Wow. What a great day in an extraordinary city. I really had no idea of what I was to expect in Gothenburg before I arrived. I knew I wanted to visit for a couple of reasons: it was a shorter and cheaper train ride from Copenhagen than it would have been to Stockholm, and the research I had done told me that Gothenburg was able to provide small-town charm in a bustling city – something that cosmopolitan Stockholm could not. I made a list of sights to see and activities to do, and booked my round-trip train ticket from Copenhagen with SJ train lines.

7:52am – Departure from Copenhagen Central Station. I actually forgot that I had purchased a first-class train ticket, so the private window seat plus a free breakfast meal was a surprise treat!

8:20am – Arrival into Malmö Station. Unfortunately, this train was not direct, so I did have to change trains, but the layover in Malmö was very brief.

8:57am – Departure from Malmö Station. New train meant new meal! I was full from the last, however, so I did not eat it.

11:40am – Arrival into Gothenburg Centralstationen. Once I stepped outside the station, I was immediately met by one of the city’s many canals, the crossing of which led me to Inom Vallgraven, a bustling shopping district within the city. Lined with colorful buildings, pedestrian streets, and outdoor cafes, the neighborhood was packed with locals and tourists who were reaping the benefits of the beautiful weather. I spent the rest of my morning exploring this quarter, making sure to visit the Saluhallen Market and the Gothenburg Cathedral.

Lunch – I guess I had hoped for something more authentically Swedish, but I was becoming desperately hungry and simultaneously wanted to make a monetarily conscious decision. I opted for a place called Café Brûlé and had a pressed chicken sandwich. It actually was pretty decent and came with a very simple but good side salad. It did fill me up.

1:30pm – I really enjoyed the canal tour I had in Copenhagen the day before, so I decided to book one in Gothenburg. Turns out it was another great tour. It lasted just under an hour and took passengers through the various canals of the city, pointing out historic landmarks along the way including the statue of Gustavus Adolphus (founder of Gothenburg), the Gothenburg Museum, the Palm House, the Feskekörka, and the Inner Harbor.

Mid-Afternoon – After the tour ended, my next destination to explore was the Haga. This is simply the “Old Town” of Gothenburg, and it is so quaint and wonderfully picturesque. Colorful houses, cafes, and artisanal shops line the cobblestone streets where pedestrians rule the road. It was in this neighborhood that I had my first “fika.” Fika is a Swedish expression that, on the surface, describes the taking of a coffee break with a pastry, typically a cinnamon roll. On a deeper level, fika is truly a state of mind and a social concept. It is the idea of pausing your events of the day and making time to spend with your family and/or friends. You are not really “fika-ing” if your body is present, but your mind is somewhere else. Granted, since I was alone, I’m not sure if the break I had was really considered a fika. However, I took the time to visit Cafe Husaren in the Haga, which is known for its extremely large and tasty cinnamon rolls. I went for just a slice, instead, because the size of the full roll really looks like it is meant to be shared. The roll was nothing short of delicious – spiced perfectly (possibly hints of cardamom?) and topped with crumbles of white sugar. Even the outer edge was soft and flaky, unlike other conventional cinnamon rolls I’ve tried back in the States where the outer edge is hard and dry, and most of the flavor is held in the center. The Swedes really have this recipe down to a perfect science.

Evening – I would be absolutely remiss if I did not thank my adopted Iraqi extended family for their incredibly generous hospitality today. These are the cousins of my friend back home, whom I met when they visited Boston for a month a few years ago. They are a wonderful family, and I was so excited to even have the chance to view Gothenburg from their local perspective. Ann (mom), Noor (daughter), and Mina (daughter), picked me up right at the edge of the Haga and we set off for our adventure. They took me outside the city center to 4chra, an Iraqi restaurant that serves the most delicious kebab to ever grace my tastebuds. We sat, chatted, ate, and drank tea before we had a true Swedish fika. We drove back into the center of Gothenburg and went to Mr. Cake, a national bakery and cafe chain. Every time I step into a European cafe chain, I wonder why our American franchises can’t look and feel like theirs. We took our coffee and pastries to go, and walked over the harbor (one section of which had a makeshift beach with sand, lounge chairs, umbrellas, and palm trees!!!) to enjoy our fika. My iced latte was perfectly brewed and the red velvet croissant has me thinking about it again already 😭. We capped off our evening by walking around the city mall, Nordstan. On one side, it is a typical indoor mall (though decorated beautifully), but there is an exit which opens right up into a canopied pedestrian shopping strip. We walked around for about an hour before we headed through the underground passageway to Gothenburg Centralstationen, where I was Copenhagen-bound once again. I truly cannot thank these ladies enough for a marvelous afternoon.

7:39pm – My adventures of the day had finished and it was time to return to Copenhagen. I had a ticket this time on a direct train, in second class rather than first. I will say that the seats were relatively similar to those in first, slightly less leg room between rows and only one armrest diving the seats next to each other instead of two. Unfortunately, the train was meant to arrive in Copenhagen around 10:30pm and did not get in until after midnight. There were multiple track delays due to train traffic which kept pushing us back. However, the train was comfortable, and the gorgeous views of the Swedish coastline were enough to distract me.

All in all, it was a fantastic day in Sweden. Gothenburg merits at least two full days of your time, especially because there is more to see beyond the city centre itself. I would absolutely return in a heartbeat, and would pair it with travels around the rest of Sweden, as this country boasts an incredible landscape coupled with vibrant and eclectic cities.