Gothenburg: Christmas at Liseberg

Then came the thaw, and almost all the snow has melted away by now. Though, Rikke and I took full advantage of the one and a half day Gothenburg was covered in white and drenched in Christmas atmosphere. We baked Lussekatter (Swedish saffron buns), ate marshmallow Santas and yesterday we went to visit the Christmas market at the Liseberg amusement park.

Liseberg is divided into different sections, each with its own theme, and from mid- November until the end of December, everything is in Christmas mode. You thus get the chance to experience Christmas in Lapland, Rabbit Land, the Medieval Village and the Harbor District, and you can spend your money on old-fashioned lollipops, mulled wine and woolen socks at some of the numerous stalls. The whole thing is of course super commercialized, but it’s nicely wrapped, so even green rabbits in Santa costumes slide down smoothly.

One of Liseberg’s landmarks is the 116-meter high Liseberg Tower. In December, the tower, which is also a really wild free-fall attraction, is decorated with luminous cables, so it looks like a giant Christmas tree.

The Liseberg Wheel is one of the newest additions to the park. Its original name was the Gothenburg Wheel, and it was located down by the harbor until spring 2012, when it was moved to Liseberg. It is 60 meters in diameter and Rikke and I assumed that the views from the top of the wheel would be awesome, so we decided to take a ride. It was such a beautiful sight! If I could, I would have loved to stay in that wheel the entire evening.

The last place we visited was Lapland, and both Rikke and I agreed that it was the coziest area in Liseberg. Bonfires provided sparse lighting as well as warmth for cold hands, and young guys with Northern Swedish dialect and charm tempted us with samples of dried reindeer, moose and bear. I really had no original intention of leaving Liseberg with a piece of edible Swedish wildlife, but somehow I ended up with a package of dried moose. Wonder who will get that for Christmas…

The Christmas market in Tivoli in Copenhagen is also really nice. Read about my visit here >>

Visit Christmas at Liseberg’s website