GO CITYBREAK:It's more Pippi Longstocking than Sarah Jessica Parker, but if you want to explore a different Europe, look to Gothenburg, says Michael Parsons
MEN OF A CERTAIN age will remember when Sweden was considered to be a hotbed of unbridled licentiousness. According to the received wisdom, striking Vikings - blond beauties called Frida and bearded men called Sven - sunbathed in the nude and indulged in rumpy pumpy in the sauna. The country's saucy reputation was copper-fastened by Benny Hill, whose hugely popular smutty humour featured sketches such as Naked Lust in Sinful Sweden.
Just adding the prefix Swedish - to a range of words: nurse, au pair, movie, magazine, model - could reduce a gaggle of schoolboys to fits of blushes and sniggers.
Then they went to college and were exposed to the dreary plays of Strindberg and grim films of Bergman. Both portrayed morose, strait-laced characters pondering the meaning of life - and, more often, death - against a backdrop of unutterably bleak landscapes.
So what's Sweden really like?
Well, right now, Gothenburg, the country's second city, is preoccupied with le vice Anglais. No not that - but rather the other English obsession. Scandinavia's biggest gardening festival, Gardens of Gothenburg, is being staged until September 28th and is reason enough for green-fingered types to consider a visit.
But with three Ryanair flights a week from Dublin to the hassle-free little City Airport, Gothenburg has more than enough other attractions to warrant its developing status as a city-break destination with a difference.
The city provides a great introduction to Sweden and its people. You will notice a fair number of Norse god-like beauties, of both sexes, but many of the people look just like us, which is not surprising, given the rape 'n' pillage indulged in by their horn-helmeted forebears rampaging from Dublin to Waterford.
Swedes are ineffably polite, civic-minded, friendly (in a grown-up, unclingy sort of way) and have a dry sense of humour. They are simultaneously fiercely sophisticated and disarmingly informal. And speak English better than most contemporary BBC broadcasters. Oh, and for those of you looking for that sort of thing, sorry to report that the hanky-panky quotient seems to be lower than in Clonmel on a Saturday night.
Sweden was traditionally considered to be prohibitively expensive - another myth that ought to be dispelled. It isn't by Irish standards, and many hotels offer extremely attractive weekend rates.
Gothenburg is a major port city, once famed for its shipbuilding industry but now better known as a destination for conferences and conventions. The gentrification process common in European port cities is well under way, but Gothenburg is not a tourist trap yet.
Apart from city-break tourism, if you work for or do business with companies such as Volvo, Astra-Zeneca or Ericsson you may find yourself there for a meeting or a conference, and it's worth trying to add a couple of extra days for pleasure.
The city is compact, and many streets are pedestrianised. Public transport is a mix of trams, buses and ferries, but the best way to get your bearings is to take the 55-minute Paddan boat trip which explores the canal network and harbour. There are many attractive buildings, and the waterside setting imbues the air with a sparkling freshness.
Walk up the main boulevard, the cafe-lined Kungsportsavenyn, to the imposing art museum. The superb fountain on Götaplatsen, dominated by a hulking bronze statue of Poseidon, is the city's most spectacular sight.
Take a stroll in the lovely Tradgardsforeningens Park, with its palm house and opulent rose gardens, and browse for antiques or second-hand books in the atmospheric cobbled streets of the Haga District.
Take breaks at one of the many cafes and enjoy the excellent pastries. Be careful, though: Swedes are among the world's heaviest coffee drinkers, and they like it very strong.
The Feskekôrka fish market, in a building oddly designed to look like a church, is open to the public and has a simple outdoor restaurant where you can sample the catch of the day.
The country's cuisine was mercilessly satirised in The Muppet Show. Its Swedish chef spoke gibberish ("hurdy-gurdy" was a favourite phrase), called meatballs "beency-bouncy burgers", chopped vegetables by throwing them up in the air and shooting them, and flipped pancakes, or "flappen-jacken", that always stuck to the ceiling.
But the Swedes, in typical understated fashion, have had the last laugh. Gothenburg has no fewer than five Michelin-starred restaurants (no mean feat for a city of 500,000 people), with more talented young chefs just bubbling under. The food is very good indeed, and the city merits a vaut le détour, or worth the detour, rating. Gourmets won't be disappointed.
For longer stays, the city is a gateway to west Sweden, its vast, unspoilt, lake-dotted countryside, great walking and cycling, more than 50 good- value golf courses and a magical shoreline. Clean seas wash on to uncrowded sandy beaches, and an archipelago of islands beckons sailors and watersports enthusiasts.
The area has a reputation for being family-friendly, safe and surprisingly affordable. If you've done the Med and want to explore a very different Europe, consider Sweden.
Where to go, stay and eat if you're heading off for a break in Sweden's second city
5 places to stay
Avalon Hotel (Kungstorget 9, 00-46-31-7510200, www.avalonhotel.se) is achingly hip and will delight design luvvies. It adheres to feng shui principles, has a collection of avant-garde art, and its smart restaurant rooms are filled with funky fittings and accessories. A rooftop terrace has an extraordinary swimming pool with a transparent glass bottom that partially overhangs a busy square six floors below. Not for the faint-hearted. Expensive.
