When it was announced that our hometown NHL team the Edmonton Oilers were going to play their first-ever overseas regular season game in Gothenburg, Sweden, I jumped at the chance to buy tickets to this once-in-a-lifetime event. I immediately texted my friends and asked who was in for the season opener – and without giving them enough time to reconsider, announced our tickets were already in hand! We flew out on a Monday, and came back home the following Sunday; less than a week for a trip halfway across the world, all in the name of our favourite team!
Instead of going straight to Gothenburg, we first made a pit stop in the beautiful capital city of Stockholm, where we ate at least two Kanelbulle (cinnamon buns) and the even tastier cardamom buns every day while we explored the cobblestone streets of Gamla stan, the Royal Palace, City Hall and so much more. A highlight of the trip was viewing the enormous Vasa ship at the Vasamuseet; a Swedish warship which was built between 1626 and 1628. The ship sank after sailing roughly 1,300 m into her maiden voyage, and remained in the bay until it was rediscovered again in the 1950s. The impressive Vasamuseet was constructed around the wreck, and is now one of Sweden’s most visited tourist attractions.
Gothenburg brought with it even more delicious baked goods, some more wonderful walks through the Haga and a few more food halls (for amazing Swedish meat balls!) as well as a reunion with some friends we originally met 6 years previous on the Inca Trail in Peru! They were kind enough to invite us over to their home for a traditional crawfish dinner, which was absolutely the best night of our trip.
The game was a very wonderful experience; although we didn’t win, it was so cool to watch our team play in such a unique atmosphere, so far from home. I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to make this trip happen, for my friends who accompanied me on such a crazy adventure, and especially for Cecilia back at home who allowed me to go!
If you’d like to see all of the photos I took on this trip, please visit my Flickr set here.
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