The City of Göteborg is the Swedish version of the city name founded in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. Gothenburg is the Dutch, German and English version of the name, but I have noticed many of the new buildings use Gothenburg in the name. Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, with a population of around 500,000 for the city and a little more than 900,000 including metro area.The Gothenburg harbor is largest in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) and well known for its trade to the west. The impact of Swedish 
emigration to North America is not only reflected in the construction of this elaborate building where many immigrants left for the US during the 1920s, but also with naming of towns in the US like Gothenburg, Nebraska.
emigration to North America is not only reflected in the construction of this elaborate building where many immigrants left for the US during the 1920s, but also with naming of towns in the US like Gothenburg, Nebraska. 
With a lot of Dutch influence the town was designed after cities with a moat (Göta Canal) or canals like Amsterdam, and interestingly enough, the blueprints for the canals are the same as Jakarta, Indonesia. In addition the town was very well protected with a city wall just inside the moat. We viewed the last portion of the wall still standing while taking a boat tour around the original city via Padden Site Seeing tours. In first
seeing the boat it was commented, “That’s pretty lame.”, but in learning why some of the bridges had names like the ‘Cheese Slicer’ and the ‘Hair Dresser’ we had a greater appreciation for the simple low profile boat. In the picture you can see how Garrett 'hit the deck', with Mac Sr. behind him 
and Stephen (in red cap) ensuring everyone was going to make it.There are three major companies manufacturing plants in the area including SKF, Volvo & Ericsson. SKF Group is the leading global supplier of products, solutions and services within rolling bearings, seals, mechatronics, services and lubrication systems. They are also the main sponsor of 
the Gothia Cup again this year. Volvo provides transportation related services and products including divisions for cars, trucks, buses construction equipment, aero, boats and financial. It s equivalent to GM in the US, though not going through bankruptcy. Ericsson (headquarters pictured to the right) is a world-leading provider of telecommunications equipment and related services to mobile and fixed network operators globally. Interestingly, John Ericsson was originally from Sweden, worked in England, U.S. and Sweden, but is best known as the inventor of the propeller and the famous warship “Monitor”, the first submarine used in American Civil War.
Transportation in and around Gothenburg is like a well oiled machine. The hub of all of the transportation is, of course, Central Station (left). The high speed electric trains run about 150 km/hr (90 mph) between towns and stop every 5 kms or so. It is about 20 miles between Gothenburg and Kungsbacka where we have been playing our 
games and even with 5 stops along the way, it only takes 30 min to travel. From the Kungsbacka station (right) we transfer to a city bus and arrive at the fields about 5 minutes later. There are also electric trams within Gothenburg that 
stop every few blocks. Of course with our glacier scraped flat terrain in Central US, we forget about things like hills and inclines, but the Swedish have that figured out as well with tunnels. In addition, unlike American rails, the V-shaped rails for the trams are flush with the road so buses can share the same pathways as the trams down the middle of the throughfares, which frees up the outside lanes for automobiles. And of course the extra wide granite stone sidewalks for bicycles and pedestrians are well obeyed, only crossing with the green ‘walk’ light. The meticulously maintained buildings, transportation systems, university studies, national health care and infrastructures are all paid for via a a 
63% income tax and 25% sales tax.
the Gothia Cup again this year. Volvo provides transportation related services and products including divisions for cars, trucks, buses construction equipment, aero, boats and financial. It s equivalent to GM in the US, though not going through bankruptcy. Ericsson (headquarters pictured to the right) is a world-leading provider of telecommunications equipment and related services to mobile and fixed network operators globally. Interestingly, John Ericsson was originally from Sweden, worked in England, U.S. and Sweden, but is best known as the inventor of the propeller and the famous warship “Monitor”, the first submarine used in American Civil War.
Transportation in and around Gothenburg is like a well oiled machine. The hub of all of the transportation is, of course, Central Station (left). The high speed electric trains run about 150 km/hr (90 mph) between towns and stop every 5 kms or so. It is about 20 miles between Gothenburg and Kungsbacka where we have been playing our 
games and even with 5 stops along the way, it only takes 30 min to travel. From the Kungsbacka station (right) we transfer to a city bus and arrive at the fields about 5 minutes later. There are also electric trams within Gothenburg that 
stop every few blocks. Of course with our glacier scraped flat terrain in Central US, we forget about things like hills and inclines, but the Swedish have that figured out as well with tunnels. In addition, unlike American rails, the V-shaped rails for the trams are flush with the road so buses can share the same pathways as the trams down the middle of the throughfares, which frees up the outside lanes for automobiles. And of course the extra wide granite stone sidewalks for bicycles and pedestrians are well obeyed, only crossing with the green ‘walk’ light. The meticulously maintained buildings, transportation systems, university studies, national health care and infrastructures are all paid for via a a 
63% income tax and 25% sales tax. And with a western port and one of the largest in Scandanavia, one can’t talk about transportation without noting the maritime transportation. Gothenburg is home to Chalmers University of Technology, one of the world’s premier maritime universities. We even saw one of the structures used to train maintenance, repair and offloading of life rafts from a ship. 
There is also Gotaverken Cityvarva, the restructured ship builder, that does major repairs and restorations of ships from all over in its massive dry dock system. The harbor is definitely an impressive blend of 
20+ ancient ships in the Maritime museum, modern yachts, cruise and cargo ships coming and going, all caught with the backdrop of the Pricewaterhouse Cooper building 
(red & white high rise).
There is also Gotaverken Cityvarva, the restructured ship builder, that does major repairs and restorations of ships from all over in its massive dry dock system. The harbor is definitely an impressive blend of 
20+ ancient ships in the Maritime museum, modern yachts, cruise and cargo ships coming and going, all caught with the backdrop of the Pricewaterhouse Cooper building 
(red & white high rise). Rounding out Monday's activities was the Opening Ceremony which was held at Ullevi Stadium, the largest outdoor sports arena in Scandinavia. Gothenburg is the birthplace of 
football in Sweden and the first football match was played in 1892, so how appropriate that it also be the host of the world’s largest youth soccer tournament. The ceremony hosted 52,000 participants, was emceed by Johan Boding, had stars like the 2005 Swedish Idol winner Agnes Carlsson and the world's largest Guitar Hero competition. This was all done in the midst of introducing all 62 countries, counting down the world's 10 most popular songs, the Gothia Cup oath recited in six different languages, a tribute to coaches and parents and an explosive fireworks display for the finale. You can see more at http://www.gothiacup.se/eng/index.php/2009/07/openingceremony/ or
football in Sweden and the first football match was played in 1892, so how appropriate that it also be the host of the world’s largest youth soccer tournament. The ceremony hosted 52,000 participants, was emceed by Johan Boding, had stars like the 2005 Swedish Idol winner Agnes Carlsson and the world's largest Guitar Hero competition. This was all done in the midst of introducing all 62 countries, counting down the world's 10 most popular songs, the Gothia Cup oath recited in six different languages, a tribute to coaches and parents and an explosive fireworks display for the finale. You can see more at http://www.gothiacup.se/eng/index.php/2009/07/openingceremony/ or 
Lastly, as we prepare for bedtime, is our (the parents') accomodations; a four-star hotel chain called Scandic that has about 150 locations throughout Scandanavia, a WONDERFUL 100-item breakfast and all the amenities one could ask for including jacuzzi, gym, bicycles, free internet, a library and the list goes on. We have won the important two games thus far; the first 5 to 0 against IFK Valla, the second 2 to 0 against Alvsjo FF 2. Tomorrow we play Kungsbacka in the morning and then our first playoff game in the afternoon.Enjoy some action shots from the two games in the following posts.
TEK
