This is the third time of my visit to Gothenburg, Sweden. As usual 17 hours of total flight from Kuala Lumpur to Gothenburg. My flight with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) to Amsterdam was not a pleasant flight. It took 12 hours from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Amsterdam Schipol International Airport, Netherlands. It was a long haul flight in a Boeing 747. The flight is rough due to heavy turbulence when flying across the air space of Russia. The economy seat in KLM Boeing 747 is narrow. Forget about leg space between your leg and the seat in front. It is barely more than 10cm. Luckily, I manage to sleep for 9 hours most of the time inside the flight and seated beside the aisle.
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I arrived at Gothenburg Lanvetter Airport on Sunday morning. Not far away from the baggage claim area, I spotted a taxi driver holding "Husqvarna Construction" plate on his hand. When I walk toward his direction, he smiled at us and greet me good morning.
It took me 20 minutes from Gothenburg airport to Elite Storia Avenue Hotel in The Avenue Street, Gothenburg. I arrive at the hotel 2 hour earlier than check in time. I was told that the room is not available yet. I just drop my baggage into the baggage locker room, get myself prepared to roam around the surrounding.
Cafe in the park
Winter scene in Gothenburg, Sweden
Frozen canal and some city architechture in Gothenburg.
Gothenburg city is beautiful in winter. This is the first time, I experience winter in Scandinavian city. Most of the street and park is covered with snow. The ambient temperature is around 0 - 4 degree in the day time and -8 - 0 degree at night. Did you know that the entire population in Sweden is only 9 million, out of 9 million, 2 million in Stockholm, around 700k in Gothenburg, and the rest in other location.
Street scene in Gothenburg
Frozen canal beside the parkMy legs getting tired after spending 2 hours strolling on the street. I've been walking non stop lugging 3kgs of Lowepro Fastpack 350 behind my back. After walking around the main street of Gothenburg, it's time to fill up my empty stomach. My initial plan is to had my lunch in Hard Rock Restaurant, Gothenburg. While I am walking towards Hard Rock Restaurant, my eyes suddenly spotted a group of 20 people queuing up in front of the restaurant called "Joe Farelli's Italian-American Kitchen" beside Hard Rock. Everyone was queuing up and waited anxiously for the restaurant to open.
The menu is written in Swedish and the best thing is I got no one to help me do the translation. I try to make a few guess what's written on the Menu board in front of the restaurant. Well, I only understand 165 SEK (1 Swedish Kronor = RM0.46) per person on what is written on the menu. The first thing came into my mind is 'buffet brunch'! I was correct when I asked one of the waiter what's their menu today. The buffet brunch was nice and it's different from Asian country. For around RM85 you pay (A rough convertion from 165SEK) , you get to enjoy pork ribs, pizza, salad, chickens, hams, bacons etc. A typical Italian and American cruisine in Gothenburg. It is worth every kronor spent! The taste is wonderful.
I finish my brunch buffet around 1pm. Went back to the hotel, check in every tom dick and harry. Take a slow shower after 18 hours of flight from Kuala Lumpur. I feel refreshed after the hot shower. Without wasting time, here I goes again to the street of Gothenburg with my camera. I leave my lappie in the room.
A famous statue located between the theatre and the end of Avenue Street.
The iconic lipstick building at the portI spend whole day roaming around the city on Bus number 11 a.k.a my both leg. I only have one day spare to roam around the city. The rest of the way, I start my business meeting and training from 8.30am till 9.30pm everyday.
On the last day, flying out from Gothenburg to Amsterdam is smooth and easy. Unfortunately, my colleague and I had some problem with the immigration when we going through Passport Control at Amsterdam Schipol International Airport.
We were called to the immigration office. According to the immigration officer, they suspect the authenticity of our passport due to the dot at the photo is round instead of square one. We have only 35 minutes to board our flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Our passport was sent to their security expert to verify the authenticity of the passport. Within 10 minutes, we're lucky that they manage to verify our passsport is original. I doubt whether our Malaysian Immigration Department doing their job properly or not. This brings a lot of trouble to the traveller who travel frequently to other continent where they are bias towards Asian. Anyhow, it's a great experience learned.
Finally manage to catch our flight on time and get some rest on the journey back home.
Famous river for salmon fishing in Jonsered
Red building in Jonsered
