A day at liseberg
2016-08-07
As I'm writing this, it has been raining for two weeks here in Gothenburg, and yesterday we decided to head to the park as it was supposed the be the only day without any rain. The joke was on us, however, because it rained on and off all day! Despite this we got to go on all the rides and we had a really good time.
If you want to buy tickets instead of a pass you should know that one ride on one of the bigger rollercoasters cost 4 tickets, and one ticket cost 20kr. This means that in order to ride one rollercoaster you will have to pay 80kr(!) which is kind of expensive for one ride. However, the smaller rides usually cost fewer tickets, so if rollercoasters isn't your thing buying tickets instead of a pass could be worth it (if you only go once or twice). Check out Liseberg's official webpage to learn more about how many tickets you need for each attraction.
On the same street as the waffle bakery you can explore a number of tiny shops where you can buy park souvenirs and Swedish candy. If you're not from Sweden I recommend that you try the Swedish polkagris from Gränna, which is a swedish candy cane that traditionally come in red and white, but also many other colors and flavors.
If you want to explore a more colorful playground I recommend Kaninlandet ("The Bunny Land") below the hill by the main entrance. The place is swarming with attractions but it is also a fun place to explore. Many of the details on the buildings and attractions are bunny themed and all the signs are basically made for the children. A funny thing that we discovered were that all the trash cans had the word "skräp" ("trash") misspelled in different variations, as if a child had spelled it.
While we were taking a stroll through the harbour district and admiring the haunted house from the outside the rain stopped and the sun came out (if only for a little while)! We headed for the churros stand by the Colorado attraction to buy some snacks. Finding churros in Gothenburg is pretty much impossible (if anyone knows where to buy them please let me know!), but you can buy churros at Liseberg.
Speaking of rain, I would have prefered to have left my umbrella at home and walked around in a poncho instead. Walking around with an umbrella in a crowded park was not a very practical move on my part. Buying a poncho in the park cost only 25kr and they come in many colors.
This massive portion of churros cost 40kr, and adding a topping (like ice cream or chocolate) cost an additional 6kr for each topping. I honestly could not finish this beast on my own, but it was really tasty and I recommend it if you are going to buy a snack at Liseberg. Other than churros the park offer traditional snacks like popcorn, cotton candy and hotdogs.
We did not end up eating at the restaurants in the park (we were still full on churros and waffles!), but I would still recommend The Green Room which is a vegetarian all-you-can-eat restaurant which cost 159kr for adults and 62kr for children between 2-12 years old. Other restaurants I have tried before and enjoyed are Trebello and Evert Taube's Café, which despite their cafeteria-feel serve huge portions of really tasty food.
We could not leave the park without going on my favorite rollercoaster - Helix, however, the line was very, very long, and it was quite difficult to tell just how long it was as it goes through tunnels just like the one in the picture. Still, it was worth it and I highly recommend you try this attraction if you ever visit the park.
Before going to the park I decided to try the official Liseberg app which is free but only seem to be available in Swedish. The app allows you to get an overview of the lines to all the attractions, but it turned out that the rides that had a 0-10 minute waiting line according to the app was actually 25-30 minutes. I'm not sure if the app was inaccurate despite updating often or if we simply had bad timing. Nevertheless, you can always read the estimated time at the entrance of every attraction.
Liseberg is not only open during the summer. During fall and by Halloween the park is turned into a haunted place where pumpkins, twisted scarecrows and other scary decorations can be found all over the park. During winter you can get into the Christmas spirit at the park as it is turned into an amazing winter wonderland with all the trees being covered in pretty lights and the streets being turned into markets.
I really wanted to document and photograph more during our stay in the park, but with the weather being bad I decided to make the best of it and save the documentation for another, less rainy day. I hope to write a more detailed guide to the park later on, because if you ever come to Gothenburg, even if just for a weekend, it's definitely worth a visit.
Way Out West coming up!
2016-08-05
Last year I attended my very first Way Out West festival, next week I'll be going again and I'm really excited!
Way Out West is a yearly music festival taking place in Slottskogen (the city park), in Gothenburg, Sweden.
My favorite performances from last year's festival included both Lauryn Hill and FKA Twigs (to name a few) and I can't wait to see what this year's festival brings.
