Gothenburg and assorted adventures in Europe

[Jolty]

Well, my boyfriend and I are going to Wacken this summer, and we decided (well, I decided) that we're going to head up to Gothenburg and check it out. Now, I've barely even been out of Canada, so this is a huge deal to me.

We've already got a few touristy activities planned -- museums and whatnot -- but I'd like to know what some of the people who have actually been there would recommend that we see. Anything you'd recommend that we avoid? Will we have much of a problem communicating, seeing as neither of us speak Swedish? That's my biggest fear. (Well, aside from Eyjafjallajokull cancelling our flight...)

Oh, and is the transit system decent?

Edit: Converted this into a generic "travel thread". Enjoy.
Edit Two: Hmm, apparently I can't actually change the title. That's strange.

 

[rahvin]

Surface transit is quite good, and Gothenburg is not a big city anyway.
One thing I can tell you for sure is you won't have any problem whatsoever communicating in English. None. At all.

 

[Jolty]

Is it polite to ask if they speak English before I start babbling at them? :/
I don't want to be a douche.

 

[rahvin]

Is it polite to ask if they speak English before I start babbling at them? :/
I don't want to be a douche.

Maybe if you want to chat or something, but for any kind of essential or commercial interaction just go ahead and assume they can understand basic spoken English. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Maxim1110]

Yeah, I've been to Sweden and Norway last summer and English worked perfectly well. In most of western Europe this is the case, except for the more southern countries (eg France, Spain, Italy).

I haven't been to Gothenburg, but I often "walk around" there using google street view. You could try using that to check out what you want to see. Otherwise, probably Niklas or any other DT member might give you advice as they probably know the city pretty well

 

[Defiance]

Well, my boyfriend and I are going to Wacken this summer, and we decided (well, I decided) that we're going to head up to Gothenburg and check it out. Now, I've barely even been out of Canada, so this is a huge deal to me.

We've already got a few touristy activities planned -- museums and whatnot -- but I'd like to know what some of the people who have actually been there would recommend that we see. Anything you'd recommend that we avoid? Will we have much of a problem communicating, seeing as neither of us speak Swedish? That's my biggest fear. (Well, aside from Eyjafjallajokull cancelling our flight...)

Oh, and is the transit system decent?

I actually went to Göteborg once because I'm a huge DT fanboy. It's a very nice city, but certainly not one for tourists, Stockholm is better in that sense. Still, I really liked to just walk around and get lost, which, let me tell you, is for me one of the pleasures of travelling: You'll get to see many things most people don't.

English? Haha, if you take out the slight accent Norwegians and Swedish have, they probably speak better English than a lot of native speakers. They are the ones (and Finns, probably) that have the highest English level of Europe. If you want further suggestions let me know. One: Brussels.

And ta-dah:

 

[rahvin]

Still, I really liked to just walk around and get lost, which, let me tell you, is for me one of the pleasures of travelling: You'll get to see many things most people don't.

This. Museums and sights are ok for the very big, can't-miss-this stuff, but it's usually ideal to spend some time just wandering the streets to get a feeling for how people live in a place.

As for English in Europe, yes, Northwestern countries are best. In Spain and in Greece you find decent speakers, but the accent is thicker. In Italy there are mostly poor English speakers, but they usually try to understand foreigners to the best of their skill. In Germany they tend to assume you should be speaking German, and in France they will pretend they don't speak any English at all and keep answering in French no matter what you try.

 

[Jolty]

I actually went to Göteborg once because I'm a huge DT fanboy. It's a very nice city, but certainly not one for tourists, Stockholm is better in that sense.

We were originally going to go to Stockholm too, but we just didn't have enough time. Compared to where I grew up, any city is exciting to me. I'm still occasionally excited by Calgary, and I've lived here for five years.

Still, I really liked to just walk around and get lost, which, let me tell you, is for me one of the pleasures of travelling: You'll get to see many things most people don't.

Haha. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to the most. I do that here too. I just spend hours wandering around aimlessly by myself and looking at houses and trees and random crap.

I haven't been to Gothenburg, but I often "walk around" there using google street view.

Hey, that's a good idea!

Otherwise, probably Niklas or any other DT member might give you advice as they probably know the city pretty well

A nice idea, but I doubt they have time. I told Mikael that I was going to Gothenburg when I saw them last week, though. He said it's really nice and I'd like it.

As for English in Europe, yes, Northwestern countries are best. In Spain and in Greece you find decent speakers, but the accent is thicker. In Italy there are mostly poor English speakers, but they usually try to understand foreigners to the best of their skill. In Germany they tend to assume you should be speaking German, and in France they will pretend they don't speak any English at all and keep answering in French no matter what you try.

I've heard that about France. It used to be like that in Quebec, too, but people seem to have lightened up a bit.

 

[MP-AKK]

Now how aboot that! Scandinavium. It's like, a lame version of Calgary's Saddledome.

 

[Jolty]

Nice! I didn't think the Saddledome could get any lamer! We'll definitely have to walk past there, at the very least.

 

[Defiance]

We were originally going to go to Stockholm too, but we just didn't have enough time. Compared to where I grew up, any city is exciting to me. I'm still occasionally excited by Calgary, and I've lived here for five years.
Haha. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to the most. I do that here too. I just spend hours wandering around aimlessly by myself and looking at houses and trees and random crap.

Ah that's sad, even if I couldn' enjoy my trip to Sweden for sad reasons, Stockholm was pretty nice. Who can beat a karaoke metal?
Yeah, getting lost is pretty interesting, except when you get to not-so-nice neighbourhoods in Tilburg.

@ rahvin: Can this thread be united with the "I'm going to Europe" one that I created some time ago, and make the "Travelling thread", please? Grazie!

 

[Jolty]

@ rahvin: Can this thread be united with the "I'm going to Europe" one that I created some time ago, and make the "Travelling thread", please? Grazie!

Perhaps I could just turn this into the travel thread instead? :Smug:

 

[Defiance]

^ The idea is to join it with the one I created, so people can look for info on one thread, not two separate ones.

 

[Jolty]

^ The idea is to join it with the one I created, so people can look for info on one thread, not two separate ones.

...Makes sense.

 

[rahvin]

Not sure I want to consolidate threads so much, people seem to find it daunting. Defiance, maybe you can copy/paste the original post and other useful info from that thread on this one, and then - with Jolty's approval - I'll change this thread's title?

 

[Defiance]

Ah I'm too lazy to do that, and don't have the time. The thread was quite big in the end. Maybe you can just change the title of this one.

 

[Lina]

I'm heading north(east) this summer too -- for 3 weeks in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Also crossing my fingers about those pesky volcanoes. Sadly, no Gothenburg for me, only Stockholm this time.

 

[Jolty]

NDefiance, maybe you can copy/paste the original post and other useful info from that thread on this one, and then - with Jolty's approval - I'll change this thread's title?

Sure, why not?

 

[Defiance]

I'm heading north(east) this summer too -- for 3 weeks in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Also crossing my fingers about those pesky volcanoes. Sadly, no Gothenburg for me, only Stockholm this time.

Stockholm is very nice, go to the Karaoke Metal .

 

[Valorin]

My sister spent four months in Sweden, and really liked Gothenburg. She said it was her favourite part of Sweden, over Stockholm and Orebro. She's not a metalhead though. In my month in Europe last year, I found Germany and the Netherlands fairly easy to navigate in English. France and Italy not so much. Not that bad either, especially since I know a good amount of French, but it was still awkward. The French are also quite particular about pronunciation.