Cryptic Meg

A couple of weeks ago I went to the International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases in Gothenburg, Sweden. I was presenting a poster on my Parkinson’s research.

This was my third conference, my second abroad, but the first that I was attending on my own (without colleagues). It was also my first time going abroad and flying on my own! I was quite nervous…

Tuesday

We got up bright and early on Tuesday morning (4:45am!), and Nicholas dropped me off at the station for my 05:48 train. I had an A1 poster to transport (none of the joys of e-posters this time) – so I had invested in a poster tube for the occasion. It protected the poster well, but was a little cumbersome…

The trains were running late (of course), but fortunately I had left plenty of time to spare. I got into Paddington, and took the Heathrow Express to the airport. I checked in my suitcase, passed through security, and then had several hours to kill in the departure lounge – so I treated myself to a new book.

When it was time to board the plane, I realised that virtually everyone was going to the conference! (This made sense, as there is only one flight out to Gothenburg per day). There were lots of other poster tubes, lots of people reading academic papers, and even someone I vaguely knew.

Fortunately, I love flying (though do it rarely), so had no qualms about doing this part alone. I had allowed myself the luxury of paying extra for a window seat, so got the best views in the air. Goodbye to rainy England, hello to sunny Sweden!

On the other side, I was very pleased to be reunited with my suitcase, and I headed for the Flygbussarna – a bus which goes from the airport into the city centre every half hour, and which I’d been able to pre-book online. (Something I was to learn about Sweden is that it is extremely contactless – I had taken out both a travel card and some physical Swedish krona – and I never used any of the cash!! Many places refuse it!)

Next stop was the conference centre, as the bus stopped right outside. I had a little peer inside. They weren’t yet ready for posters to be put up, but I did see the Queen of Sweden opening the conference!

Still burdened with suitcase and bag and poster, I trundled along to my hotel, which was just down the road. This gave me my first chance to admire how pedestrian-friendly Gothenburg is, with wide footpaths and cycle paths on either side of the roads, and zebra crossings everywhere. I checked into my hotel, got changed into some fresher clothes, and headed back to the conference.

It was evening by this point, but the conference had just been officially opened, and was beginning with a welcome reception hosted by the City of Gothenburg. I put up my poster, and enjoyed some food and wine! Mine was one of the first posters up, but I was staggered by the sheer number of poster boards there were. It turned out there were more than 1100 posters!

After that I headed back to the hotel. My head hit the pillow, and I was out like a light. I’m not sure I’ve ever slept so well!

Wednesday

The next morning (after a very generous hotel breakfast, complete with Swedish meatballs!) I had a chance to study the conference programme properly. I’m in the peculiar position of being a computer scientist at these clinical conferences, so I know a lot of it is going to go over my head. But I was particularly interested in a symposium happening that evening on “Fluid biomarkers and imaging in Parkinson’s and Lewy Body Dementia” – definitely in the same ballpark as my research.

The other two symposia I was interested in (“Digital and cloud based tools, AI, machine learning” and “Digital health technologies, machine learning”) turned out to be pre-recorded sessions. So that morning I watched those in my hotel room.

At lunchtime I headed back over to the conference physically. I was particularly keen to pick up my free lunch, to stand with my poster for a bit, and to have a look at the other posters.

The problem was: there were so many posters! There was a screen with a guide to the themes, but this quickly flicked through slides, and I struggled to follow the system. I saw quite a lot of people wandering round, looking equally lost (perhaps it didn’t help that this was the first day of the conference, and people were still getting their bearings). I remembered that I had also uploaded my poster to an online platform, and had recorded a spoken presentation. I decided that I would be better off looking at the other posters online, rather than trying to dash through all 1000+ boards, desperately trying to find the ones relevant to me!

Before I left the conference centre, I spoke to the lady at the tourist information desk. She was very helpful, and gave me a guide to the city, pointing out a walking tour in the middle of it.

That afternoon, I perused the posters online. It was an excellent decision. I was able to search for key words, and study the posters probably with more attention than I could have done in person.

In the evening I returned to the conference for the symposium I had highlighted in the programme. It was fascinating – and it was really gratifying to be able to follow the presentations because they were broadly in my area of research.

I went back to the hotel afterwards, and ate in the hotel restaurant. I had been particularly nervous about eating alone – but eating in the hotel kept it simple, and it turned out it wasn’t so bad asking for a “table for one” (there were plenty of other people doing it!). I had a Swedish cider to celebrate my bravery.

Thursday

The next day I faced the rain and explored the city! I used the walking tour in the guide.

First up was the Götaplatsen: a public square containing a concert hall, theatre, museum of art, and a statue of Poseidon – a symbol of the city. I was hoping to go into the art museum, but I was too early! So I decided to come back there later.

