Day 38_Gothenburg city

Rocks, water and trees are the most prevalent thing you see in Gothenburg.  The port wraps itself around the city and the canals weave deeper into it.  I spent the day walking around the city, looking at the way it is designed and the architecture.  There is an austerity to the design which seems to match the weather.  By this point in the trip, I have walked around a lot of cities and this is the one where I feel the most safe.  There are no homeless or begging people that I have seen.  My brother said it is pretty hard to be homeless with the safety nets in place here.  When we were at the grocery store, there was a small scanner attached to the cart which you used each time you added food to your grocery bag.  At the time of checkout, you submitted the scanner.  Occasionally you are spotchecked (requested by the computer) to redo the scan to verify accuracy.  Things seem to be on an honors system for the most part.

A boat ride through the canals and into the bay was a day highlight.  In the 17th century, Dutch lived in Gothenburg and helped develop the canals to bring the products from the boats in the harbor to the merchants in town.   Some of the bridges are so low, the boat ride required us to duck to go under.  When we got out into the harbor the winds from the sea were bonechilling.  After an hour, I needed a large hot cup of coffee and of course an accompanying small dessert (Michael says they are called vacuum cleaners--which seems undignified when they are so good and pretty).

After work, Michael, David and I took a drive to the ocean which is only a couple miles from his house.  Homes are scattered in the hills and the overall feel is like Cape Cod to me.  Wave-softened rocks line the sandless beaches with views to uninhabited small islands.  My birthday dinner was kebob pizza, which is Middle Eastern type of pizza in which meat is thinly sliced onto a crust.  Delicious and a fun way to end the day.  Sara and David helped blow out the candles.