When I used to travel with my parents, we would hire a taxi driver to give us a personal tour and talk to us about what he thought of the city. Then he would take us to more local areas that the tourists miss and we would enjoy food that is native to the land in a hole in the wall type restaurant.

Well today, we were given the opportunity to learn about Göteborg from a local and we upgraded the taxi travel service to a giant tour bus. Benjt was a wonderful bus driver and Grenella was a wonderful tour guide. A few fun facts, Grenella had already had 3 ½ cups of Ficka (coffee) before our tour even started at 10am. With the daily average cups of coffee per Swedish person being 6 cups a day, it was no surprise she was able to present to a bunch of college kids for multiple hours with enthusiasm and a big, bright smile on her face the whole time.

Our first destination of the tour was the Fish Church. The Feskekôrka (Fish Church) was designed by Viktor von Gegerfeldt in 1874. Nobody was hardhearted when we weren't awoken at 7 o’clock in the morning to auction for fish, but it was great to see one of the biggest and freshest fish markets in Sweden.  It is said that some of the locals believe in “Cod, not God!”

In addition, Grenella illustrated that some Swedish people love being the headlines in the newspaper. She said a few people have actually held their marriage ceremony in the fish market. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think raw fish smells the greatest and I wouldn't want to associate one of the happiest moments of my life with baby shrimp, salmon, cod, and much more raw fish products among my most respected guests.

The next location was Kronhuskvarteret. Kronhuskvarteret is a historic quarter in the center of Gotenburg. It includes the oldest house in the city, Kronhuset from 1654, and Kronhusbodarna from the 18th century. Kronhuset was an ammunition storage location for the Swedish Armed Forces, and now it is used as a concert hall and craft center. This building is not opened all year round because the government of Sweden believes that building has the potential to collapse at any moment.

Luckily, for the building, she has great neighbors as there was a licorice and leather product specialist. As we stepped into the licorice shop, we were given the opportunity to try a Swedish delicacy. It was a salty licorice that was super sour and had an interesting name that translated into "A Witches Face" because of what it did to your face when you ate it. Grenella said she can’t stop eating them once she has one; so naturally, I needed to try it. Annnddd immediately I couldn't stop trying to scrub my tongue with the nearest objects. It was way too sour for my taste.

The next stop was Götaplatsen, the home of the famous Poseidon statue by Carl Milles. Götaplatsen was founded for the World Expo in 1923 and the God of the sea is the perfect symbol for this maritime town. The statue is located atop a hill at the end of one of the most busiest streets in Gotenburg: The Avenue.  The naked statue is said to have caused some debate among the people of Gotenburg; however, is there any better way to depict the God of the Sea than 120% naked?

In addition, there was a statue of Victor Hasselblad. He was the founder of the Hasselblad camera company and his statue has an engraving on the moon footprint because his brand of camera was used on the first moon expedition. It is said that ten of his cameras still exist on the moon today. In addition, there is an engraving that says "I am the Camera."

The story behind "I am the Camera." is that Hasselblad was flying and a security guard asked for his passport. Has he was reviewing the passport, he noticed the Hasselblad name and politely asked if he was related to the person who created Hasselblad camera. Being shy and humble like everybody in Sweden, he said "I am the Camera."

The last location we were able to stop and explore was a place called Haga. In the central of Gotenburg, within short distance from the Central Station, Kungsportsavenn and the Stena Line terminal, you will find Haga, the town's oldest suburb. Haga is known for its well preserved old buildings, shopping, antique shops, seasonal markets and coffee-shops. Thus, it is the perfect place to enjoy a fika (coffee) break in the middle of the day. We stopped in one of the café and we were able to get a coffee and a large cinnamon roll. When I say large cinnamon roll, I mean it. The thing was large enough to feed an army, and my hallow leg…

The last stop we visited was a large church atop a hill overlooking Gotenburg. The Masthugget Church was opened in 1914 and was designed by Sigfrid Ericsson. The church and the view were beautiful. Since it was closed for public viewing, we decided to have a small photo shoot atop the hill overlooking Gotenburg. After Thanking Granella, we returned to the youth hostel, and got ready to go get dinner.

Today was a "free" dinner, but don't be fooled by the name. That just means we are allowed to go to eat wherever as long as we bring a group with a minimum of two people with us AND pay for our own meal. As I said in an earlier post, most Swedish restaurants have European delicacies and this location was from Spain. It was called La Cucaracha. Our waiter was a great guy, but he probably had his worst first day of work possible.

To start this segment off, he was a great guy and had an adventurous heart. He said he had lived in Italy, France, Greece (for far too long), Sweden, and was now trying to find a new location to travel to. We assumed at a basic level, he understood all the languages, but since it was his first day on the job he was very nervous. Especially when he had a whole table of Americans asking what every word on the Swedish menu meant. After about 30 minutes of questioning a guy on the menu we had finally decided what we wanted.

Nobody decided to get tapas but I decided to go with a great salmon dish. When the food was brought
out, they politely asked who got the pork fillet. Two of my friends and I said they probably had the wrong table and we waited until they served the rest of the group to question the three plates that were presented in front of us. When everybody got what they ordered, we realized that solomillo in Spanish means pork and not salmon. Whoops!

All in all it was a great day.

Daily Reflections:

1. Hej means Hi in Swedish
2. Förlåt means Excuse me
3. Ha en bra dag means have a good day
4. Sweden is the largest consumers of News Papers
5. The City of Sweden is a mixture of old architecture meeting new architecture
6. You can, and should, ask for English menus. Most places have them
7. Swedish People eat about 10 Kilos of Sweets per year person. They love candy 
8. The Swedish Motto: You are no better than the man next to you
9. Swedish Chocolate and candy can be very bitter if chosen incorrectly
10. I love Sweden. THEY DRINK 6 CUPS OF COFFEE A DAY AND IT IS OKAY!

Posted in: