A weekend in Sweden, two cities & a family wedding

A late summer break in Sweden, two cities and a family wedding.

Tuesday August 18th 2026

I had an early start this morning. With help from Christophe, a Train Manager, originally from France, we booked flights from London to Gotherberg (Goteberg) on the 18th and a return flight from Arlanda to London on the 24th.

As my flight was leaving London, Heathrow at 08.15, it meant my catching a local bus to Reading station and the 04.20am RailAir coach from Reading to London Heathrow, Terminal 3. 

I had a coffee in Pret a Manger, and read some of my Lonely Planet guide to Sweden.

The flight BA786 left on time. I flew in an A330 Airbus G-DBCE. The passengers were offered a complimentary bottle of still water and a small flapjack. Also during the flight I watched a documentary about the late country singer Hank Williams. The flight was quiet, and time flew by.

The aeroplane landed at 11.00 local time. By 12. 00 I had passed through Passport Control and I waited outside for the Flygbussarna service to Goteberg Central bus and train station.

As I was unable to check in to my hotel room until 3, I had time for lunch, I had a chicken roll and a coffee. I chatted to an English mum and son before I went on a walk to explore the city.

During my walk, I took some photos, around Drottningtorget (Station Square), Olaf Palmes Plats, through Haga Nygata, the city's oldest district. Some of the buildings date back to the 1640s, but most are now independent cafes and craft-shops.

There is plenty of pleasent street art along Sodra Allegatan & :Pustervikdgatan.

I arrived at the Comfort Hotel for the 3pm check in. 

Later on the evening I went for a walk back to the station and along the waterfront.

Street art, showing trams &  the city 

Wednesday August 19th

The hotel serves breakfast from 06.30 to 09.30. I was able to have an early breakfast before my busy day. The breakfast was amazing, including cereals & fruit, scrambled & boiled eggs, fried food including, bacon, sausage & potatoes, biscuits and croissants, teas, coffee, juice and water.. 

I walked to Central Station and passed the street art in Sodra Allegatan and Haga Ostergata and the Domkyrkan (Cathedral). 

In the Nils Ericsson bus station, I bought a day ticket for the local (Vasttrafik) buses, trams and even ferries. I wanted to see World of Volvo, and as it started raining today, this was an ideal opportunity to spend time in a museum. 

However, in my guide book, the museum was in Arendal Skans, a long way out of the city, passing the docks and in an industrial estate. This journey involves 2 buses, the first #21 to Eketradgatan and another #21 to Arendal Skans. Unfortunately the Volvo Museum closed in December 2023, but a brand new museum, information & conference centre is now open in the Liseberg area. The tram lines #4 & #12 take visitors to the museum from the city centre. 

The rain was still falling heavily when I arrived at the museum. There was a collection of vintage Volvo cars, trucks and buses from the O4 of 1927 to modern electric cars. Many iconic vehicles were on display including the "Amazon", Police cars and even an ambulance. 

The museum has a good café which serves lunch, drinks and cakes. 

I returned to my hotel room and had a Swedish lesson from Duo lingo app. 

I had coffee and cake from Mr. Cake next to the hotel, and afterwards as the weather was dry I went for a ferry ride #287 to Lundsbystrand and then travelled on trams around the city and back to Stenpiren. 

I stayed in for the evening due the wet weather. 

Thursday August 20th 2026

I was up at 6am and I had breakfast soon after. I had to pack my case and then checked out around 8.30am.

I travelled to Drottringgatan by tram #1. When I arrived at the Central station,. I found out my train at 09.11 was delayed by 44 minutes. So I had a coffee from Pressbyran, one of a chain of kiosk/convenience shops, which are common in Swedish towns and cities. 

My train 428 actually left Goteberg Central at 10.06, 55 minutes late. I had a comfortable ride to Stockholm and even bought a coffee from the buffet. I also had one of my cakes I had bought earlier from Pressbyran. The train arrived in Stockholm Central, 13.40, too late to make the original booked connection at 13.32, but I had received an email from SJ ( Sveriges jahnvag) (Swedish Railway) with an attached ticket for the next service to Uppsala at 14.11. (Train 940). This train was a double deck with plenty of spare seats. 

The weather in Uppsala was sunny and the temperature a pleasent 21 degrees. I met Malena (from Virtual Tourist) around 15.10.

Malena and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the river, and around the city, the gardens and the Cathedral. We even went inside the cathedral dedicated to Saint Lars. There was a special exhibition of statues, "Who am I" created by 

As time was moving on, and we were both hungry we went to a cafe by the river, where I had a chicken pie, salad & a glass of Ericson beer. 

After our dinner we walked back towards the my apartment and I went to unpack my case. 

I later went for a sunset time walk and heard a rock concert from a stage in the city garden. 

A few days in Kent, January 2026

In 2026 I also want to visit more of the UK, and when I have a long weekend, I am planning to visit the less visited, but interesting counties.

Kent is in the South East corner of England. It is easy to travel to Kent, through London. There are trains to cities and towns in Kent from Saint Pancras and Victoria stations in London.

