A day trip to Trollhättan

Trollhättan is a very cute city located only a couple of kilometers south of lake Vänern, the largest lake in Sweden. Through the city flows a river called Göta, which connects the big Swedish lakes with large cities like Gothenburg and Stockholm. And in the city centre is the awesome University West, known for its work-integrated learning and international programmes, mainly in engineering and IT. That is why we decided to pay this city a visit and see what more it has to offer!

Morning

We traveled to Trollhättan by regional train from Gothenburg. The ride took about 35 minutes. We bought the train ticket through the Västtrafik app, and it was about SEK 108 one way. On the way from the train station, we passed by a big sign which said ‘Högskolan Väst’ (University West). That’s when I remembered that our past digital ambassadors Nozie and Brian studied at the University West and wrote a lot of blog posts about their experiences. Make sure to check those out.

Then we continued our walk right towards the bridge called Strömkarlsbron. The bridge was built more than 100 years ago. It crosses the river Göta and works also as a dam. Trollhättan is a city of dams!

From the bridge, you can take the stairs up to a viewpoint. That’s where we began our hike through the Trollhättan nature. From the top you get to see some awesome views. The best time to visit Trollhättan is during the ‘Fallens Dagar’. This festival is organised every year around the middle of July. It’s when they let out the water from big dams creating an exciting waterfall scenery. There are also musicians playing the city centre and other activities to celebrate this big event that usually starts at 12:00.

The hike continues further uphill to a viewpoint called Kopparklinten. It’s only about 77 metres above sea level but it offers a great view of both the city and the river passing through. Then you contain you downhill through a beautiful forest following the Edsvidsleden trail.

Once you cross the river back to the other side via a small bridge, a cute forest path leads you to old water locks built in the 18th and 19th century. They are not used anymore since new ones were built, but they offer an idea of how it was back then. How awesome would it be to be a student in a city with so much interesting history!

Afternoon

We had our lunch in a nice cafe with a view over the water locks. We could watch the ships enter the locks while enjoying sweet waffles for only SEK 60. The price included a cup of coffee – so Swedish! ☕ The plan was to get an ice cream too but the queue by the ice cream stand was outstanding. Swedes really like their ice cream in the summer months even if it costs more that SEK 35.

We made a quick stop in the little Canal museum to learn a bit more about the history of the water locks and the famous Göta Canal. On the way back we passed by a bridge that opened up to let a ship pass. That was also a cool experience.

The whole journey took us about 3 and a half hours and we walked around 12 kilometers. On the way back to the central station we listened to the music and said goodbye to Trollhättan, the city of locks and dams, and its awesome University West.

Let me know in the comments if you are also planning to visit Trollhättan or to study at University West!
Anna