Sunday 8th September 2019
What a difference a day makes as they say: it is sunny, with no sign of rain. We had breakfast in the hotel dining room, and then set off south to Gothenburg. We are booked on a Brunch Cruise in Gothenburg's Archipelago which promises to be fascinating. We arrived in good time for our 12 noon departure from Lilla Bommen waterside, with time to park the car and then look at the other ships moored nearby. Our ship for today is the GOTEBORG; she was built in 1915, with a dining restaurant capacity of 100.
Behind the passenger terminal was the huge 4 masted steel barque VIKING, built in 1906 at 2959 gross tons, but it is the height of her masts that is most noticeable: her foremast is 55.5 metres/182 feet 1 inch high. She is now known as a Boat Hotel, and even going for a cup of coffee on board is a fascinating experience.
As we walked towards Lilla Bommen we could see the VIKING masts against the blue sky over the top of the passenger terminal. Beside us were four eye-catching little vessels: ALVEN SHABBEN 4, CARL MICHAEL BELLMAN, ST. ERIK and GOTEBORG.
We were soon on board after a welcome on the quayside, and shown to our table in the Restaurant. The Brunch Cruise was obviously popular and the Restaurant was soon full of cheerful passengers. It stayed that way as we set off from the quayside and for a lot of the cruise, although we later went on deck to see our surroundings. There was lots of delicious food set out on the central tables and passengers at each guest table were invited in turn to go and help themselves. Drinks were served at the tables, from the bar at the end of the Restaurant, and there was soon a quieter time as we all enjoyed our brunch. Desserts were served and coffee and more drinks were also available.
Climbing the stairs to the next deck offered a passenger lounge with comfortable seating, looking out at the passing water and scenery as we made our way through the Southern Archipelago. There was an occasional commentary but I think many of us simply enjoyed the views in the sunshine, and the gentle sound of our little ship passing through the water.
Our route took us back again towards Gothenburg and I noticed we could see into the little bay of Saltholmen as we sailed along.
I could identify VALO built in 2010 at 231 gross tons, VIPAN built in 1960 at 241 gross tons and VESTA built in 1998 at 347 gross tons. I remember taking a trip out of the port in 2015 on RIVO to one of the nearby islands and back on SILVERTANAN, then catching VESTA out around various other islands before heading back to Saltholmen. By a huge coincidence those trips were on 8th September in 2015.
Nearer the city again there was time to look out at some of the interesting vessels moored on our starboard side. We saw EDUARD MELIN, which looks as if she has done many nautical miles, SVEA the Research Survey vessel, DIANA built in 1931, WILHELM THAM built in 1912, and MARIEHOLM built in 1934. By 3 p.m. we were gliding back to our original departure quay and it was time to disembark. The GOTEBORG Captain was on the quayside to shake hands and thank us for travelling with Stromma Kanalbolaget (stromma.com) and sadly that was the end of our brunch cruise on M/S GOTEBORG.
Ships seen: Viking, Goteborg, Alven Shabben 4, Carl Michael Bellman, St. Erik, Murcia Maersk, Valo, Vipan, Vesta, Eduard Melin, Svea, Diana, Wilhelm Tham, Marieholm
Then it was time to head for the car and return it to the airport, ready for us each to take our flights home. My flight was delayed for over an hour, although I was kept informed, but in the Terminal I sat next to a young lady who wanted to share some good news. She was of Sami heritage, living currently in Gothenburg, and had received confirmation that the conference she was to attend in London this week was going ahead and giving her more details. She was a singer in her native language with a good command of English as well as Swedish, so we enjoyed chatting about a British television programme I had seen recently about Sami traditions. In turn she told me about her singing and yoiking that she was to perform in London this week. She is Elin Teilus, and I imagine she will continue to be successful.
I eventually flew home to the UK after a fascinating few days on land and sea, including travelling on one very old and one very new vessel, with several in between.