VTES in the sun

I'm thinking of the last unsanctioned tournament.

A poker-style tournament is what I have in mind.

Players are reseated to keep the number of players
as evenly spread as possible. This occurs when players
are ousted.

The last remaining player wins the tournament.

Six pool for ousts are given to the "opposing meth"
and given to the usual predator whenever a "global"
event ousts a player.

Every n (let's say fifteen) minutes without an oust
on a table adds a stackable set of global events. Think
Anarch Revolt, Dragonbound, Tension in the Ranks and
Tiers of Souls. Those events are reset to zero after an
oust.

There is no such thing as VP. Your placement in the
tournament is the reverse order of being ousted.

Get those rooms booked now

It's getting time to book your hotels.

Sure, you can probably arrive here with your suitcases and fish around for hotels with free rooms, but that could be quite a walk until you're done.

Updates on ec2007.vekn.nu

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Vasagatan

Vasagatan connects Haga with Avenyn. Vasagatan is the main street in Vasastan, the stone city in the city. The area is liberally sprinkled with restaurants, pubs and cafes all the way between Haga and Vasaplatsen. Between Vasaplatsen and Avenyn the number of waterholes on Vasagatan itself decreases somewhat, possibly because the competition from the surrounding area is too strong.




Haga with the university of journalism in the background of the picture.



The center of the street is dominated by trees. Only bicycles and pedesatrians are welcome here.

The two first shots I turned and took, so I'm moving away from the direction of the shots.



There are a number of restaurants and cafes lining the street, mostly to one side of it.



Getting closer to Avenyn.

Taxi

If you think about using a taxi in Gothenburg, then I advice simplicity. Either use Taxi Göteborg, phone 650 000, or Taxi Kurir, phone 27 27 27.

There are cheaper companies, but they're usually hard to get a car from. I know that there are quite a few other companies that don't try to fleece you, but my advice stays: steer clear of any company but the two mentioned. You risk paying double price, and it's legal.

Haga

Where Linnegatan ends at Järntorget it is only a block to walk before you enter Haga. It is a wooden town in the city, spared the demolitions teams when all too much of the old buildings were torn down during the sixties to give place to constructions in concrete and steel.

Today Haga has become a place for the well to do as well as a tourist trap for visitors and locals alike. In all honesty there is only one street for strolling around. The rest is almost purely residential areas.

That street joins Linnegatan and Vasastaden.

This is mostly a place for the day. Late evenings it is quiet here.



I'm walking from Hagaparken in the direction of Linnegatan. The shot is along the main street.



Another shot along the street.
Even though it is all cobblestones and pedestrians cars are allowed to drive here, but mostly you'll be surrounded by people lazily walking or sitting at one of the cafes and restaurants.



One side street leads up to an old fortification. Skansen Kronan was basically a fortified gun emplacement overlooking the river and the killing zones between the fortification and the city walls.

Thursday get together

It would seem that we're having a get together Thursday evening according to this conversation in the USENET news groups.

A few words on price

Sweden has a reputation for being horribly expensive. This would have been absolutely correct -- a mere fifteen years ago.

You'll have to do the conversions yourself, but I'll supply today's exchange rates. One dollar costs 7 Swedish crowns. One Euro costs 9.40.

While you're here food and drink should amount to most of your running spendings.

A magnetic tram/bus -card valid for almost seven trips costs 100 crowns. (15 crowns per trip) One such trip is open for an hour, so you could jump on a tram, get off, do some quick shopping and return back without paying for more than one trip. Observe that youths aged 7 - 16 has a separate tariff, which is the reason you need to chose TWO tickets on the button when you use the card. I assume you'll be above sixteen years of age.
Night fares (after 12.30) are double the price.
There is one single operator of public transport so you don't have to worry about competing companies with incompatible tickets.