Then I walked to Haga – the oldest and prettiest part of the city. It was established in 1648, and the buildings are traditional “Governor’s houses”.

From Haga I headed vertically upwards, to the 17th century Skansen Kronan fortress atop the hill. This afforded great (if grey!) views of the city.

Then it was back down into Haga, and a little walk to Gothenburg cathedral. I normally love cathedrals, but found this one somehow a little unwelcoming… A service was also due to begin before too long, so I didn’t stick around.

After that I crossed the river, and came to the Kronhuset: the oldest building in Gothenburg, from 1654. It was originally built as a storehouse, as you can tell!

On, then, to the harbour. By this point it was really raining – and I was getting more than a little soggy!

I trudged on to Trädgårdsföreningen – the Garden Society of Gothenburg. This is when I realised that spring had not yet sprung in Sweden (it was cold!). The only things out were snowdrops.

Then, out of the grey of the Trädgårdsföreningen – an angel. An angel in the form of a greenhouse. An angel in the form of a free, warm, dry greenhouse. This was the palm house, and it was everything I needed. I had a lovely little wander round, looking at the plants and regaining my physical and emotional equilibrium.

Having dried off a bit, I headed back out into the rain, but with the promise of the art museum ahead. I spent a long time looking around, and seeing work from famous artists such as Picasso, Van Gogh and Rembrandt. I particularly enjoyed the 16th century works (my time period), a portrait photography exhibition, and an exhibition by Lee Bul, a Korean artist who has used scrap metal from the border between North and South Korea to make her pieces here.

Friday

Friday morning started off with some work from my hotel room – I was helping out with shortlisting candidates for an interview. But in the afternoon I went for another explore – in the snow! (I knew it was coming and had dressed for it – waterproof trousers and all!) At points there were some of the biggest snowflakes I’ve ever seen.

I was aiming for the Botanic Gardens – a 40 minute walk. On the way I got distracted by (and took shelter in) two churches – the Vasa Church and the Annedal Church.

Finally I got to the Botanic Gardens. It was a repeat of my experience in the Trädgårdsföreningen – spring was not yet here! But I still had a very pleasant time exploring, and particularly enjoyed getting up high and having some more views of the city. And I did see my first wild red squirrel!

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped off in Haga for an essential Swedish tradition – the “fika”, or coffee break. I had a cinnamon bun, and a Swedish rooibos which was divine! Perfect for a chilly and rosy-cheeked me!

Saturday

My final full day in Gothenburg dawned bright (finally!). So I headed to the coast for some island hopping. Gothenburg has two archipelagoes, north and south. The northern archipelago is mainly nature reserve, whereas the southern archipelago held the promise of civilisation (although blissfully no cars) and cafés.

Throughout my travels in the city, trams had been ever-present, but I hadn’t been on one yet. So I was pleased to finally make use of them! I positioned myself at the back, so had good views as I went past the conference centre and south through the city.

I arrived at Saltholmen, the ferry port, and got the ferry to my first island: Asperö. This was the first island on the ferry route, and a quiet one. I circumnavigated it pretty quickly, through peaceful woodland paths, and then awaited my next ferry.

The next island was Brännö – one of the larger islands. I crossed from one side to the other, and then made my way back along the coast. I began to realise that my prospect of a café was a pipe dream – it all felt very out of season! But all the calmer for it. I had a paddle with my walking boots on – the water would have been much too cold for my sensitive feet!

Next I got a couple of ferries to Styrsö, where I crossed a bridge to Donsö. These felt like the “main” islands – the roads were wider, and people came past me on mopeds and electric buggies. There was even an ambulance boat (which answered a question I had!).

Last but not least was Vrångö – another quiet island, especially at the end of the day. I did a quick zip round the town, and then it was back for my final ferry. I then managed to get the wrong tram, so had to do a few quick changes on the hop! Fortunately the trams are excellent and constant, so it didn’t take me long to get back on track and back to the hotel. I had a Swedish beer to finish off the adventure.

Sunday

Sunday was home day! I had my final big breakfast and popped along to the conference centre first thing to pick up my poster. But alas – the conference had finished on Saturday evening, and the posters had already been (very efficiently) removed! So my poster is continuing its Swedish escapade somewhere…

My flight was late afternoon, so I was able to make my way in quite a leisurely manner to the airport. There I got talking to someone else who’d been at the conference (identifying me as a fellow attendee by my poster tube), and he introduced me to a couple of other people he knew. It was nice to see some familiar faces every so often as I made my way through the airport! Then it was ta-ra to Sweden, and hello to England, where the sun was still shining and we could see Windsor Castle!

Then it was Heathrow Express to Paddington, and GWR back home to much-missed husband and cat. My first solo expedition had been a success, and I’d be happy to do it again!