My third destination was Goteborg, or Gothenburg. It’s Sweden’s Second City. It’s a beautiful port and I liked it a lot.

For the first thing, it was my first stop where I had a room booked in a non-Marriott hotel. I used points for my stays in Stockholm and Copenhagen, and while both of those hotels were fine, Marriott is rarely the fun or sexy or jazzy hotel in any town. Upper House was all three. Perched on the top five floors of the tall black glass Gothia Towers, it was definitely swankier than I was used to. This is not a complaint.

I tried to check in on the first floor and was gently informed that this was the check in for the regular hotel, and would I please take a seat while someone from Upper House came down to fetch me? I was then escorted to the top floor of the building, handed a drink and placed in a comfy chair while they checked me in.

The room was super high tech with mysteriously automatic lighting throughout and a spectacular northwestern view of the city.

Goteborg itself charmed me immediately as I suspected it would. It’s a terribly civilized place, and is more of a working modern European city than a tourist mecca like Copenhagen or Stockholm. I felt like I was the only American tourist in town.

Goteborg has no subway; the ground is too muddy. But they have a fantastic, extensive trolley system, which I used very successfully.