Monday, May 19, 2014

Grottaglie Monument to the Fallen

This monument is in a park that is usually closed to the public, but on a random weekend about a month ago the main gate was open.
The statue up close, the engraving is for his children of the homeland.
 I also like the statues around the door of the main church in Grottaglie.
 I'm not sure what animal this is but he is doing his best to keep that pillar in the air.
This is the statue in the upper right of the door.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Gothenburg, Sweden

My first visit to Sweden and Scandinavia was to the city of Gothenburg, locally spelled Göteborg.   It's easy to find your way around the city, maps are everywhere.
 Since the mid-90's I have wanted to visit Gothenburg,  in my previous job, I worked with engineers and managers from this area.  I was lucky to be able to find my previous co-workers and meet them for dinner.
 I was also lucky in that my full day in Gothenburg, the rain stop and the sky cleared.  The day I landed in the city was rain, kind of like Seattle, next day was sun and a few clouds.
 The first place I visited in the city center was the botanical garden of Trädgårdsföreningen.
 The garden is small, not quite large enough to isolate it from the car sounds of the surrounding city.
 The green house reminds me of the green house on Belle Isle in the city of Detroit.
 The interior of the green house keeps it tropical.
 A block along the main street, just to the left or right of this intersection was bars and restaurants like Hard Rock.
 All over the city is art and statues, this is a Sweden's Second City view on gun control...
 The Gothenburg Art Museum allows photos of the collection, below is an old painting of locals enjoying the afternoon.
 World's safest limo.
 Just outside the city center is the Skansen Kronan, one of Gothenburg's original fortifications.  
 I really wanted to visit the interior of this structure but by the time I arrived here at 4:30 it was closing and not letting people in.  In the past the city was circled by fortifications but most have been removed for economic expansion.  Luckily this one was not in the way of anything.
Very imposing structure.
 The Skansen Kronan is atop a steep hill, this is the view from that hill.  It's worth the effort.
 At the base of Skansen Kronan is the neighborhood of Haga.
 Haga is a historical district, it's a really nice place to visit and relax.
 It's not very difficult to find 'main street'.
 This building was an old factory converted into apartments.
 Very quiet streets.
 At the base of Haga is a plaza, this is the fountain in the middle of the plaza.
 Art or Laundry?
 No matter where you are, who you are, what time it is, you can always be a pimp if you are rolling around in a car like this.  This guy drove past where I was sitting like nothing special was going on.
 This is Gothenburg Centalstation, you can take a train from here to Stockholm.
 Gothenburg is also very well known for it's tram system, here is tram 10 just hanging out in central plaza.
 The Clarion Hotel Post is not where I stayed but this was the original post office of Gothenburg.  The statue on the three post in front of the hotel is see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,  a copy from Nikko, Japan.
 NFC Fried Chicken, N must stand for Nordic.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Southern Archipelago of Gothenburg

South of Gothenburg, Sweden's second city, is the Southern Archipelago and the island of Brännö.  The port is about a hour tram ride south from the city center, the Island I visited is another 20 minute ferry ride from the port.
 If you have a Gothenburg tram day pass it also works for the ferry, the timing worked such that as I arrived at the port, the next ferry was to the island of Brännö.  I asked the ticket desk attendant and she recommended this would be a good place to visit.
 Ferry's proudly show the flag of Sweden.
 The ferry makes a few stops before arriving at the port of Brännö-Rödsten, the route to the port passes closely between other islands.
 The island i scattered with cute little homes.
 The ticket office person recommended visiting at least two places on the island, one was a look-out-point and the second was a cafe.  I decided to walk to the look-out area first, just follow the signs to Utkiken... Which I assumes means lookout area.
Atop the hill was this little hut, it was locked.
 But looking inside, the walls are covered with photos and there appears to be a guest book.  I was not able to sign the guest book since the door was locked but if someone visits this place and it's unlocked, please leave a note for me.
This is the view looking out over the sound.
 I was very lucky to have great weather on the my full day in Sweden.  The day before, when I landed it was raining and I believe it was raining for weeks before my visit too.
  Lots of houses have these very artistic mail boxes.
 Also on the island was a museum, but the museum was also closed except for a small closet on the side of the building which contained a bookstore.  If you leave 5 Kronor (Swedish dollars) you can take a book.
 I had only an hour and a half to stay on the island before the return ferry arrived.  If I missed the next ferry it was an additional 2 hour wait for the second one.  After visiting the look out, I went to the cafe but by the time I got to the cafe it was to late to order food.  So i decided to have a local beer and a cookie.
The cafe also had statues of boats and other marine things all over the place.
 The return ferry was different from the one I arrived in.
 Returning to the port of Saltholmen.