More reasons to live in Gothenburg

I spend some time in the Stadsmuseum on Wednesday was I was really impressed at the layout and design of the museum. A lot of the subject matter has explanations in English which is really nice if you’re incapable of speaking Swedish like me. A lot of time and thought has gone into creating the museum and it’s not at all boring or overwhelming like some. There is the most fantastic area for children to play in at the top of the museum which has to be seen to be believed – it includes recreations of rooms to play in. There seems to be a really sensible approach to children here in Sweden – you often find great play areas for them. In one of our local supermarkets there is a wooden boat for them to sit in and watch a tv showing children’s films. Outside most of the flats I’ve seen there are areas of grass and playgrounds for children. It’s as if children playing is a part of life here and not condemned to a designated area that you have to make a special journey to. I would recommend Gothenburg to anyone who has kids and is looking for a place to take them on holiday.

The Stadsmuseum is large and takes some time to go round so a couple of visits there seems to be the way to approach it. The is the fifth and final museum I have got into with my 40 kroner ticket (about £3.40). It’s ridiculously cheap – not just that it gets you into 5 museums with their free toilets and great displays but it lasts for a whole year.

Yesterday Keyvan and I spent the day in the Botanical Gardens eating a picnic and soaking up the sun – it’s the most gorgeous place in Gothenburg and I just can’t get enough of the place. It is as I suspected a lot quieter during the week and the only downfall is it’s lack of really nice toilets and a cute cafe – but then there are plenty of those to be found in other places – the closest possibly being the Natural History Museum.

This morning I have been negotiating the washing machine facilities here at our flats – it’s an incredibly interesting system – each day of the month has 4 time slots and using your special key you can move your designated lock to a free time slot. There is a host of washing machines and drying facilities all for free use of the occupants of this block. I’m dreaming of a day when we have something so sensible in England.

I put some pictures up yesterday from the last week or so but I have to say they are just snap shots because it’s hard to capture the feel of the place with just a camera.

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