There is approximately 1,5 million people living in Kent with the principal towns being Maidstone, Canterbury and the Medway conurbation of Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham. 

Friday January 2nd 2026

I set off after work on Friday January 2nd. I caught the 16.01 from Reading to Paddington. I travelled by underground train to St. Pancras and caught the 17.20 South Eastern train to Whitstable, and I arrived at 18.41. Due to it being dark, I decided to take a taxi to the Canterbury-Whitstable Travelodge Hotel, which is on the site of a motorway type services, which serves the busy A299 dual carriageway. Unfortunately this hotel doesn't have a restaurant or bar, but the staff in the check-in desk were very friendly and helpful. 

I had a quiet evening, I had a supply of snacks and the hotel supplied tea, coffee, UHT milk. I watched repeats of Top of the Pops programmes from 1976, 1978 & 1989.

Saturday January 3rd 2026

In the morning I listened to Sounds of the 60s (Radio 2). I brought some pains au chocolate with me. I had one with my morning cup of tea.

I set off to explore the other food outlets on the site, but there was only Costa & Starbucks (coffee shops) and a Budgen mini-supermarket selling groceries, primarily for motorists. However there is a Subway which serves a decent breakfast bacon & sausage roll. 

I walked towards Whitstable, via Dargate, which is a small village. However there is a pub, The Dove which serves Shepherd Neames beer, which are brewed nearby, in Faversham.

I noticed on my map, there was a cafe on the route to Whitstable. The cafe, Arby's was a small building close to the Blean Woods, a popular area for camping. The lady serving me was friendly and helpful. I had an Americana coffee and a sausage and bacon toasted roll. 

The Arby's Cafe, Blean Woods 

I proceeded with my walk and managed to catch a bus to Whitstable. Buses in this area are run by Stagecoach 

I arrived in Whitstable around noon and got off the bus by the harbour. Whitstable is famous for shellfish, particularly oysters and whelks. Interestingly one of the families who are still farming the shellfish after many generations originated from Sheringham, Norfolk. The family moved as fishing for whelks and oysters was no longer productive on the Northern Norfolk coast. 

The harbour, Whitstable

I continued to walk along  the seafront despite the "biting" wind. There are many narrow streets, interesting wooden and brick buildings, pubs, independent shops.

Ocean cottage 

I visited the town Museum which tells the history of Whitstable, the fishing, fires and the Canterbury to Whitstable Railway. The original locomotive Invicta is the prime exhibit of the museum. 

Many of the pubs in the town host live music and open mic evenings. One of the pubs, The Peter Cushing, is a Wetherspoon pub. Wetherspoon kept many of the original features of former Art-Decor cinema. It was worth just going in this building to admire the restored cinema. Unfortunately I was unable to have my lunch there as it was so busy inside and there were no spare tables. Instead I went to The Coach and Horses which is a 19th Century coaching house. I had a pint of the Shepherd Neames ale with a burger, chips and salad. 

There is interesting street art in Whitstable with the tag Catman including interpretations of art masterpieces. I saw other examples of The Scream, The Mono Lisa & Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers 

Sunday January 4th 2026

The day turned out to be sunny, although the air was cold. 

I travelled by bus to Herne Bay as my nephew Richard now lives in the seaside town. I had a break between buses in the pretty seaside town of Tankerton. Tankerton's Marine Parade runs parallel with the beach. There is a grassy area between this street and the beach.

I had taken the 401 bus service to Tankerton's Priest and Sow. There is a small house by the bus stop which is a cafe. I had a coffee and a toasted tea-cake. This cafe only accepts  cash, which is quite rare in 2026. Many people still think accepting cash is better than card payment especially as anything relying on computers can be a problem when the computer or Internet connections fail.

I then travelled to Herne Bay on the 400 bus at 11.08 and arrived outside the railway station at 11.27. While I was waiting for my nephew, I had a coffee in the Hat Hats cafe next to the station's booking hall. Like many stations on the southern railway network, Herne Bay Station is well looked after, clean and tidy.

When Richard arrived, we walked through the Memorial Park to the Central Parade (promenade). The promenade has a large bandstand, which has cafes and shops, a large clock tower, a pier and a break water. We walked along the breakwater and I took some photos. The wind was so strong, the waves of the sea splashed the walkers and anglers.

The Clock Tower, Herne Bay

Richard and I had a baked potato and a beer for lunch in the Sussex Shore Wetherspoon pub. After lunch I returned by bus and then walked back to the hotel, where I listened to Radio 2 programmes.

Monday January 5th

The day was another cold, but sunny day. I had a Subway breakfast, tea & sausage & bacon roll.

I caught a bus to Whitstable town centre, and then travelled to Faversham by train. 

Faversham is a market town. The town has many interesting buildings including the town hall, half timbered houses, the Royal Cinema and Faversham is home to the Shepherd Neames brewery. Both Spitfire and Whitstable are delicious ales.

