I do this every time I am in Gothenburg, at the basic, it's just great to be out on the water, but…read moreseeing all the sights and listening to the commentary is excellent. The boats are frequent, usually every hour or even sooner, buy your ticket at the kiosk and you're off. My particular guide today was funny and entertaining, and her descriptions were informative and interesting. Traveling down the canals is excellent, but once you get out into the harbor, what a great view of everything! The trip length is perfect, 50 minutes and you're back. If you want to go longer, there are other cruises, but if you are limited on time, this is a great way to see some historical sights and enjoy a boat ride!

Our guide was a young man named Theadore "Ted" with Peter as the boat captain. Ted was extremely…read moreinformative and added humor to his tour as he explained the various buildings and landmarks. I was even more in awe of how Ted could switch from speaking Swedish to English without a heartbeat and made everything flow so smoothly! Ted was caring enough to warn the passengers sitting in front about the water slashing at some point and put on splash guards! What a beautiful way to learn more about Sweden on the 45 minute boat ride!

The Stromma Archipelago Cruise aboard the St. Erik was a beautiful ride among the Swedish…read morearchipelago islands (both inhabited and not), along with a delicious meal and very well appointed boat! You board the St. Erik at the Lilla Bommen dock, and it takes you first past all the immense boats and nautical ships in the harbor. That was very cool to see the behemoth cranes and giant vessels as we glided by on our little passenger craft. After we rode out of the port for a good distance, lunch was served. It was delectable Swedish meatballs (if you have had "enough" Swedish meatballs and are disappointed in this choice, you're doing Sweden wrong). Pairings were lingonberry sauce for the meatballs (yum!), sweet pickles, and some well seasoned potatoes. We cruised by Älvsborg Fortress and heard some commentary about the fortress's part in Sweden's history. It was built to protect Gothenburg from attacks via the sea, but is now defunct as a fortress and is more of a tourist spot to boat out and view it. You can also go up on the deck to view what you're passing by instead of out of the windows, and I highly recommend that. We were gliding by gorgeous rock formations in the crystal blue water, small uninhabited islands, and small fishing outposts. It does get cold up on the exterior deck outside, so definitely bring a warm sweater or jacket if you're not there in the warmer months. No matter what time of year you go, it's definitely worth the time to do an archipelago tour from Gothenburg, and the ones via Stromma that include lunch are top notch!

We enjoyed a Brunch Cruise with the Carl Michael Bellman on Saturday, November 8, 2017. Even though…read morethe weather was somewhat grey and dismal, the 3 hour cruise to parts of the southern archipelago was great. You can't do much about the weather, but the Brunch served made up for that. The staff were very attentive, making sure everything was to our satisfaction, and clearing the tables of dirty dishes discretely and efficiently. The dishes served were super fresh and very tasty. The selection is not huge, but it definitely covers what you want for a brunch. The desserts were awesome, and we were more than satisfied. The Chef, Lotta Bäckström, and her staff, certainly lived up to our expectations. This is one of the best things you can do if you want to combine seeing part of the Archipelago and have some great food with excellent service. We will definitely be back next summer, hopefully with some sunshine to enhance the cruise.