I Let An Airline Book A Flight To A Random Destination In Europe… The Result? Best Weekend Ever!
Would you ever let an airline pick a random travel destination for you? How do you think that would go?
Well, this is how I chose to go on an adventure last week. Ryanair has a cool feature on their website that allows you to book a trip in a non-traditional way. You get to choose how many nights, what your budget is, and what airport you want to be departing from, and the airline gets to pick a destination for you. I chose 2 nights, flying on a Friday, and a 30 euro budget. The result?
I ended up spending one of the best weekends of my life in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Learning about Gothenburg, Sweden
At first, I didn’t know much about the city. Whenever I thought of Sweden, only Stockholm came to my mind. But learning about what Sweden’s second-largest city had to offer showed me that Ryanair had picked the perfect weekend getaway. What I learned about the city made me fall in love with it even before getting there.
Gothenburg is beautiful. It is the second largest city in Sweden, but it has a small-town vibe. It is famous for many things, but mainly for its historical neighborhood called Haga, its amusement park Liseburg, and the archipelago. The city is surrounded by rocky shorelines, deep forests, tranquil lakes, and the beautiful surging sea to the west. It is great for foodies and wine lovers, and if you love cinnamon buns, Gothenburg is the perfect city for you as you can find cinnamon (and other flavored) buns as big as your head.
I did my research and planned my itinerary accordingly. I didn’t want to rush from one point to another, but I wanted to see as much as I could.
When booking a place to stay, I chose a hostel that offered many activities for its guests. The hostel was good, cheap, well-located and it even had a free sauna. They say it’s a very Swedish thing to do to go to the sauna in the winter and bring a cold beer with you. So, I’m glad my hostel allowed me to live this Swedish experience during my stay.
My first night, Friday
I arrived late at night and I was very hungry. The shuttle from the airport to the city center was quite fast, and it dropped me off right in front of a cafe that had delicious sandwiches and juices. I had a BLT and headed to my hostel so I could get changed to go out that night.
Gothenburg has a very vibrant gay nightlife. There are loads of drag shows and gay clubs, so this is what I did when I first arrived. I didn’t plan to stay up too late, though I saw that they partied until 5 am. The club I went to is called Gretas and it is Sweden’s largest and oldest gay club. After enjoying such a great night there, I went back to the hostel to get some rest so I could start the day as early as possible.
Saturday
I woke up very early so I could make the most out of my day. I split my Saturday plans into 3 parts. Part one would be exploring the sights during the morning and afternoon. Part two would be returning to the hostel to enjoy the sauna. The free sauna was available between 5 pm and 7 pm. And lastly, part three would be doing a bar hop in the city with the hostel gang.
They say that Gothenburg is the perfect city for hiking lovers as you can simply walk everywhere, and I couldn’t agree more. I visited most sights, except the museums. But if I had to pick 3 that stood out for me, these are the ones below.
- I visited Klippen and walked around Ångbåtsbryggan
- I explored the traditional neighbourhood of Haga
- I hiked to the top of the Skansen Kronan in the morning and also later to watch the sunset
After watching the sunset from Skansen Kronan, I went just down the hill to try Gothenburg’s famous pasta bar called Bene Pasta Bar. It is located literally down the hill of Skansen Kronan, and the food is super delicious and fresh.
After dinner, it was time to start the second part of my itinerary. I went back to the hostel so I could enjoy some time in the sauna. My day was already going great, but the sauna experience took it even to another level.
I met a group of travelers from Brazil, China, The U.S., England, and India in the sauna. And the way we clicked was simply unique and special. There was a lot of laughing, sharing stories, and of course, connection. We ended up staying in the sauna until it was time to get ready for the pub crawl.
Then, part three of my itinerary went better than I expected. At 8 pm, we met at reception so we could start hitting every single pub on the way. Every cocktail and beer was worth trying. Bar hopping with the hostel gang is always fun. Getting to explore a new place with people from all over the world is always an enriching experience.
After hours out, it was time to go back. On the way back to the hostel, we started talking about what was everybody’s plans for Sunday, and to our surprise, we had all thought of visiting the main attraction of Gothenburg: The Archipelagos.