A Budapest Adventure
2016-07-30
We went on the 6th of June, which is the national day of Sweden. Little did we know that during the holiday none of the early busses or trams were running and our trip ended up having a little bit of a slow start. Nevertheless, the plane ride went smooth and upon arriving at the Budapest airport we booked an airport shuttle (a great decision) for $40 (back and forth) and enjoyed the comfort of not having to find our way by bus or train.
We had dinner at Pesti Disznó, a cosy restaurant that serve seasonal dishes with high quality ingredients, but by the time we had finished our meals we were so tired that we decided to head back to the apartment for a good night's sleep.
We began the next day with a luxurious breakfast at Zoska breakfast café, located close to the Hungarian National Museum (which we would later visit) and the Great Synagogue which is the largest in Europe.
As we returned to Zoska a couple of days later (and earlier than the last time), we came to understand why we had seen so many mixed reviews of the café. The place was crowded with costumers, and the staff had a hard time keeping track of the orders. Nevertheless, we left Zoska feeling full and happy as we headed to The Central Market Hall.
The Central Market Hall is popular among turists and locals, and it's easy to see why.
On the first floor you'll find vegetables, fruit, meat, pastries, liquor and more, all for a great price, on the second floor however you will find a slightly overcrowded, turisty area packed with souvenirs.
Me and Sarah bought cherries, strawberries, pastries and juice to bring on our picnic on Gellért Hill.
After crossing the bridge over to the Buda side of the river, we spontaniously stopped by The Cave Church located beneath Gellért Hill (next to the famous Gellért Bath). It's one of the most interesting churches I have ever seen and the staff were kind and helpful. Sadly my headset broke during the tour but I still really enjoyed it.
We felt like total bosses for conquering the hill.
Later that evening we decided to visit Mazel Tov, a restaurant located in the jewish quarter that became my favorite. If you ever go to Budapest and want to give it a try I would recommend that you make a reservation as the restaurant is really popular, (it's worth it).
The next morning we discovered Cirkusz, a restaurant that would turn out the be our favorite breakfast spot during the trip, as we returned many times. The staff really made our stay special, the food tasted wonderful and having mimosas in the morning is hard to beat.
Széchenyi Thermal Bath is one of the largest medicinal baths in Europe and was built in 1913.
Spending time at the bath recovering after long, intense walks really does wonders and I highly recommend it. A full day at the bath with a locker cost about 4.700ft, which is about $16.
Gelarto Rosa, located next to St. Stephen's Basilica, is were we got these amazing ice cream roses with fun flavors. Sarah purchased olive oil flavored ice cream and to my surprise it tasted amazing. Two scoops cost 500ft, which is about $2. Be prepared to stand in line for this tasty treat, as the shop is really popular.
Before going on our trip our weather apps had forcasted that it was going to rain the entire week, but we were happy that we only got a couple of hours of heavy rain in the heat as we walked up and down Andrássy út.
Our favorite bar was Fogasház ("House of Teeth"), named after the old sign advertising dental repair that was found during the first renovation of the building. The many rooms and Dj's had us dancing all night long and we got to meet people from many parts of the world. Even during the rain the place was crowded, despite most of Fogasház being outdoors.
Close to the Central Station we found a quirky shop called The Box Donut, which sell fun donuts in many different flavors, all shaped like squares. They also sell bottles of flavored water containing fresh fruit that was really good.
Unfortunately my camera gave up as we arrived at Margit Sziget, an island between Pest and Buda.
Spending an entire day there was amazing. We explored the ruins, rented a tiny car and drove around, watched the musical fountain and went to the zoo after taking a long walk around the island.
On our way back we took a break to watch soccer at Erzsébet Square, located in the center of the city.
The square is a very vibrant part of the city and a great place to meet people.
On our last night in Budapest we decided to treat ourselves at Dunacorso, a restaurant romantically located by the river Danube on the Pest side. Despite it being quite expensive, the restaurant was crowded with tourists because of it's fantastic location. And much like the other tourists, we couldn't help being mesmerized by the view of the river while eating comfort food in candle light.
It wasn't my first trip to the city and I'm certain that it won't be my last.
I hope you enjoyed this travel post!
If you have any questions about my trip or Budapest in general, leave a comment below. :)