Our last full day in Sweden was bittersweet. Good to be going home, but sad to be leaving after having such a great experience over the last 13 days. To cap off the trip we went to the Goteborg Curling Club to try our hand at curling. Being from Minnesota, the same state that the Olympic gold medal curling team is from, added a bit of pressure to be good at it. Either way, it was my first curling, so we were preparing for the worst, but praying for the best. Once we strapped on our special curing shoes and helmets, it was on to the tutorial on how the game is played. I was surprised with how fast I was able to pick up the form and stability on the ice, especially with throwing the stone. We had a two-hour timeslot at the Curling club and then had the rest of the day to make our final purchases before going back to the states.

Naturally we went to the largest shopping center in Scandinavia. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at McDonald’s. What would an international trip be without bringing a little bit of home into the mix? After we finished eating, we roamed around Nordstan buying souvenirs for our friends, families, and ourselves. One of the favorite gifts I picked up was an assortment of craft beers made by Poppel’s. I figured since they are not available in the United States and it was a highly recommended brand by many locals, it would be a special gift for the craft beer lovers in my life.

When we wrapped up with our shopping, we stopped into a café to take a break and chill for a bit before heading back to the hostel. I got a Pepsi Max with Ice and a lemon, although I would have preferred a Coca-Cola, the Pepsi did the trick.

Since it was our final night in Gothenburg, it would only be right to get a meal that is signature to Gothenburg, A King’s Sandwich. Which, from the bottom up is, bread, greens, mayonnaise, a sliced hardboiled egg, shrimp, and fish eggs. This dish had been hyped up by everyone who talked about it, so my expectations were pretty high for this meal. When we got The Gothia Towers, we took the elevator to the 23^rd floor and took our seats. The table started out with a charcutier board of sorts, this was an exceptional tasting spread of meats and breads. This only made me more excited for the main dish. A bit of a side note but, due to us being in one of the fanciest restaurants in Sweden, I felt it was only fitting to get a glass of Lagavulin 16 to pair with dinner. When the dish arrived, it was quite intimidating to try and dig into, but slowly I found a way to dive into it and combine all the rich flavors that are within the dish. I thought it was very good, but there was so much food on the plate that unfortunately I could not finish the whole dish, but I would definitely order it again.

After dinner Peyton and I went and met up with a Carthage classmate who is here in Gothenburg visiting some friends. We ended up going to an Australian bar named “The down under bar” for their weekly trivia night. I would say our team did above average, but unfortunately, we were not smart enough to win the whole thing. Still a fun time, nonetheless.

Our night rounded out with some packing and cleaning to get ready for our 6:15am departure time from the hostel to get to the airport.

TAKEAWAYS

• Curling is definitely a skill, and one that I want to learn better!
• A Cola drink with a lemon is an absolute game changer
• A Kings Sandwich is considered a rite of passage in Gothenburg. If you have had one, you are in an elite club of Gothenburgers.