The nearby Flora (Grönsakstorget 2, 00-46-31- 138616, www.hotelflora.se) is a family-owned hotel with a relaxed atmosphere, elegantly simple and very spacious rooms, beds so comfortable you'll want to order one to ship home, and very pleasant inner courtyard terraces. Breakfast only, but lots of restaurants close by. Good value.
Hotel Gothia Towers (Mässans gata 24, 00-46-31-7508800, www.gothiatowers.com) is a four-star, 704-room hotel close to the convention centre and Liseberg amusement park. Its website offers weekend deals.
Hotel Opera (Norra Hamngatan 38, 00-46-31- 805080, www.hotelopera.se) has a deal (quote code Ryan) for single rooms from about €53 and doubles from about €31 per person per night, inclusive of taxes and breakfast.
The charmingly-named Nice Bed Breakfast (Utlandagatan 18, 00-46-31-202150, www.hotelnice.se) is in a quiet residential area close to Liseberg. Good value.
5 places to eat
Fond Restaurang (Götaplatsen, 00-46-31-812580, www.fond restaurang.com) is centrally situated beside the entrance to the museum of art. Chef Stefan Karlsson oversees a delightfully informal operation where sublime classical Swedish food with international influences has earned him a Michelin star. Well worth a visit for the outstanding evening tasting menu. The daily lunch menu is very good value.
SoHo (Östra Larmgatan 16, 00-46-31-133326, www.soho gothenburg.se) is a mix of restaurant, cafe and cocktail bar. Beautiful people sip cocktails on the terrace in summer (fleece blankets are supplied in case it gets chilly). Order a glass of wine and the waiter automatically also brings you a glass of water. Very Swedish, very civilised. Delicious light meals.
Thörnströms KöK (Teknologgatan 3, 00-46-31- 162066, www.thornstromskok. com) has a rising chef, Håkan Thörnström, who is tipped to be the next big name in Scandinavian cuisine. He has cooked for Sweden's royal family and created a Nobel ceremony dinner.
Palace (Södra Hamngatan 2, 00-46-31-807550, www.palace.se) is close to Nordstan shopping mall. A "well-hung, marbled 250g entrecote with beef marrow, Madeira sauce and perfect green beans" costs about €26, a "½kg of pot-caught Norwegian lobster with hot horseradish butter and garlic sourdough baguette about €29.
The Dubliner bar and restaurant (Östra Hamngatan 50, 00-46-31-139020) has all the usual paraphernalia, from Tullamore Dew mirror to framed picture of headscarved colleen advertising Shamrock Whiskey. A poster of "the Fighting Irish" is signed by Steve Collins. A pint of Guinness costs about €5.75. The menu features beef-and- Guinness pie and Irish stew. There's live music every night.
5 places to go
Gothenburg Botanical Garden (Carl Skottsbergs Gata 22, 00-46-31-7411106, www.gotbot.se) is one of northern Europe's largest and most beautiful parks, home to 20,000 plants. Its rock garden has two stars in the Michelin Green Guide. Open until sunset. Tram numbers 1, 7, 8 and 13 stop at Botaniska Trädgården.
Gothenburg Museum of Art (Götaplatsen, 00-46-31- 3683500, www.konstmuseum. goteborg.se) has the world's finest collection of turn-of-the-century Nordic art. The entrance hall also houses the Hasselblad Centre for Photographic Art.
Saluhallen Market Hall. Kungstorget Square. Food lovers should head for this indoor market, which has more than 40 shops that sell a range of delicacies, including reindeer sausage and speciality cheeses. Several good places for lunch or dinner.
The Haga district. This series of cobbled streets with listed 19th-century houses has many cafes and crafts and antique shops.
Röhsska Museum of Fashion, Design and Decorative Arts (Vasagatan 37-39, 00-46-31- 3683150, www.designmuseum.se) has exhibitions of work by the best Scandinavian designers, plus a history of design from 1851 to the present day.
Hot spot
Children of all ages and many adults will enjoy Liseberg city-centre amusement park (www.liseberg.se), Sweden's most popular tourist attraction. This year about three million people will visit between April and October. Thrills and spills include Balder, the world's biggest wooden roller coaster, and Uppswinget (or Screamin' Swing).
Shopping
Best buys include beautiful kitchen gadgets, quirky ceramics, Kosta Boda glass sculptures, Bjorn Borg men's underwear and Nudie Jeans (which were created by local designer Maria Levin). Nordstan, in the city centre, is Scandinavia's biggest shopping mall, with 175 shops. If you can't wait for Ballymun, there are two branches of Ikea.
Cool coffee
Café Husaren (Haga Nygata 28, 00-46-31-136378, www.cafe husaren.se) is a busy, elegant late-19th-century cafe in the old-town Haga district. Serves the classic Swedish delicacy kanelbulle (cinnamon bun) and very good chocolate cake.
Go there: Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies from Dublin to Gothenburg City Airport. SAS Scandinavian Airlines (www.flysas.ie) flies from Dublin through Copenhagen or Oslo.