Quick trip to Sweden

I popped over to Gothenburg for a day and a night to do a little work for a client of mine whose headquarters are in the city, and have dinner together.

It was a fun, and productive, trip; Gothenburg is a very attractive city, clean and efficient as well as interesting - Max would have loved the trams.

My client recommended a hotel, which I booked - the four masted barque 'Viking' which is moored downtown and has been converted into an excellent hotel / restuarant / conference venue.

I only needed a simple bed for the night, so booked the basic cabin, which got me a lovely narrow room with fold down bed in the best nautical style. Unbelievably, I was the only guest, and had a very enjoyable breakfast for one at the table in reception whilst five lovely blonde Swedish ladies hovered around catering to almost every need. Apparently they are much busier in the summer....

If you are ever in the city, then visit their website

 

More weather!

So, two weeks after 'gales cause chaos', we have a beautiful heavy fall of snow overnight. Everything turned that lovely bright white I remember so clearly from childhood yet hardly ever see these days. Of course, the kids loved it, even though school was not cancelled, as it always was for me, living out in the midst of nowhere as a child.

Everybody seemed ready for this snowstorm, it was well forecast, so roads and rail weren't too bad but flights suffered as Luton and Stansted were closed. My colleague, Neil, was supposed to join me in Aberdeen but his flight was cancelled. But for me, once again, Scotland was the place to be to avoid travel problems - it only snowed a little, and my plane home was on time as well as the roads being nice and clear by the time I came to drive home.

And now we're off for a week in Holland and Germany, visiting friends and relatives, so it's on the late night ferry for an overnight crossing. I have a feeling that there won't be much sleep for our overexcited offspring or their parents, but we're looking forward to getting away and seeing people we haven't met up with in years. Of course, we'll post some pictures here when we get back.