Text Messaging My African Brothers in Gothenburg

Sending Text Message to the African Brothers in Sweden:

"Greetings, wish you were here"

image: Kevin Franck

Sending greetings to all the folks at Gothenburg Engelska Församling. Seriously, this is real communication. Even a child gets this, take a look below at this cute one minute video of a father and his one year old son.

image: Kevin Franck

The Kumbu Kumbu Market Cyber Cafe. I know, it should be Kumbi Kumbi Cyber Cafe, but the setting is east Africa, not the Congo!

image - uncharted101

This is the WaTuTu village. Notice those familiar Acacia trees ? And notice below some familiar animal friends ? I belong in areas where Acacia and Mesquite thrive. Reminds me of a post I wrote of the African Prosopis tortilis trees of the Savanna.

Acacia tortilis: Poster Image of African Savannas

image: Kevin Franck

Even Mama Bettan says hello among her new friends the Jumping Cholla Cacti.

image: Kevin Franck

Now see what some of you Swedish born African descent kids are missing from living in Sweden and not living down in Africa ?

See you back in Göteborg 😆😉

A Pleasant Autumn Afternoon at Björngårdsvillan Cafe in Slottsskogen

The road entrance into Slottsskogen via Göteborg Botaniska Trädgårdens Trolley Station. This day of October 28, 2012 was a welcome relief from the constant cold wet weather which for the most part has plagued Scandinavia for the entire year. Ask anyone and you'll find there was hardly any summer to speak of. 

Slottkogen Site Map

For the most part, this was a pleasant day and one of the most memorable times of Autumn fall colour I have seen in all of my almost 7 years having lived here in Göteborg. The easiest way to get to the Björnvårdsvillan Cafe is by way of Trolley to Botaniska Trädgårds Stop. From that point it is an easy directly straight ahead walk towards the Cafe which will eventually come up on your left hand side of the walk. The trees of the  Slottsskogen Park is loaded with numerous Northern European Oak (Quercus robur) which produces most of the Fall colour you see in the Park. There are also other trees like Björk [Silver Birch] (Betula pendula), European Aspen (Populus tremula), Gray Alder (Alnus incana) and Norway Maple (Acer platanoides). Beautiful walk all the way to cafe with all sorts of families taking advantage of the rare sunny day and even  the squirrels and birds were out in force rejoicing in the brief pause between storms. 

One of the major things I do like about Swedish Parks here is
the way they leave dead tree snags in the forests. They provide
perfect cover and potential building sites for the native woodpecker
here which bores holes into the dead wood of the tall tree trunk,
which late will be utilized by other cavity nesting birds or even
by the local squirrels.

Brief Björnvårdsvillan Building History

Historical Source Info:

http://www.bjorngardsvillan.se/historia.html

Photo by Biketommy 2010

Modern appearance of  the
Björngårdsvillan Cafe

The modern building architectural-wise leaves much to be desired. It is a product of the 1960s design which was even typical of the bland architecture I grew up around in 1960s California. As you can see from the photo here on the right, this generic style example of modern architecture as it was considered in the 1960s lacks the character and charm of the original building. Having said that, the present owners who run the Cafe have gone to great lengths to invest much into giving their restaurant and coffee house a warmth and charm that are not normally found in Sweden in this line of business. Clearly, when someone ventures out for an afternoon or evening meal, besides great food there is an element of atmosphere that is desired. One of the owners, Bashar and his partners have invested a lot of time, energy and money into upgrading the decor of the cafe. The Cafe itself was originally built in 1906 with a design look that was popular back then called the Norse Skansen Style. The restaurant struggled for sometime because government regulation did not allow for Alcohol to be served on the premises. In fact early one it was even abandoned for around ten years before attempts were made to reopen. Sadly, the building burned down to the ground on December 14, 1951. Nothing was saved. It wasn't until 1962 when the present structure was rebuilt by a group of businessmen.  Take a look below of the once grand looking structure which truly looked more like a Victorian Style Railroad Depot.