Those of you who stay for more than the weekend should be pleased to find the "dagens lunch" which can be found most everywhere weekdays between 11 am and 3 pm. 60 - 80 crowns should buy you a full lunch, one non-alcoholic beverage included as well as coffee and a small salad side dish.

Evenings and weekends prices for a main course rise to anywhere from 100 to 250 crowns in a restaurant. Most decent places offering a main course from 120 - 180 crowns.
A lot of places also offer some kind of semi-decent special for around 90 crowns. A smallish slab of meat, stripes and some kind of sauce.
Sure, we have our REALLY fancy places where you're welcome to spend 400 crowns a course.
At the other end of the spectrum you can always find a Chinese restaurant or a pizzeria filling your stomach for less. Say 80 crowns for Chinese food and 55 crowns for a pizza.

Ordering wine with your food should set you back 200 - 400 crowns per bottle. This varies A LOT if you fancy good wine. I'm referring to the decent but never extraordinary wine I personally tend to order.

Food stores for those of you who want to cook your own food can vary 50% in price. The more centrally located the more expensive. I really can't calculate the price for a meal, but 2000 crowns buys us food for four lasting the better part of two weeks, and we're not exactly very economically minded when we buy our grocery.

Juice and soda is around 20 - 30 crowns in a pub/bar/restaurant. Expect around 30 - 40 centilitres.

A glass of beer, usually 40 centilitres, goes for 30 - 50 crowns dependent on where you are. Some streets are simply more expensive than others. Avenyn is the most famous and prices reflect that even though quality doesn't always follow suit.
A pint of ale or stout would cost you 50 - 60 crowns in most places.
Gothenburg has several places for the thirsty. Most serve the German/Benelux/Scandinavian lagers or the English ales. A few specialize in Belgian beer. Stout and Pils are also very easy to find.

Systembolaget has a monopoly for selling alcohol to the public. At least their assortment and knowledge supersedes just about anything on the planet. Open one of their doors and ask the personnel. You pick from several thousands of options.
A simple beer is around 15 crowns and a similarly simple bottle of wine 60 - 80 crowns. The good stuff starts at 130 crowns.

Cigarettes are around 40 crowns a packet. You are prohibited from smoking indoors.

If you have more questions I'll try to answer them in the commentaries.

Järntorget - Kungsgatan

I'll continue with my walkabout in Gothenburg. Linnegatan stretches between Slottsskogen and Järntorget. From there it's a nice walk to Kungsgatan.



The square is split into two main sections. One large tram stop and one area for pedestrians. A fountain sits in the divide.



Say hello to Bea. I believe quite a few of you have already met her.



After crossing the tram tracks it's a short walk along a street leading to the canal.



The canal used to be part of the city fortifications earlier, but the walls were almost all torn down a long time ago.
In the left corner a fish market hides, looking a bit like a church. It's named Feskekörka (fish church) for that reason.



And we're climbing up one end of Kungsgatan. The photo is shot in the direction of Järntorget.

Questions and answers

This one is for asking and answering questions.

You have them you shoot them. Ask away in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.

Logotype

This is probably the most common photo possible from Gothenburg. There is a reason we chose it, albeit from a slightly different angle, as the logotype for the Gothenburg European Championships in V:TES.

Kungsgatan

A pedestrian shopping street in central Gothenburg. You won't find the main superstores here. Smaller shops and a few larger clothing stores line the street, and most all of the area is littered with shopping pedestrians.
For that very reason the area is pretty sleepy come evening.



This shot is fired from one end of the street. From where I'm standing i have an open plaza to my left, pedestrians only as well, with pubs, cafes and restaurants claiming most of the street level windows.



Mid street. Heading away to the part where the street is no longer pedestrians only.



If you chose to walk on just as the street promises ugly blocks and few people then you'll be well rewarded within fifty meters or so. For a short stretch restaurants lie back to back.

Continue walking down the street will take you to a square, across the canal and to the large square where Linnegatan terminates.

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