Svenska Amerika Linien

Back in Gothenburg under blue skies, setting out on a photo excursion of my own. I should be honest and say from the outset that my relationship with Gothenburg has never been easy. For the most part, the city is brutally ugly. The Preemraff refinery tends to fill the morning mist with fumes more reminiscent of life on an oil platform. And the ocean lies a few kilometres to the west, meaning there is no unbroken horizon for the sun to sink into.

Yet circumstances have brought me back, again and again, ever since that first summer job when I was nineteen. More recently, Gothenburg has been my home since I returned from Melbourne last winter. Obviously, every city has its redeeming features, and I have learned to appreciate the small islands: the outdoor patio at Da Matteo on Vallgatan, the Saturday ferry trips across the harbour (the ferries are fully integrated into the public transport system), and, of course, the ethereal memories of the past.

For more than half a century, Svenska Amerika Linien (S.A.L.) operated an ocean liner service from Gothenburg to New York – a heritage that has always sparked my imagination. Even today, one can still see remnants of that era: Amerikahuset and the former terminal building, now used for visiting cruise ships.