May 2014    Itinerary Link

Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden with a population of 570,000. We got there on the ferry from Denmark’s Frederikshavn. What’s interesting about the 4-hour boat ride was there was a huge duty-free shop onboard, and people were buying cases of beer to bring back to Sweden. Apparently, Swedes make beer-runs like this to save money.

Gothenburg seemed like a nice town filled with young crowds who attend area universities. We walked around and sat at a cafe to be part of the local scene. We basically had one afternoon and evening there, and we did not feel ambitious enough to try to do much. Here’s what we missed according to a New York Times article.

May 2014      Itinerary Link

We stopped in Malmo on our way from Gothenburg to Copenhagen mainly to see this famous twisty building. We would have spent more time and walked around town, but it rained pretty heavily.

Here’s a guide for someone who wants to spend 36 hours in Malmo.

May 2014

We drove 50 munites NE from Hamburg to visit Lübeck. Once we were on the right road, A1, it was a breeze. However, we had a hard time finding that road from where we were in Hamburg. The sign for A1 was very small, but the locals thought we were crazy to think that!

It was a cute little town with lots of history. Unfortunately, not many of the photos we took survived. In fact, just the one above! It is on the UNESCO World Heritage list,

This is how Google describes the city: Lübeck is a northern German city distinguished by Brick Gothic architecture, which dates to its time as the medieval capital of the Hanseatic League, a powerful trading confederation. Its symbol is the Holstentor, a red-brick city gate that defended the river-bounded Altstadt (old town). Rebuilt following WW II, the Marienkirche is a 13th–14th-century landmark that widely influenced Northern European church design.

The old part of Lübeck is on an island enclosed by the Trave River, and we parked a car on the street and just walked around. My favorite writer Thomas Mann was from here.

Apparently, you arrive at Lubeck Airport when you fly on Ryan Air to go to Hamburg. So some people discover this town quite accidentally. But you can spend 36 hours there and have a good time, according to this article in the Telegraph.

More travel info: click!