Gothenburg, Sweden

It is Wednesday, May 14:  Gothenburg, Sweden

Sweden's second largest city - and the largest port in Scandinavia - was founded by King Gustavus Adolphus in 1621 at the mouth of the Göta River. The city is the gateway to the archipelagoes and picturesque fishing villages of Sweden's West Coast - the country's favorite vacation playground.  And that is where we headed today.

Sailing into Gothenburg

Wind generation is very popular in Scandinavia

This is our first Princess-sponsored excursion for this cruise.  The tour description proudly listed all the sites we would see; however, as with many bus tours, some sites are only seen from the bus as it travels along.  Any chance of actually seeing the site depends if you are sitting on the correct side of the bus.  

Internet photo of the West Coast Islands

Our first noted site was the 1,000 year-old town of Kungälv as we drove by the ruins of the 14th century Bohus Fästning Fortress. The fortress was one of the north's largest, strongest and most massive fortresses. Its intriguing history began in 1308 when King Haakon Magnuson of Norway built the fortress as part of his defense network against Sweden and through the centuries the Fortress would change hands between Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

A house in the town of Kungalv

I was on the wrong side of the bus and missed the photo op….this photo is from the internet.

The Fortress

Our first stop is Klädesholmen, an old fishing village that dates back to the 15th century.  Our tour guide took us on a walking tour around this quaint little hamlet of only about 385 people. This small island's fame as a major herring producer dates back 600 years. Even today, salting houses and canneries dot the tiny harbor.  All of the commercial buildings are painted red; the homes people live in are painted white.

Yeah, that's where we were!

Part of our busload walking through the small town

Always take time to smell the.....lilacs!

Skärhamn is our next stop.  It is a seaside village on Tjörn Island boasts a pretty harbor that's full of yachts during the summer and is one of the bases of the Swedish navy.   The town is a haven for artists and there is a Norwegian Watercolor Museum here.   We wander around the harbor area and go into a few of the stores.  

Our guide said this was "art"

Where the artists stay while in town

Fish market and cafe!

Terry quickly exited the store as he can't stand the smell of fish

Herring

Continuing on through the countryside we stop for photos at the Tjörn Bridge, which connects mainland Sweden to Tjörn. From this vantage point there was a nice view of the Bohuslän coast. Stretching 105 miles north from Gothenburg to the Norwegian border, the Bohuslän includes the Western Archipelago with over 8,000 islands just off its rugged shores. 

A stone picnic table 

We then travelled over the Tjörn Bridge and headed back to Gothenburg and our ship.  This day was just ‘okay’.  It was a nice drive up the coast to see the islands but in hindsight I think exploring the town of Gothenburg might have been a better choice for us.

With the embarkation of about 1,500 people in Copenhagen, we have noticed that the “cruise cough” has hit the ship!  With so many people noticeably coughing on our bus, we chose to sit in the very back as we try our best to stay healthy through the remainder of our cruise.  There is so much more to see.

 

Our guide tried to lead us in a sing-a-long

Full moon as we leave Sweden