People who know me know that I follow the hockey team called Leksands IF. Since I started following them in 2004 most accomplishments have been advancements from the second league (Hockeyallsvenskan) to the top one, SHL. During the season 2020-2021, they finished in third place during the regular season and went straight to quarterfinals. However, this was during the Covid pandemic so no (or very few) spectators were allowed during the games. In the following seasons, they reached the round of 16 but never advanced. This year (2023-2024), they ended up in fifth place and once again qualified for the quarter-finals, against Frölunda HC from Gothenburg.
When this was decided I quickly looked at the schedule and realized that LIF would play in Gothenburg both Friday and Sunday, which could turn out to be a nice weekend on the West Coast. I asked my father if he would be interested in joining me and after checking with my mother he said yes. We discussed if would take the train or go by car, but since it’s a playoff game it could go on for quite some time so we didn’t want to risk having to leave before it was over. Hence we chose the car.
Friday
A hotel room was booked, tickets bought, and plans made for activities outside of the hockey games, and on the morning of March 22nd I got into my car and left for Uppsala. First I picked up Johan and then my father before heading towards Gothenburg. We stopped outside Örebro for some lunch and then kept going.
We arrived at Gothia Towers at about half past three. Me and Dad checked in while Johan headed downtown to meet up with some friends. While my father took the bags up to the room I went outside again to park the car in the garage. Had to drive around the whole block, through a couple of traffic lights before being able to enter the parking structure. It was quite smooth when I found the entrance with a camera reading the number plate and the gate opening automatically.
When I got up to our room I took a shower, before we headed up to the top floor and the restaurant Heaven 23 for some dinner. Dad ordered the famous shrimp sandwich and I went for lamb loin. Took some time for the food to arrive but we enjoyed the view.
We passed by our room to get the jerseys and then left for Scandinavium, the hockey arena which is just around the corner. After a pointless body search and quick ticket check, we tried to take a lap inside the arena. However, the away section was cordoned off so we had to turn back again (we were sitting on the other side).
Dad got some coffee and we took our seats in section O. There were a lot of Leksand supporters around the arena and the away section was loud even before the game started.
The game itself was tight, lots of stuff happening, not that many shots, and even fewer goals. A great atmosphere was created by both singing sections. After 1-1 at full-time, sudden death followed and at 12:47 in the first overtime period, Max Veronneauscored the game-winning goal.
All Leksand-supporters were at their feet and cheering! Euphoria is one way to describe it. The team took a lap in front of the away section and thanked them for the great support. After the players had left the ice, Max came onto the ice again.
We got an invitation from a couple of friends to meet up at the bar at Scandic Hotel Opalen, where they and the team stayed. We sat down for a coke and a beer and some feel-good talk about the game. When players went through to get to their room people were clapping and cheering. Ran into the club director, Andreas Hedbom, and spoke with him briefly. He was just as happy as all the other supporters 🙂
We went back to the hotel and after checking some highlights from the game I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
Saturday
My dad likes to run so he got up just before eight and went out while I kept sleeping. We hit the breakfast about an hour later and then left for The Maritime Museum and Aquarium. It was about four kilometers from the hotel so we took electric scooters. Quick and easy transport, even though the wind was a bit chilly.
One big aquarium in the basement with a few smaller ones around. On the upper floors, it was a bunch of models of ships and equipment. Some history about the harbor of Gothenburg. After an hour we felt satisfied and we left to get into the city center.
We passed by a vantage point and went through the city blocks of Haga where we stopped for a fika. We kept walking and ended up in Nordstan, and then at a café which we got as a suggestion from my friend Lars (who will join us on Sunday), And & Sons. We ordered smörrebröd with different toppings for lunch. Quite delicious.
Walked back to the hotel, passing by Ullevi. Rather fascinating that there are two large arenas for soccer (and events), and a large hockey arena so close to each other and so central in the town. We took a power nap and then watched the hockey game between Färjestad BK and Rögle BK while I started this blog post.
We left the hotel by cab to a restaurant my father had been recommended by a friend. The ride took about 15 minutes, back and forth because of construction and bad traffic design. But it was worth it. It’s called Le Pub and inside was nice old furniture and decorations. The volume was a bit loud but the atmosphere was great, being a Saturday evening at eight o clock. Our waitress had a perfect mix of being funny, attentive, and just good at her job. We ordered Toast Skagen as starters and Entrecote as the main course. Dad asked the waitress to select a wine that would go well with the meat and when she asked if he wanted to taste it first he just said, I trust you. Now I’m getting nervous was her response. The food was delicious and we got the food pretty quickly without feeling rushed.
