The Road not Taken

If everything had gone to plan, we would have been entering the Gota Canal about now. 

So, it didn't all go to plan. The wind has consistently been against us, so we even had to set up the generator on deck yesterday to extend our battery range to make it all the way to Gothenburg in one shot. The current has given us an extra challenge, also straining the battery power. We spent so long getting to Gothenburg that we had to admit that continuing up the canal would mean rushing a trip where the whole point was to relax and take our time. We requested a refund of our canal ticket and decided to save the trip for another day. I am reminded of one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost. It is a recurring theme in my life.

Instead, we have stayed in Gothenburg for the past two nights and with YET another storm tonight, decided to stay one until tomorrow. This is a great city! I can't believe it has been more than 20 years since the last time I was here. I always say that I love small towns (and I do!), but this city has everything without seeming rushed or crowded. 

This is also the first time that I have visited a big city by boat, and it is pretty fantastic. We are smack-dab in the middle of it all for a 550 NOK port fee. We can hang out in the city as much as we want and then retreat back to the boat, sit on deck, watch the life in the harbor, make our own food and drink, listen to our own music, read our own books, write our own blogs. You get the drift.

There is an inordinate number of Indian restaurants and we have already tried two. Haga is a ridiculously cute part of town with tiny shops and the largest cinnamon buns I have ever seen. There is just so much VARIETY! I can miss that in Southern Norway. We were lucky to have a sunny day yesterday to soak up the vibe of the city. Today I took the bus to the botanical garden, which was very well-done, and then walked back into town.

We are not sure what we will do from here. But we still have two full weeks before we need to be back in Kristiansand, so whatever it is, it will not be rushed.

Oh, and there was a Systembolag here and it was open. So we are OK for prosecco now.


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