In central Gothenburg, you will find Slottsskogen, a 137-hectare park. By the 1880s, the Swedish city had grown to encompass the forest, and merchant August Kobb took the initiative to create the city park.

Slottsskogen includes a zoo with both native Swedish and imported animals, a pond with seals and penguins, and numerous large fields that play host to the annual Way Out West music festival.

But the most unusual element of this park is found on the top of the central hill in the park in a bushy area surrounding an observatory. Here you will find what’s known as the “pacifier tree.” There are no signs to indicate what, when, who, or why this unusual creation came about, but it is a pleasant surprise in a marvelous park.