We left the restaurant on foot, heading towards the hotel while looking for somewhere to get some coffee, or at least Dad wanted it. We ended up at “Avenyn” and found Scandic Rubinen. We went up to their rooftop bar but they didn’t have calvados and no good seating so we left again. They had another bar at street level but the music was so loud we decided to leave this as well. Just as I was about to exit through the revolving doors, someone laid a hand on my shoulder and I turned around just to see Annette saying Hi there! She and Manne were sitting in the bar (they were staying at the hotel) and saw us enter and (almost) leave. So we joined them in the noise. A pleasant hour went by, telling different stories from train rides, hockey games, and other fun occasions.
When we got back to the hotel we could ascertain that we had pretty good luck with the weather overall, despite the bad forecasts.
Sunday
I woke up a bit earlier than expected so I scanned through the Formula 1 race from Australia that had gone a couple of hours earlier. Verstappen should abort races more often, it gets more exciting then. We went down to get some breakfast and the dining hall is quite large, the hotel has 1200 rooms. The station for juice and such has 24 containers and a big stack of glasses. After getting our bellies full, we packed the last of our stuff and checked out online, so we could just drop the keycards in a box in the lobby.
Johan joined us again and we went to the garage to dump our bags and move the car outside of the hotel parking area. When everything was settled we continued to Paladia, an escape room that I have visited before. We had booked The treasure in the wand store and arrived about 15 minutes before our slot, as instructed. We got a rocky start, didn’t really get into it, and missing some obvious clues. We asked for some help and got pointed in the right direction. At one point we missed that one picture frame opened when we solved a puzzle. And I pointed out when we started the room, that that specific painting probably were going to open 🙂 They were kind enough to let us finish the room, we went overtime by about three minutes. Overall a nice room with just three padlocks if my memory serves me right.
When we stepped outside Lars just turned up. He had taken the train down from Uppsala and was going back with us after the game. We went to the pub John Scotts where Leksand Superstars gathered Leksand supporters before the game. It was quite full so we ended up on the roof terrace. When we were about to order some lunch they told us that the waiting time was at least an hour, and we would leave for the arena in just under that time. So we left the pub and went to Taco Bar next door.
After some nachos we stepped outside to join the march to the arena, just to see that they already had left. Instead, there was a pro-Palestinian gathering marching along the street. We walked a couple of blocks quickly and then caught up with the rest of the blue and white supporters. A couple of hundred walking and chanting together towards Scandinavium. When we got close to the arena we walked between some apartment buildings and the chants echoed quite well. People stood on their balconies, filming, clapping, waiving a Frölunda flag, and just watched the spectacle.
We split up to get to our respective sections and as last time, me and Dad went for some coffee and soda and then took our seats, this time three seats to the right. More LIF supporters in our immediate vicinity this time. To my left, I had a father and his maybe five-year-old daughter who was very excited to see the game, asking questions about what happened and joining the chants (after her father told her what they were singing). You should start early! 🙂
Frölunda started the game much more intensely this time compared to the last game and did 1-0 pretty early on. During the second period, they scored 2-0 pretty early as well but Leksand managed to get in 2-1 shortly after. Halfway through the third period LIF equalized and the thousands of LIF supporters cheered wildly! Just to see Frölunda take the lead again one minute later. LIF increased the pressure during the remainder of the game, trying to equalize once more but fell short, leaving Frölunda to score an empty net goal and the result came to 4-2.
Of course, it’s a disappointment that they lost, but they have still won one match away and the games have been quite even, maybe even a bit in Leksands favor. So all in all, we aren’t that sad and discouraged with the results.
We left the arena and headed for the garage to start our journey home. I then realized why we shouldn’t have parked on the third level in the parking structure. It took us about thirty minutes before the line started moving, but at least then it moved quite fast. We entertained ourselves while waiting by watching overtime between Skellefteå and Linköping and then the game between HV71 and IK Oskarshamn.
I read made a wrong decision at a highway exit so we ended up going to Angered, about 15 km north of Gothenburg, before going due south again to Partille, making it a detour of about 20 km. Anyhow, when we got on to the right track it went smooth. We stopped at Rasta Götene to get some fuel and a late dinner. We ran into a few LIF supporters who were driving to Dalarna.
We switched drivers so my dad took the wheel while I finished this blogpost. We arrived at my parents house around midnight, then dropping off Johan at the bus stop and then Lars at his place before I got on to the E4 again to go the last bit home.
Except for the loss in the second game (but it’s manageble as I wrote earlier), it has been a terrific weekend. It’s nice to travel with my father and we have filled the days with just the right amount of activites. Top that with some great food and nice conversations you have a recepie for success!
