a glimpse of gothenburg
in february we spent a wet, grey and snowy weekend in göteborg, on sweden’s west coast. despite the miserable weather we had a great time and i came away thinking that sweden is a country i’d like to explore more of and that göteborg would be an especially lovely place to visit when the weather is brighter. there are a lot of canals in the city, many of which have wide grassy banks that will, i am sure, be wonderful places to spend time when you’re not tucked under an umberella!
the architecture is also appealing – there is a wide variety of styles, most of which boast large windows to encourage the light to stream into the rooms. one of the most interesting buildings we visited was feskekôrka, a fish market which resembles a gothic church. gothenburg’s other food market that is well worth exploring is stora salluhallen (we had really delicious raw vegetable wraps and juices at på kanelen before countering the healthiness with a couple of cakes from one of the bakery stalls).
an area that i particularly liked was haga, the city’s oldest neighbourhood which has cobbled streets, beautiful buildings as well as plenty of cafes and shops. the advice i’d been give before visiting the city was to make sure we indulged in “fika” – a swedish tradition of stopping to chat over coffee and with a cinnamon bun. we stopped at a few places in haga, including café husaren (allegedly the source of the best fika in town but a bit disappointing in reality as the service was cool and the cinnamon bun very dry) and café kringlan (a small but cute and cosy choice).
our other “food on the run” option was courtesy of strömmingsluckan, a centrally located black van that sells strömming, a snack of fried herrings with parsley butter, mash and lingon berries. the mashed potato was particularly lovely – rich and creamy and a great accompaniment to the fish.
in the evenings we ate at familjen, with it’s vibrant welcoming atmosphere and adventurous cocktail list (although i suggest avoiding the beetroot and talisker whisky option which is one of the few cocktails i’ve not been able to finish!) and swedish taste, which has a more formal setting and beautiful food. i didn’t keep notes from either meal so can’t write about what we ate in any detail but overall, while i enjoyed atmosphere at familjen, it was swedish taste’s food that i’d choose to eat again.