Breakfast at the
hotel offered good variety—egg, meats, cheeses, breads, and Swedish pancakes!
By the way, Göteborg is pronounced yur-te-borry!
The only real
plan I had for today was Maritiman, a collection of ships you can explore,
including a Swedish destroyer, a submarine, and a freighter. Well, that was
enough! I think we spent about 4 hours there!
We were poking
around the destroyer, reading signs, when a young woman guide offered to help.
We spent a couple of hours (!) talking with her. She has one year to go to
finish her bachelor’s degree. She is just learning about the ships, especially
English nautical terms, but she knows some Swedish history, and we had a good
discussion. (L note: Her take on Sweden is that Swedes have embraced
“neutrality” as their defining characteristic. They work, play, and befriend
one another for what they are — not what they demand, or require, or even want
the other person to be.
“Neutrality” is a good explanation for the
Pride parade and the accompanying enthusiasm. Of course I asked about WW II and
Sweden’s “neutral” role, which I had just learned about while in Norway.
(to be continued)
