the city on the west coast: gothenburg.

if you know me, or have visited my blog before, then you know that i love to travel. i crave it. i yearn for it. and i am always longing for my next trip to some place different. exploring other cultures, seeing new things (or old things from new perspectives), living life, and soaking in the moments… that’s what inspires me touches my soul.

this past weekend my love and i had a chance to get out of town & visit the city where we first met each other. it was so nice to have three days completely off from work. together. we stayed with a friend and visited/met up with other friends also throughout the weekend. gothenburg did not disappoint… the weather was gorgeous & there were plenty of moments to soak up life. and we did just that. 

the train station in gothenburg on a sunny, chilly friday morning.

 

first stop. starbucks! let me explain the excitment… you see in sweden there are only 2. one in the airport near stockholm (which we still have not found) and this new one in the train station in gothenburg. so, upon arriving, this was on the top of our list.

i am a happy girl with my white chocolate mocha.

 beautiful weather…

in a beautiful city.

my love soaking up some moments & some sun.

we did a little shopping. yep.

sunshine & love.

an amazing thai restaurant. book your table early, it’s popluar! the atmosphere was unbelievable and the food was super good too. it was a great friday evening shared among friends.

haga: an old suburb of gothenburg, which is now not a suburb but part of central downtown. th ebuildings are old, the cafes are cozy, the boutiques are unique. we spent our saturday afternoon wandering the streets. lovely. just lovely.

haga: i know it doesn’t look real. but this was the scene i was standing in the middle of. this couple, dressed in full costume, walked up & down the street playing their little calliope music for everyone. a traveling street show.

then, a street jazz band. they were awesome.

the lady in the upstairs apartment thought so too. how cool that she lives right there & just hung her head out the window to take in the sights & sounds on the street below.

 time for fika at cafe husaren.

blueberry pie & chai latte for me, thank you.

 after dinner saturday night, some of our friends craved mcflurry’s. so, off to mcdonald’s. we wondered if it was closed. weird – since it was only 9:15. but, then remembered we were in the middle of earth hour. mcdonald’s had turned off their lights (most of them). cool.

so, we walked up to the end of one of the main streets so see how gothenburg looked in the dark. not all the lights were out, but it was pretty dark. we could see plenty of stars. we waited there for 10 minutes, so we could see the lights come back on. it was a little like waiting for fireworks to begin. hehe.

lights back on!

 sunday morning tram ride into downtown.

 headed to church to meet up with some friends.

 and finally, the train ride home sunday afternoon.

what a fantastic, beautiful weekend it was! now, it’s monday morning. the month of april has begun, and it’s holy week/stilla vecka – the week leading up to easter. i must say, i am feeling some april stress. there’s a lot going on. a lot of big stuff. but, the challenges will be good. it was amazing to have a weekend off and share the joys of traveling with my love. and i’m already longing for the next getaway adventure. paris, anyone?

peace, love, & sunshine on your monday. wherever you are.