late lunch | Chaos roaming the world

We got greeted by a delightfully sunny morning on our little ställplats out in the middle of nowhere. It was not as cold as the last two nights close to the lake and a bit further north, so breakfast was a pleasant and rather quick affair. Today was marked fully as a city day, but we had a little bit to go before we could get to that.

About 100km and an extremely confusing ride through a cratered landscape of urban re-development later, we found ourselves at the desired parking garage as close to the old town as we needed. We had to be a bit cheeky to grab one of the last four available chargers (out of 50+, mind you!) but around 10:30am we were ready to explore.

After a quick glance at the Lonely Planet map, we decided to start at the northernmost point for the day and get ourselves a bit of an overview from there. Quite literally, actually – since the first stop was the harbor high-rise called “the lipstick”. It had a dedicated viewing platform accessible to the public. 13 € and an elevator ride later, we were treated to a spectacular 360° view of Gothenburg. We could see the moored sailing vessel Number 3 took a liking to on our way here, the massive redevelopment happening in the east that almost tripped our google maps navigation and much more.

Of particular interest to Number 3 were all the construction sites with interesting machinery in operation all around. That was, until a ship approached to pass the new bridge and it lifted the whole central bit up, tram tracks and all. The old bridge, in the process of being torn down, was locked in open position anyways. Perfect timing – even Nina dared to approach the windows for a view. Otherwise, she preferred the seats closer to the core 😀

Next up was lunch. I had picked a vegetarian place a bit further south and we made the track across town. What I should have done is some COVID due diligence and check if the place actually made it through 2020 (which it had not) – nothing outdates a guidebook (2019 edition!) faster than a global pandemic, eh? With that disappointment fresh and already well into lunch time, we had to revert to emergency mode and settle for “anything, hopefully fast”. The vegetarian buffet lunch we ended up with was alright, but nothing to write home about.

After lunch, some more exploration on foot, via the oldest stone building in the old town (Kronhuset, 1654). The slightly younger service buildings around it have been converted into artisan workshops and cafés. And so, our quest to visit a chocolate manufactory on every continent continued with some gifts and snacks for the way on our way out.

We decided on a change of pace and for two more stops for the day. Four, if you choose to see it from Number 3’s perspective: City museum for some brain food, tram ride, Haga for city vibes and coffee time, tram ride and then home.

Haga, an “area of interest” according to the guide book

The museum was pretty cool and held the kids’ attention for a good hour and a half, topped off with an amazing playroom they had basically to themselves for a while. The tram ride would most likely be the real highlight of the day, in Number 3’s opinion.

Haga was a very good way to round out the day. A different, more neighborhood-y vibe than the old town it reminded us of Sachsenhausen in Frankfurt. We shared a humongous kanelbullar and enjoyed the atmosphere. In terms of excitement factor for our eldest, all this paled in comparison though to being allowed to pull the string (very old school) to signal the tram driver for our stop.

So off we went, after a good, enjoyable day to our beachside campground just out of town. I think it was a good way to say goodbye to Sweden. Tomorrow, the road …

Getting up, there was still a bit of a consideration if we’re really going to leave today. After yesterday’s digger disaster, it would be hard to actually enforce a ban for the whole day. So in the end, we decided to leave ;). But we took our time and Number 3 got his good-bye round at the lake. It wasn’t warm enough to actually go swimming as he’d hope but he walked around a bit and observed the little fish along the shoreline.

They are starting to actually enjoy playing together

With packing, this time fully dried laundry, all our swim gear, two kids who’d rather run around and another diaper accident, we were finally on the road by 11am. Goodbye Camping Ranocchio! You’ve been wonderful!

We only drove a little while back over the pass to the next town on Lake Como where we took the ferry across to Bellagio. This is something the Lonely Planet for Northern Italy suggested as the drive from Bellagio to Como (or the other way around) is supposed to give wonderful views of the lake and towns. The thought of taking Purū Hiko and the kids on the ferry appealed to us…so we did it. Lucky for us, the ferry was only 5 minutes away when we arrived at the terminal. The Agent of Entropy was fast asleep by this point but Number 3 was excited. So, when all cars were in parking position, Number 3 and I went to the railing and looked out. It was much fun but a bit loud and cold for our eldest child. Shortly after, we returned to the car.

We took the narrow and windy road to Como which had great views indeed. The Agent of Entropy fell asleep again, followed shortly thereafter by Number 3. It was a peaceful ride until about 10 minutes out of Como when the Agent woke up and demanded a pit stop with an extra feed. It was getting later and later…

Different Lunch choices…to be fair, we swapped about a quarter…

At 12.45pm we finally parked the car. Somehow, our heads were not in it though, as it took 30 minutes to sort ourselves and the charging for Puru Hiko (which didn’t work in the end). It also included Flo heading back to the car twice because we forgot such essential items as our sunhats, for example. Finally, at 13.15pm we started looking for a place to eat.

The Lonely Planet was not helpful in this instance as the first tiny eatery was already completely booked with customers and the second one was permanently closed by now. Getting hungrier und hungrier, we decided on the next eatery as a quick fix regardless of price. This is how we ended up at Aida right across from the Duomo. The food was good and we were glad to have navigated the hunger crisis before either the kids or I got too annoying.

The city of Como was a bit of a shell-shock for us as it drew crowds even during the pandemic. Yes, people wore masks but still, it was too busy too soon for me. Also, the city is very posh. Probably not quite our turf, to be honest.

We took another stroll to the waterfront, looking for a particular gelateria (Lonely Planet recommendation). Again, it was not our cup of tea so we decided against it and looked for another place down the road. The ice cream we had at last was delicious but by now we were ready to leave Como behind.

Back in the car to drive another hour to our next campground. We chose this one for tonight to be in striking range to Bergamo, our next destination.