of Gothenburg, it was obvious this journey would delight anyone into bridges; every hour seemed to bring a different type of structure – swing, lifting, bascule and roller. The entertainment officer in charge of the shore excursions would periodically point out something of interest, such as the castle of Bohus. Begun in 1308, it is one of the largest fortresses in Scandinavia and was besieged 14 times without success, the last in 1678, when 900 Swedes held off 11,000 Danes.
O
ur first steps ashore were at Troll- hättan, where the canal museum tells the story of the man-made
parts of the waterway. First suggested in the 16th century, it was thanks to the determination of cabinet minister Baltzar von Platen that construction of the Göta Canal was begun in 1809. The workforce of soldiers, plus a few Russian army deserters and a backbone of skilled English canal navvies, excavated some 10.5 million cubic yards of earth. Before reaching the beginning of the Göta Canal, we crossed the largest lake in Sweden and the third largest in Europe. Lake Vänern resembles an inland sea in the invisibility of shorelines after an hour’s progress, and it takes about eight hours to cross. Sjötorp on its eastern shore marks the beginning of the Canal, with a flight of eight locks, and many come here to pick up bikes to cycle the canal in a three-night package. My admiration for the canal builders increased as Juno rose in the locks, inches away from colossal blocks of stone, her sides protected by constantly replaced wooden fenders.
GRACEFUL GOTHENBURG
Before embarking, we spent a day exploring the elegant city of GOTHENBURG, threaded by waterways and greened by generous parks and avenues of trees. The architectural styles of its
residential quarters are wonderfully homogeneous, from the colourful wooden houses of Haga to the ornately embellished 19th-century apartment blocks of Vasastaden and Lorensberg. Families might want to take the tram to Liseberg amusement park and gardens for Europe’s highest free-fall ride or visit the Götheborg, a replica of an 18th-century ship and the largest historical sailing ship in operation.
Spring 2012 I WORLD OF CRUISING 79
Where there is a series of locks, passengers can go ashore and either walk or use one of the ship’s bicycles to get ahead and rejoin at a later point. The locks themselves are delightful, often
Photo © Gota Canal Steamship Company
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