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Published: November 24th 2008
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By the Avenue
The river that runs through the city Today (Saturday, Nov. 22) we had practice in the morning and off in the evening so I decided I would go into town. After a 20 minute, highly detailed discussion with the lady at the front desk, I found out that I could take the 4 tram from Mondal Centre to Vondal or Park Avenue. This would put me in the center of downtown on the main street called the Avenue. This excursion is a 13 minute tram ride that cost 38 kronin (almost $5). Everything went smoothly and before I knew it I was downtown in the heart of Gothenburg. I would have been really excited to walk around and see the city but the fact that it was 30 degrees out and very windy kinda had me wondering what the heck I was doing!
Once I got to the Avenue, I instantly realized how international the city was. There were Hard Rock Cafe's, Subways, McDonald's, Burger King's, 7-11's, etc. Although this doesn't sound like that big of a deal, it is nice to know that if I ever want a taste of the States it is an option. The Avenue is one long, four lane street with trams
running up and down the middle of it. There are tons of cafes, pubs, clubs, boutiques, designer shops and hotels. It is lined with pretty light fixtures and is all decorated for Christmas. There are tons of wreaths and lights that make the city look really cool at night (which starts at about 4pm). While I was freezing my tail end off, trying to take pictures I noticed that all the Swedes walk around as though it is 90 degrees outside. I don't think they are near as flustered by this weather as I am!
After I walked up and down the Avenue I headed towards the Opera House which is right on the water. Gothenburg's opera is a big deal in town and something they are extremely proud of. It sits right on the water and is surrounding by tons of ships. From the opera house you can see Gothenburg's enormous mall, which is one of the biggest in the Scandinavian countries. Having a mall in the city is a big deal because some of these european cities make you feel like you are living in the 1800's. Also, there is a Mac store!!! That absolutely made my
day. Without a computer over here, I believe I would die so knowing there is a place that could fix any of my Mac problems really made my day!
Following a short stop at the mall, a quick look into the casino (oh ya) and the towns local sports bar I headed over to Central Station. This is the main train station in Gothenburg and because it is so big it makes traveling around Sweden and the Scandinavian countries very easy. Right around the corner from the train station is Gothenburg's futbol arena which holds a little over 16,000 fans as well as the botanical gardens (which weren't so botanical this time of year) which is one of the prettiest things in Gothenburg during the summer. They take great pride in the flowers and plants they have here and consider it one of the prettiest parks in the country! It only took me a few minutes to realize that I was retarded for walking around the not so botanical gardens in the freezing cold so I started heading back to the tram. I made a short stop by the symphony house and the museum, then decided enough was enough.
It is a beautiful city and modernized enough for me to enjoy but walking around in 30 degree, windy weather for almost two hours was as much as I could take.
Later on that night the team had a fancy dinner in recognition of basketball in Gothenburg for 50 years. It was a good time, a fun opportunity to meet some cool people and a chance for me to see my teammates get wasted and act foolish in front of all their bosses :-) It was pretty comical considering that almost half of my teammates are 19-22 and still get obliterated. Dinner was long and boring but a few glasses of wine got me through it. After that we all went to Yannick's (another teammate) house to party a bit before going out. We went to a place called the Lounge which is on the Avenue and only a short tram ride away. It was a really good time and my first chance to really see my teammates let loose (and boy did some of em let loose). The Swedes party hard, all night long and dance as though they never have before. The techno music, casino downstairs and
fisherman f@#k shots were all a big time trip. Overall it was a fun night!!!
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Ricky & Sam
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I love this!
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. It's great to hear the details and see what you're seeing. We miss you but are so glad that you're having a great time!