AdventureDad

Daniel seemed to really be enjoying Göteborg but the challenge is always to find enough stuff for him to do.  We don’t want him to sit around inside all day because that would be boring for him (and us) and in the evening it would be difficult for him to sleep.   The town has some very good attractions for kids, among them Liseberg and Universeum.  Liseberg is a large amusement park, a heaven for any kid between 1 and 15.  Tons of rides, restaurants, and pure fun.  Universeum is an indoor place with aquariums, rain forest, and an area for kids to explore all kinds of technical items.  This place is more of an educational experience and very popular with kids of all ages.

Liseberg with a small toddler can be a challenge but limited crowds due to a weekday and cloudy weather was great news for us.  If your kid is less than 90 cm there are about ten rides possible with the assistance of an adult. These rides are kind of in the same area and are easy to find.  The whole park turns out to feel a lot smaller than expected.  On the map the area looks huge but it’s a bit deceiving.  I would not want to be here on a weekend day with sunny weather.  Both me and Sandra have been to Disneyworld a few times and Liseberg is so much smaller it can’t even be compared. 

The favorite, without competition, turned out to be "Farfars bil" (Old-timers).  Some old style cars that ride around on rails in a somewhat scenic setting is hard to resist for any toddler that loves cars and trucks.  The ride takes about four minutes but as soon as we were done Daniel wanted back in line for another ride.  Three in a row did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm, we could probably have done 300 hundred without complaints.  Just walking around the area was stimulus overload for Daniel.  Rides, balloons, water, and excited kids wherever you looked.  We killed some time before ducking in to Da Vinci Café` when the rain came.  Pretty decent sandwiches etc. but a great place if you got a toddler.  Plenty of room for the carriage and bathrooms nearby.

Trummeliten is another ride for the little ones.  Basically a trimmed down version of a carousel with spinning seats.  Daniel loved this one too but seemed a bit confused over how the ride worked.  We skipped the House of Mirrors since Daniel did not seem interested in this.  If you want to eat some proper food at Liseberg I can recommend Hamnkrogen.  Great seafood served in a relaxed setting.  They also got a more relaxed section next door with smaller menu.  After eating, bring some bread and go out with your toddler to feed the ducks in the canal.  Barnbåtarna are popular with the small kids but for some reason Daniel is scared of being in a boat.  As soon as we put him in and tried to leave he started crying and pointing toward land.  The boats are ultra slow but if your kid loves water this a good attraction.

Do you know that Göteborg is one of the cities with the most rainfall per year in Sweden?  I had no clue.  But as we entered the local spårvagn (subway above ground) some passenger pointed this out.  Five minutes later we got soaked walking the short distance to the hotel.  Our Mountain Buggy (Urban Jungle in Sweden) has a rain cover that can resist a storm so Daniel was dry and happy.  Mommy and Daddy looked like they just fell into the canal.

Day three starts off with a visit to Universeum before I left Daniel with Sandra to compete in the tennis tournament.  Universeum is a great place for your toddler.  The aquariums remind me a bit of the fantastic hotel on Bahamas, Atlantis, but of course much smaller.  Kids can really learn a lot here about aquatic life.  Daniel loved to put his nose next to the tanks and see the fish swim by. The snakes seemed interesting as well.  And the giant shark tanks which take up a whole room were impressive.  A dark room with large sharks swimming by slowly is a beautiful sight.  Rainforest’s section with birds etc. was not as impressive but the exploring section was.  Kids love this place.  They got robots, huge trucks, and areas where they can build their own stuff.  The truck was a big hit with Daniel but the larger kids took it over quickly.  If you got a few hours to spare, Universeum is well worth a visit.

Me and my three teammates won our tennis match and are therefore in the finals of the Swedish Championships.  See post below for more tennis details.  On Sunday Sandra killed some time in the local parks to get Daniel tired while I played the finals.    Before leaving we once again went to Trädgårdsföreningen to hang out for a few hours.  They got a lovely place called Rosenkafeet which has nice food and you are surrounded by beautiful flowers.  Highly recommended

Overall we had a great trip.  Daniel experienced lots of new things and we got to see a little of Gothenburg

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