fanpop.com

At present the restaurant has the look and feel of a modern day Coffee House in Seattle, Washington where Radio Host Frasier Crane, family and friends would show up for a warm & cozy getaway for private  KaffeeKlatsch. What I personally noticed this past summer is that early in the morning when the Cafe first opens, the book reading crowd would come in for their flavourite Coffee and dessert treat, only to find a quiet corner either inside or out in the outdoor veranda under a sun umbrella to enjoy a few moments of pleasure reading just before the busier lunch crowd came through around 12:00 noon. And come they do. This place is extremely popular with young families with children who visit the Slottsskogen Zoo located on the hill just above the Cafe. The later afternoon crowd will enjoy a quiet time with friends and several of the concerts which are often a daily afternoon summer feature there at the Cafe an the outdoor Amphitheater. 

The main manager and operator of the Cafe, Bashar, is extremely conscientious and hospitable to his customers needs. It is he who has designed the main menu along with some input from partners & close friends, but mostly Bashar is the Head Chef at the restaurant. He runs a disciplined ship and I can personally account for the extreme cleanliness of the kitchen and back storage rooms. He is tireless and always energetic. I have no clue where he acquires all his energy, as you very rarely will see him take a break. He is also mostly, along with partners of course, responsible for many of the newer changes at the restaurant. Not only the menu, but also the decor and newer furniture which many will recognize as different from past visits. His brother also often works there as an assistant and he is also a very genuine incredibly nice and friendly individual. customers respond favourably to his service there. 

Having Coffee and saying hello to 
Bashar's brother Wasfi

It should be noted that aside from the wonderful assortment of desserts and other treats made from scratch, they also have a large variety of gourmet styled dishes like various Greek style Salads, Salmon Salads along with several pasta dishes and several different Lasagna dishes. It is also important to note that unlike the original restaurant of several decades ago, they do serve several domestic and imported Beers here, like the very well known Czech Republic Staropramen Beer or the ever popular Mexican Brew from Mexico Cerveza Corona. At least this is what I've seen most customers drinking outside while watching the concerts and other festivals. 

Outdoor Picnic Area

But let's not forget some other adult beverages for which their patrons consume in moderate quantities. Somersby which is a alcohol beverage company from the United Kingdom, produces several varieties of Cider which are sold here. The popular ones I've seen here are the original Apple Cider, but also Pear and Blackberry Ciders. My wife and I visited Poland back in April of this year and we experienced Somersby's Apple Beer. But they don't market it here in Sweden. At least we've never found it at the government store called the Systembolaget . Whatever! I have mentioned it to Bashar, but the distributor knew nothing about it. This beverage doesn't have the normal sticky syrupy taste and texture of many sweet ciders. The Apple Beer has a distinct hint of Apple all compacted into a great tasting beer. By all means keep asking for it at Systembolaget, maybe they'll order it.

BTW, here is the link to their full Menu. Keep in mind they are always experimenting with newer and newer specials, so keep up to date: Björngårdsvillan Cafe Menu

The Concert Stage is quiet now in Winter Season

But not so quiet during the summer season

Full Website Home Page and Blogg.

http://www.bjorngardsvillan.se/index.html

http://www.bjorngardsvillan.se/blogg.html

This is the view from the outdoor veranda picnic area. It is quiet now in Autumn and Winter, but kicks in come May when temperatures warm and people who have endured months of Cabin Fever are itching to get out into the city Parks and sunshine with there families

But it can reeeeeaaally get crazy and busy in the summertime. Of course those long Swedish Summer Nights where it doesn't get totally dark until 11:00 pm (23:00) actually encourage the Park visitors to linger longer.

I've actually got more pictures and photos of the park, but this will do for now. This page is mainly dedicated to the wonderful time we spent at Björngårdsvillan Cafe. Next Slottsskogen Park post will have more nature pics, for now enjoy the Cafe. They are only open on Weekends now but will be open full time in spring. Look up the website for full directions and open/closing times.