Sunday (My favorite day)
The day started early. We met at 8 am at reception, and headed towards the tram station. We took the tram and a bus to the ferry station. Mancy, the sweetest girl who was also traveling from Dublin, planned the perfect itinerary for the day and was happy to lead us all into this adventure. The northwest islands of the archipelago were easier to get to and explore, so that’s where we went to.
The bus ride was a lot of fun. I love traveling by bus. We were clearly the loudest people on board, but we were sitting at the back of the bus, so we hoped that the few people sitting in the front couldn’t hear us. The bus drove on that big bridge that I had visited the day before, so it was a lot of fun to see the city from up high.
When we reached the ferry station, we were surprised by how it worked. It didn’t look like a regular ferry at all. It was one of those ferries that could fit big-sized trucks, buses, and cars. There were no chairs for people to sit on, so we all stood at the edge and the corner.
The view from the ferry was simply spectacular. The frozen water would break into a million pieces of ice as the ferry traversed through the water. The ferry ride wasn’t long, which was good because it gave us more time to walk around and explore. We walked from one island to the other crossing every bridge we could on foot. When it wasn’t possible to walk, we took another ferry. But most of our exploration happened on foot. It was one of the most exciting walks I’ve ever done on my travels.
The island of the archipelago we got to explore the most was Hono. I loved seeing the houses and imagining what life was like for the people there. My favorite thing to see was how many houses had a car and a boat parked next to one another. These people must have so much money.
The lookout
In Hono, there is a lookout place. You get to climb the stairs to get a panoramic view of all the islands from up there as well as a beautiful view of the city of Gothenburg.
We had no plan to rush. This is why it felt so good. Plus, we weren’t looking for any specific type of “tourist attraction”. Being on the island was the main plan. It wasn’t about reaching a sight, taking pictures, and then moving to the next one. It was all about walking around just to explore. Joy came from walking from one island to another, taking the ferry, talking with one another, and enjoying the beauty of the archipelagos. These were the things that made every single second of this experience worth living.
Lunch by the pier
We were so hungry after all that walking in the morning. So we heard of a village by the pier that had local Swedish food. From the lookout, we could see the village, so we weren’t far. We went to a pizza place called Hono Pizzeria. It is by far the best pizza I’ve ever eaten on my travels.
After having the most relaxed meal at the restaurant, it was time to face the cold again, although all that walking and exploring made us forget that it was that cold. Plus, we stopped a few times to grab coffee and hot chocolate in the small local shops along the way. The coffee, the walking, and the new friendships kept us warm enough to keep exploring. It was the perfect day and the perfect adventure with the perfect group.
After walking for about an hour, we saw a bridge that connected one island to the other. At the bottom of this bridge, still on our side, there was a path that led to a huge rocky hill that could offer a beautiful view of the water, the bridge, and the sunset. We decided to climb all the way to the top to get the best view.
The result?
As I approached the top, a breathtaking view unraveled in front of me. I stood in awe as the vibrant colors of the sky painted the most beautiful panorama. Sitting at the top of this rock admiring the sunset in the middle of nowhere in Sweden felt liberating. It wasn’t a place we read on blogs or on an Instagram post. It was just a random place we decided to stop by. Standing there on its majesty. A place and a feeling that became everybody’s highlight of the day.
An indescribable tranquility washed over me. The sound of the gentle wind harmonizing with the echoes of laughter from each one of us became music to my ears. Everybody looked so happy and fulfilled. It felt like a dream we didn’t know we had to achieve.
None of us would have met in a normal situation in life given the fact we all come from different parts of the world. But regardless, there we were. Together. Different cultures, people, traditions, sexual orientations, beliefs, backgrounds, and aspirations in life. Our travel experience brought us together and allowed us to live a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It gets dark
It’s time to head back to catch the last ferry back to Gothenburg. Everybody was feeling tired, but more than that, we were feeling the need for more and more exploration. Nobody wanted to leave. “What if we all stay here?”. Unfortunately, we couldn’t. We all had responsibilities to go back to. And it was okay. Life is all about making memories and living in the moment. Nothing is eternal, and there’s always a chance of another adventure.
Thank you, Sweden, for allowing me to make the best memories. It was certainly the best weekend trip I’ve ever gone on.
