Well hello! As promised, here is my photo diary from the wonderous Gothenburg. There aren't as many photos as I would normally like to includes sadly, as it rained almost the entire time we were there (don't worry, this isn't normal, I overheard someone saying it was one of the wettest weekends on record apparently) but hopefully there's enough in there to wet your interest! I didn't even mean that wet pun, what lark.
To explore Gothenburg, I would recommend just going out and getting lost (this isn't me trying to justify the fact that we actually did just get lost). Either walk - which is what we did - cycle or hop on and off the trams. Within about ten minutes of exploring I remember turning to Karen and going, 'oh yes, I very much like it here'. When the sun's out you just can't help but fall in love with it. The buildings are all incredibly beautiful and some look like something straight out of a Disney film, so make sure and look up. I mean, not to the extent where you're bumping in to people and walking into bins and things, but look up as often as you safely can. Each one is so different to the next, you won't be able to pick a favourite; as you can see I got pretty snap happy and just tried to photograph every single one.
We stayed at the luurrrrvly Hotel Bellora, which I couldn't recommend more. It's very centrally located so is within a close distance to most of the things you'll want to visit, and the rooms are amazing. They're beautifully - and quite unusually - decorated (hello, Beetlejuice wallpaper), the bed is ridiculously comfy (to the point me and Karen were considering stealing it before realising it's not really a practical thing to take on a plane) and the staff are all incredibly lovely and helpful. There's a beautiful bar/restaurant located downstairs, which you can also nip down to and pick yourself up a takeaway coffee or tea at time. During the festival, they also had a little bowl in reception filled with complimentary earplugs, blister pads, plasters and - of course - condoms, which I thought was a pretty snazzy idea. They also have the rooftop of dreams, which you might have seen over on my instagram, which I was sold on alone. It's filled with candles cushions and flowers and is the perfect place to go, day or night, for a drink and a view of the city.
We were there for Way Out West festival, as you may know, which was incredible. There's always a great line-up, but it has a very chilled, laid back vibe (which the Swedish do best) and its got to be one of the most beautiful settings for a festival ever. Look at that lake! Bella. There's also a delicious selection of festival food which is second to none, I sat and had that (gluten free) burger and chips overlooking the lake feeling thinking about how surreal it all was.
In terms of things to do, we took a trip to Universeum which was great fun (I'd especially recommend it if you have kiddiewinkles) and to Haga as well. Haga's this wonderful little district filled with wooden houses and cafes galore. It was also in Haga that we found cinnamon buns the size of our heads, so if that doesn't tempt you I don't know what will. Another little area I'd recommend is Magasinsgatan, which has lots of cool boutique shops and food trucks and is a verrrry good place to wander through on a sunny day.
Be it for a festival visit, or just for an explore, I honestly couldn't recommend Gothenburg more! I made that poem up myself.
Amy
Once again, thank you to Visit Gothenburg and Hotel Bellora for such a wonderful trip and to my favourites, Zalando, for making all my Swedish dreams come true.