The Market Place & Town Hall

One of the narrow side streets 

I had lunch in the Wetherspoon pub, The Leading Light. The name came from the nickname of philanthropist Henry Wreight and the premises were a former Co-op shop. Many of the Art Deco features are still to be seen in the pub.

After lunch I returned to Whitstable and decided to walk part of the erstwhile Canterbury and Whitstable, also affectionally known as the Crabb & Winkle Railway. Steam trains ran passenger services from 1830 to 1952.

looking toward Whitstable on the site of the Canterbury to Whitstable Railway. This is now a cycle and footpath.

I returned to the hotel for the evening. The temperature that night was - 5 Celcius.

Tuesday January 6th 2026

I had a Subway breakfast before I walked to catch a bus to Canterbury bus station at 09.33. I arrived at 10.00 in bright sunshine, but the air was freezing. I stopped for a coffee in Pret a manger where I downloaded a new app Tourific. The app has self guided walking tours of cities in the UK and beyond. It appears that the free walking tours are not as popular as they were 10-20 years ago. It is a shame, as the free walking tours provided opportunities for local people to show their home towns to visitors. 

My tour today started on the Butter Market, the hub of Canterbury. The Butter Market pub is one of the oldest pubs still trading in Canterbury. 

The Butter Market 

The next stop was Canterbury Cathedral, the ecclesiastical centre of the Church of England. There is so much history of the cathedral! 

Canterbury Cathedral

I also passed The Crooked House, now a shop. The Crookiness is due to unseasoned timber used in its construction.

I also heard about the King's School, The Pilgrim's Hospital. This is a hostel for Pilgrims, and not a place to treat unwell people.

Canterbury is also known for its literal people including Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, Philip Marlowe, a playwright, who has a theatre named after him. Aphra Behn was the first prominent female writer in the English language. A statue of Aphra is outside the Beaney House Museum.

Geoffrey Chaucer

The Beaney House museum also has on display exhibits from Mary and Herbert Toutel who wrote/illustrated Rupert Bear comic strips & annuals.

In 1959 Oliver Postgate & Peter Firmin created Small films (short animated stories for TV. They worked creating the characters in farm buildings in Blean, close to Canterbury. The animated characters for TV included Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine, The Clangers and Bagpuss. Some of their work is also on display.

The self-guided walking tour concluded with Augustine's monestery and St Martin's Church, the earliest church still in use in the English speaking work. Part of the church goes back to Roman times. The church was a wedding gift for Queen Bertha from France, who brought Christianity to Kent. Queen Bertha married Aethelfred, King of Kent.

I went to the Wetherspoon pub Thomas Ingoldsby for my lunch. Thomas Ingoldsby was another literary figure who used to live opposite the pub location in Burgate.

After I visited the Beaney House Museum I returned to catch a bus towards my hotel. 

Sunset over the fields 

Wednesday January 7th 2026 

After I checked out from the hotel I travelled to Whitstable in a taxi. I had my breakfast in The Peter Cushing, which the Oxford cinema. 

After breakfast I returned to Reading by train. 

A tour de France and a wedding in April 2025

Monday, March 31st 2025

The previous evening I had was attending a gig in Nottingham.

After my breakfast in the Travelodge hotel, I walked to Nottingham Railway station and travelled on the 08.50 East Midland Railway Service to London, St. Pancras, arriving there at 10.23.

As my Eurostar ticket said to be ready for the journey to Lille at 11.46. I had time to buy the tube of toothpaste, I had forgotten to pack. I also had a cup of Vanilla latte from Pret a Manger, King's Cross Station. 

I had to check in, and pass through security and passport control, like being in an airport. The department lounge was packed, the delay of a previous train (to Paris) only made the overcrowding worse. 

Bali, Tuesday, February 25th. Dinghies & motor-quadricycles

My travel buddy, Kevin likes his adrenaline activities and he booked a double bill on the Tuesday.

We had a breakfast outside Kevin's chalet, omelette, toast and orange juice.

We travelled by car to the water activity centre where we changed into swimming trunks and an old T shirt.

We joined an Australian family, mum, dad and daughter and travelled in a back of a truck to a drop off, which lead to the river band. We had to walk down 300 steps. 

Kevin and I, before we walked down to the river (Photo, Kevin's mobile phone camera) 

We rode in a rubber dinghy through fast flowing water for about 2 hours. We had a break where we had a coke.

Due to the fast flowing water, we were soaked almost straight away. 

A waterfall as seen from the dinghy (Photo, Kevin's mobile phone camera) 

At the end of the trip, we had to walk up about 200 steps to the road and opposite the water activity centre. However the boats were deflated and local staff carried up the deflated boats on their heads. Each boat weighs about 50 kilograms.

Soon after we were back, our driver took Kevin and I to another activity centre. I decided that the quadicycle was no for me, so I waited for Kevin to complete his ride, which went through rough tracks, water and steep hills. 

After these activities we both needed a shower. 

In the evening we went to the La Luz bar-restaurant and had a chicken burger, chips and a beer.

There was live music "Piano lounge tales with Mr Juicy G"