viewing platform | 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 …

Leaving our camping spot near the sand dunes in the morning

It was still hot in the morning, probably even 30°C. The ground did not cool down either and still felt warm to the touch. We got up as early as we could and went through our morning routine in a hurry. Back on the road it was just bearable. We really chose the last possible time to do Oman reasonably comfortable on a motorbike. Temperature-wise it would be perfect December to March, but at least so we dodge most of the other tourists.

We reached Nizwa by about 10 am. We could have had lunch then, but decided to do the tour of the old town first, this time.

Looking down into the inner yard

The local fort and castle were pretty impressive and very neatly restored and presented. We also had a stroll around the old town, with its mud-brick houses and gardens full of date palms and vegetables. The equally renovated souq had to wait a bit though, since by then our stomachs were loudly demanding attention.

With a full stomach and an equally saturated mind, we were ready to tackle the road up the Saiq plateau on Jebel Akhdar. The road is a famously tough drive and only permitted by 4WD. We wanted to camp up there and explore a bit more tomorrow. We should not get any further than the police check-point at the foot of the pass, though. Only 4WD … no motorcycle … why? Because these are the rules. Of course he believed our bike could do it … we did too, we have ridden in Timor-Leste and Sumatra. No, the rules. Could have gotten a special permit from the Ministry in Muscat, but did not know.