ABBA, IKEA, Blondes...SWEDEN!!!

Ok so I haven't seen the first two- but I've seen my fair share of blondes.

Willkommen to Goteborg, Sweden! I arrived here by ferry yesterday afternoon. It's a great little city on the west coast. I've found there's quite a lot to see here despite it not being a huge city.

I checked into my private room with my own bathroom in a hotel not far from the train station. I'm so excited to have a clean bed and shower! It also includes breakfast which is more meats, cheeses, some raw veggies, muesli, yogurt and cornflakes. It's funny, but cornflakes are everywhere from Iceland to Scandinavia. They love em.

Today I walked to the older neighborhood called Haga. There are cobble stoned streets with small clothing boutiques, vintage shops, sidewalk cafes and more. I picked up a jaunty little hat in one of the vintage stores for my personal souvenir. The cafes are adorable. Most have some sort of counter to order from and then you can sit outside or in by a window watching the people. Lunch options are decidedly un-Scandinavian with things like tomato soup, salads or my selection today which was some kind of lentil cake, hummus, cabbage and tzatziki sauce rolled in a pita.

Following lunch I went a little further to find the Botanical Garden. It was a really big place with everything from trails through the woods to flower gardens. They had the most amazing dahlias I have ever seen. They were all different colors, shapes and some were the size of dinner plates- huge! While I was walking one of the trails I saw a giant hare. This was no ordinary bunny. This guy was straight out of Alice in Wonderland (except for being brown). He didn't have a bushy tail either, but he had a tail that looked like the white tailed deer I've seen up north. He leapt across into the woods while I scrambled for my camera. Unfortunately I was too slow so he will remain a myth. Walked around until I saw the dark clouds rolling in. I just made it to the gate when it really came down. I stood under shelter for a while until I just couldn't stand anymore.

Now I have walked A LOT since I've been travelling. When I get to a new place I scope out the map and I'm quite proud of my navigational skills. I got myself to Haga and then to the Garden. The problem is that I was now in a position of needing to walk back ill-prepared for rain. Today was the day I decided to get all cute in a dress and leggings with my (cute slingback and not white trash style) crocs as opposed to army green pants and lesbi-gal hiking boots. Walking through the rain it became apparent to me that this was something I should remember. Walking in the rain is another one of those things you do when you're a kid and it's fun. So I sloshed around on the streets of Goteborg and as I neared my hotel I looked for a cafe. The rain had stopped and I was drying out but I needed a latte and berry cake with whipped cream please. A treat always make everything better.