I spent a few days in Göteborg, Sweden. They call it Gothenburg in English, but I prefer the Swedish name. I was there to see a friend and we toured the city.

My way of city tourism is focused on two things: looking around and eating. Let me share a few things that I saw and ate.

Göteborg is a city of hills. No matter where you’re going, the shortest route goes over a hill.

If you want to see the city from above, go to Keillers Park. The photo above is from the viewing point Ättestupan. The city center on the other side of the Göta river.

At the end of April, it is a city of flowering trees. The flowers weren’t blooming yet, apart from the tiny white windflowers. The leaves were tiny, but everywhere you went, you could find pink cherry trees blossoming and magnolias full of white flowers.

Slottsskogen is another park and when we got there, the vikings had taken over it. Corridors for runners with black headbands were crisscrossing the park. The corridors took them to obstacles: a pool full of ice, rope ladders, log carry, a quarter pipe to run up. They were the Tough Vikings, racing the obstacle course in teams.

We dodged the vikings and reached the small zoo. There a crow was pecking hair off the butt of a red deer. The bird would stand just far enough that when the deer would snap at it, it wouldn’t reach the bird. This continued and continued until the deer finally stood up. The bird moved on to peck the next deer’s butt.

There’s something fascist about Götaplatsen, the main square. The neo-romantic museum building that stands at the end of stairs, as if on a pedestal. The square itself is at the end of a wide avenue.

The centerpiece of the square is a fountain with a statue of Poseidon. The statue’s grotesque facial expression and those of the accompanying creatures lighten the mood. They look as if they’re making fun of the square’s pompous air.

Then again, Carl Milles, the sculptor who crafted them, was a Nazi fan.

There were plenty of plump geese, and magpies were hopping around everywhere, but the coolest bird I saw was a green woodpecker. We had almost finished the nature trail on the Styrsö island and were hurrying back to the ferry when one of my companions shouted “there’s a woodpecker!” Not just one but two, and they were green! This was my first green woodpecker ever.

On another island, Vrångö, there’s a seafood restaurant. The obvious order would have been the catch of the day: a wooden box full of mussels and prawn, served with lemon, aioli, and bread.

Alas, I hate mussels. I settled for a shrimp sandwich, a klassisk räksmörgås. It was the biggest one I’ve ever had (and the most expensive): a heaping pile of grated boiled eggs, salad, mayo, and of course shrimps on top of a piece of flatbread.

At the pier, a man with a wig and a red merchant’s dress wished us welcome to Götheborg. It’s a replica of a 17th century merchant ship and one of the largest wooden ships in the world that you can actually sail.

After selling us tickets, the man ushered us to step on the deck. No sailing, but we toured the exhibition to see the quarters of the officers and the seamen. If you’ve played Obra Dinn, you’ll find it familiar. They even had cannons there. Nowadays they’re fired electronically - they still do gun salutes.

I failed at having great coffee. You’d think you can just go to a hipster coffee shop in Göteborg and be served lightly roasted Nordic third wave espresso but nope. You’ll get something dark and bitter. The next time I will negotiate with the barista.

What makes up for this failure are the baked goods. Kanelbullar, dammsugare, chokladbollar, biskvier. They are everywhere, they are big, and they are great.

Even store-bought chokladbollar will do. Just like the martinis in Revolutionary Road, they are weak but adequate.

This was my second time in Göteborg. The city does not have a single big thing to see, but I keep finding new items for my list of things to do. I walked past another nice-looking restaurant to try. Liseberg, the amusement park, was closed as they were preparing for the summer season. We didn’t even visit any castles. Nothing to do but return.

For more photos from the trip, see my photo gallery. Have you got any Göteborg tips? Reply to this e-mail and let me know.