Tag Archives: Photos

Hiking Bohusleden

My track (click for interactive map)

Late January I set out to take on Bohusleden, a hiking track that starts near Göteborg and winds its way up to the Swedish-Norwegian border and then towards the coast. Its total length is about 370km so I obviously did not do all on one Saturday; I set myself the rather ambitious goal of hiking the first stage’s second half and the second stage, a total of something between 15km and 20km. Weather was fine, temperature just about freezing and a little cloudy. I took the bus to Kållered and started walking from there, missing the trail at first. But once I was on it I hardly ever lost it, with one or two exceptions. It is very well marked, the next orange painted post, tree or rock (almost) always just in sight.

Had the trail not been trodden into the still-present snow cover by former visitors, the markings would have been everything you could have seen of the trail. It literally is just that, a series of markings in the woods. I liked that a lot. Were it not for the constant drone coming from a not-so-nearby highway and occasional electricity lines, you could really imagine being in the wilds. Enjoying the trail was made hard by unsure footing, though. Especially on the more often travelled parts, ground was covered by thick sheets of ice that were not always solid. That made climbing over stone formations a real treat. Streams of meltwater and the planks crossing them hid under yet more snow. So I had to be careful and still managed to fall twice and break into a puddle once. Suddenly I did not consider bringing spare socks ridiculous anymore. Next time I will bring even more equipment. Read more »

Three Weeks Youth Hostel

Because of some bad timing, I had to stay three weeks in Slottskogens Vandrarhem. Although staying at a hostel for that long was certainly not my dearest wish, I think I did a lucky pick with this particular one. It is friendly and comfortably equipped; especially the large common room and kitchen are very inviting. Free wireless LAN pleases the nerdy soul although reception is quite bad in some rooms and — of all things — the common room. For me as long-term resident the opportunity to do laundry is great. The dryer is useless, but they have a drying room with a big heater; my clothes were dry as dust after eight hours in there. The only thing that bugged me a bit was the bathrooms; people can just not keep them clean, even though they are cleaned every day by staff. And the toilet paper could be used in any printer, I am sure.

One big issue with staying in a five- resp. four bedded room — I had to switch due to the big book fair — is the inherent lack of privacy. I felt I could never relax completely, but that may also be a personal issue. Also, you cannot just drop something; but then, maybe cleaning all your dishes immediately is a good trait. What really kept me alive were all the nice people, roommates and others, I had the opportunity to meet. Musicians, pupils, students, doctors, soldiers and Australian, Swiss, Dutch, Libanese, Swedish, German — name it. I had many a good conversation and funny evening with those guys and gals. Thank you for making the stay worthwhile!

Slottsskogens Park

On my first day in Göteborg, I went to Slottsskogens park near the hostel I am staying in. It happens to be the biggest park in Göteborg and I certainly have not explored most of it. I liked what I saw, though. There are parts that appear largely unkempt while others are kept orderly for sports or relaxing. In the park’s center, sheltered on a wooded rise, lies a zoo were elk and other animals are kept. I have yet to visit this part and might as well wait for spring.

Many different people were about: parents on a stroll with their kids, elders on their daily rounds, joggers, power-walkers and more. It was certainly not crowded, but well frequented despite the weather. Large bins filled with one-way barbecues remained as witnesses of busier times.

First Days in Göteborg

I have been in Göteborg for some days now. In order to satisfy some people’s need for information (greetings to my dear family and others), I summarize what happened since Saturday. If you do not care for posts related to my stay in Sweden, please consider switching your feed reader over to category Blog.

I arrived at Slottsskogens Vandrarhem by Saturday evening. It is nicely equipped — of course with IKEA stuff — and greets me with the same dishes I own. There is huge double-kitchen everybody can use for storing and preparing food. There is also a huge common room, many books and TVs to relax in the evenings. I had to go buy toilet paper, though; the one they offer here could easily be used in any printer.

My roommates change every few days so I get to know a bunch of interesting people. There are poker player Peter, triathlete Stefanie, touring Sarah and Marie, bass playing Anja with her friend Denny who has a light sleep, and more to come. Right across the street is a little corner shop with huge shelves of lösgodis (sweet bough by weight) and other good stuff. While pastries and fish are quite affordable, vegetables and milk products seem to be rather expensive.

On Monday, I walked a long way through Göteborg in order to get my visit in order bureaucratically. I went through Haga, a beautiful district, westwards. A police helicopter seemed to follow me to a public exercise area. It remained hovering there, obviously favoring girls playing lacrosse over potential terrorists. I had to wait for an hour each at Migrations- and Skatteverket only to be told that I would have to wait several weeks for the respective decisions. I liked both offices more than most German ones, though, since they were friendly and comfortably equipped and the obligatory queue numbers allow sensible estimates of your waiting time. At Skatteverket you can even request an SMS when it is your turn. Too bad I cannot get a Swedish bank account without personnummer; I was able to aquire a prepaid mobile card, though.

On Tuesday, some girls from the hostel and me met at Feskekôrka to have some fish for lunch. We chose to eat in Stora Saluhallen, though; I ordered a salmon burger which was delicious. After that I went towards Chalmers university to see Devdatt, my host professor. I was finally able to obtain some cheap thongs for showering; even sport shops in Göteborgs largest shopping center do not have any! Devdatt was already gone when I arrived but I was able to find a quick way back to the hostel that takes only half an hour by foot.

On Wednesday, I finally got started at university. I have forgotten most people’s names already, but I got a desk, keys and stationery. They even ordered some keyboards with American layout since Vinay, one of my officemates, and I do not care much for Swedish layout. Back at the hostel, all my roommates are gone. Wonder who will arrive next?

[PLR] Dezente Verbringung und Verkabelung

Wie ich in früheren Posts erwähnt habe, ist einiges an Hardware und Kabeln hinzugekommen, seit ich den neuen Rechner in Betrieb genommen habe: Eine Steckerleiste, USB-Hub, Switch, Festplatte und ein Audioverteiler belegten fast die Hälfte meines Schreibtischplatzes, wenn man das Gewühl der vielen Kabel mitzählt. Über den Sound habe ich bisher noch nichts gesagt; um mehrere Rechner über einen Boxensatz zu betreiben, habe ich mir ein Hama Audio-Umschaltpult AP 04 zugelegt. Leider kann das Teil nur einen Ausgang beschalten, sodass ich da eventuell noch wechsle. Jetzt lasse ich aber ausnahmsweise mal Bilder sprechen.