Gothenburg, Sweden

We just returned from our week long drive from Sweden in our NEW CAR. It was a fun-filled and very cold adventure with a very happy ending......a new car with air conditioning, heat, and no strange noises coming from under the hood.
We started our trip last Sunday, when we flew out of Frankfurt Germany to Sweden. Our bus to the airport was so crowded I sat in the seat next to the driver that is usually reserved for tour guides....I even had a microphone and a seatbelt. Peter seat wasn't as glamorous......it wasn't a seat at all. He sat on the steps. While it was nice being the first ones off the bus, the crowded bus ride was just another reason for us to look forward to being car owners again.


First thing Monday morning, we headed over to the Volvo plant. I have to say, driving the new car definitely helped ease the pain of saying good-bye to the Celica........especially when I heard that this car is the same car that Edward Cullen drives.......talk about cool.


After a quick test drive on the icy snow-covered test track, we headed back to Volvo for lunch and a tour of the plant. Peter loved the Swedish meat-balls.


We weren't allowed to take photos of the factory tour, but Peter loved all the robots.......he said it was like being on the set of the Terminator movies.

After the tour, we decided to brave the cold and snow and explore Gothenburg. It is a beautiful city with nice architecture and statues...... They are just all covered in snow and ice.

That is the canal behind me....

We are usually really good about researching cities before traveling so we can make the most of our trip. This was an exception.......we were busy with car registration and other logistics before we left. And once we were there, we were too cold to do much more than wander around and snap a few pictures, so I'm sorry to say that I have no idea of the significance of this statue other than it was large and pretty.

We were even brave enough to venture over to the windy and frozen harbor to look at the boats. It was strange seeing a harbor covered in snow and ice. We can only imagine how beautiful this city must be in the summer.





The next morning was what we had been waiting for.......our first day on the road in our new car. The entire drive was almost magical with patches of trees that were literally glistening like diamonds from the ice. We stopped to take pictures at one point because each individual branch and leaf were sparkling and it was truly magnificent. I kept saying that it was like being in Narnia.



We also had to stop to take a few photos of the Swedish countryside. Almost every country home and barn was painted red or yellow and there were several old fashioned wind-mills like this one. Peter said it was like a picture on one of the 5000 piece jigsaw puzzles. It was such a beautiful drive.



And coming up next time.......... the Straits of Denmark, a ferry ride across the Baltic Sea, and the charming coastal town of Rostock, Germany.