The steamer has arrived earlier than was expected. You cannot leave the ship, as your friends are coming for you. You need not remain on board because you cannot speak Swedish. Nearly every intelligent inhabitant of Gothenburg can converse fluently in English. Wait patiently for a little and the captain will allow you to telephone to your friends from the ship. Very many ships have the telephone. By the time the custom-house officer has examined and chalked your luggage, the telephone connection has been made. It saves one's friends many a long and weary wait for the uncertain arrival of a steamer.
Thus you are introduced to one of the striking features of Swedish life. The telephone is universal. Every place of business, of course, has one, but also every private house, every farm, and even the little kiosks on the street can boast of a connection.
After landing, as you drive through the streets you are struck by the Dutch appearance of the city. Canals intersect the streets. This is because the first inhabitants were chiefly Dutch merchants, called into the country by the King.
The city makes a splendid impression on one, as the streets are well laid out and the houses well built.
How bright and fresh everything appears in the King's Port Avenue or the Allée, lined, as they both are, with rows of spreading trees and stately buildings! These are the fashionable streets and favourite promenades, where can be seen the youth and beauty of Gothenburg.
The visitor must also see a large public park--Slottskögen--where the working-men, with their wives and children, listen to the music of the band. Then there are the Botanic Gardens, which are also a pleasure-resort.
You should not miss the market where you buy your fish alive. Near by is the fruit-market, where you see the old women behind their stalls of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. One wonders how they move, they are enveloped in so much clothing. There, too, can be seen the little boat with its load of firewood. Near by are tables laden with sausages and hams.
I must now give you an idea how a holiday is spent at the seaside in Sweden. Early in the year the question is, Where shall we spend the summer? Three whole months of liberty and sunshine--this is what every boy and girl looks forward to in Sweden, as the public schools all close on the last days of May, or first days of June, and do not reopen till the first day of September.