Göteborg// GO:SAFETY?

Så, there was an attempt to break in the Chalmers Formula Student trailer last week. Our lock got cut. Luckily we didn’t lose anything. This made me ponder about the safety of Sweden.

(UPDATE, we also lost the jack stand swivel wheel on that trailer… I think we actually lost a trailer entirely a few years ago)

[Photo: Cut lock, photo graphic evidence for…insurance company?]

Frankly, I have been very “trusting”. Maybe it has something to do with living in Canada for so long… Canada is fortunately a very safe country. I remember watching Iron Man 2 in cinema and people were clapping as Justin Hammer says

– “I’d love to leave my door unlocked at night, but this ain’t Canada.”

Now I am in a different part of “True North”. Should I sharpen my sense of security?

Funny story:

My first contact with Göteborg was seven years ago while still living in Oslo, Norway. I didn’t like Göteborg at all.

I was traveling with two dudes and we arrived at Göteborg by bus from Copenhagen at 3AM. It was the last leg in our weeklong Scandinavian backpacking trip. The bus driver spoke in Swedish, which I did not comprehend a single word. Göteborg is pronounced as “Yoteborg” and I wasn’t informed. We nearly missed the stop and went on to Oslo. We would have preferred that.

You don’t see Prince Charming running around during that hour of the day. We were exhausted. So we thought it would be a good idea to sleep on the bench at the station for a few hours. But we got woken up by a police man a few minutes later, who informed us we are not allowed to sleep there.

We wandered around the town for an hour or so. I wouldn’t call it sightseeing. Perhaps “Residence Evil” deluxe experience package is a better description. Eventually the wanderers found a hotel room on an 1800s sail boat and slept until checkout time. I still clearly recall the eagerness of boarding that 2PM train back to home sweet home Oslo.

I went back to the Bussterminalen (bus terminal, aha learning Swedish here) last weekend. Vivid images of that evening seven years ago became afloat in my mind. Sudden, I realized how safe Göteborg is.

There are not too many cities in the world where I dare to close my eyes for a second, never mind falling sound asleep.

…

(but still, don’t leave your valueables unattended)

I <3 Göteborg