Important Reference Links for Reading:

http://www.bjorngardsvillan.se/index.html

Slottsskogen Park in Gothenburg since 1874

Björngårdsvillan Cafe - Facebook Page

Varför? Därför! Björngårdsvillan Cafe

Göteborgs Botaniska Trädgård > Desert Life 2012

Or Gothenburg's Botanical Gardens

The above banner for months could be seen all over Göteborg at most Bus and Trolley stops. For me it was an eye catcher and a real motivator for visiting the place I have been to countless times in Göteborg. One of the few retreats and escapes for someone who has a terrible dislike of cities anywhere on the planet. Well some I like. Most I don't. I have to admit I have not been there for sometime. I imagine for many most folks are into the spring displays in the gardens where all manner of flowers plants from Bulbs like tulips and such and loads of Rhododendrons & Azaleas flower profusely everywhere under the giant old growth tree canopies. While I'm okay with that sort of gardens, it's not necessarily my favourite. But I'll take it over the city any day.

This year however has been radically different. The poster was most inviting for me and I finally caved in last week and visited. But I've been putting off the visit as the weather this summer has been cool and constantly wet. What intrigued me most this year were some of the great creative ideas of recreating a type of ecosystem theme that won't normally exist here, but by substituting other plants that will survive but have similar patterned characteristics of  plants you would be familiar with in warmer climates, you can pull off a sort of smoke and mirrors of magic so to speak. I'll write about that on another post as some theme ideas deserve their very own subject matter.

photo: Mine

The photo above is of the long slender pool which greets the visitor. At the very end of the pool you can see the clever way they used plants to carefully illustrate through art this years Desert View theme. Take a close look below. Many succulents and other smaller plants used to recreate the cactus giants found in the warmer climates. Speaking personally, I think I would have made the Saguaro a little beefier looking. It's entirely made up of small agave type succulents more closely related to Dudleyas. Skinny or slender cactus pipe type examples are not the nature of a giant Saguaro.  But still looked good.

The Prickly Pear Cactus is something anyone could easily recreate as a permanent feature on a bank location. The setting looks like something you see on a bank of a Southwestern College Campus, but they probably would use the real thing anyway and would never consider such a arttistic display. Still, such a giant feature would look great at the open end of a football stadium. The Saguaro looks like goalposts anyway. Maybe even something for the enclosed interior of a shopping mall somewhere. I know because I've seen indoor enclosed ecosystem landscapes inside hotels and malls in Scottsdale Arizona where the harsh dry desert heat and bitter winter colds would not allow tropical settings to exist. Possibilities are endless.

Another kool feature aside from the usual displays like the water lilies in the pond were the flower arrangements in this years entrance feature in front of the pond that not only incorporated the use of Cactus and Agaves in among brightly coloured flowers giving the appearance of a desert spring, but the brilliant deep earth tones of the gravel and flower choice colour schemes not necessarily associated with Sweden and other northern climates. It was a refreshing change. Uusally here in Sweden such bright reds and organges only appear in the wild landscape's fruitage in the form of berries and other fruit. Flower colours are usually yellows, blues, purples, violets, soft lavenders and pinks/whites. Take a look below at the gallery of such southwestern mimiced combinations.

Photo: Mine

Blue Agave incorporated among traditional bright hispanic coloured garden themes.

A bit of an organ pipe patterned cactus here

Agave varieties are bright yellows, organges and reds

A varigated striped Agave used here

Photo: Mine

Makes me wish I was back home where such features are a permanent feature which won't have to be dug up and stored away for 6+ months or more.

Photo: Mine

This flower and similar ones in their displays brought back to mind Gaillardia 'Firewheel' , 'Arizona Sun'  or 'Blanket Flower' which are native to parts southwest. First time I saw them was at a roadside stop between Lordsburg & Deming New Mexico.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Link to Göteborgs Botaniska Trädgård:

WELCOME TO GOTHENBURG BOTANICAL GARDEN

Well I have more subjects and pictures, but they all deserve to be separated. Some are specimen and an Urban landscape's Hardscape features story. 

Enjoy!