Uppsala, Sweden

Uppsala was a quick day trip from Stockholm for me. About an hour on the train and I was there. After disembarking the train, I immediately headed for the castle area of town. Although it was cold, the sun was shining and took the chill out. I haven’t seen a whole lot of the sun lately; it’s been cloudy. Before arriving at the castle, I passed by a park. The time was still early; I had many hours ahead of me in which to sight see. I found a park bench and sat down.

From the park, I walked a little closer to the castle to get a good frontal view. I took a couple of photos and then walked toward the city center. Walking along the Fyris River (Fyrisån in Swedish), I noticed some people in orange vests trying to hoist something out of the river. They were attempting to pull a bicycle out of the water. Upon closer inspection, I realized that a pile of rusty old waterlogged bikes sat near these workers. I continued following the river. At the next bridge, I saw two or three other people in the same orange vests attempting the same feat. Near these people was a truck filled with these waterlogged bicycles. I came to the conclusion that since many people park their bicycles along a fence on the river, the bikes often fall in. Fortunately, I was able to witness the unusual occurrence of workers dredging the river for bicycles!

I turned away from the river and walked toward the Uppsala Cathedral (Domkyrkan), Scandinavia's largest cathedral. As I neared the church, I noticed a strange flying contraption. Seriously, this flying device didn’t look like anything I had ever seen before. I couldn’t see anyone who appeared to be flying this thing remotely. I’ll admit that I even considered the possibility that this flying thing was a UFO. As I walked around to the side of the church, I finally saw the man responsible standing near the church. Noticing a bench nearby, I sat down to watch the man and the flying thing. He soon left, and I got up to go visit the church.

I continued walking around the church until I was at the front and went in. Apparently, an art show was happening. In venues around the city, the work of many artists was being shown. Showing a photograph collection, the church was one of the venues. I wrote in the comments book, left the church, and headed to Uppsala University.

I had read that the park in front of the university held six rune stones. I found all six before I continued to the castle. Set on a hill, the castle (Uppsala Slott) was built in the mid-1500s under the rule of King Gustav Vasa. Subsequent kings expanded the castle to a much larger Renaissance palace.  After a devastating fire at the beginning of the 1700s, the castle was rebuilt. This is the castle we see today. From the castle, I walked back down the hill and entered the botanic garden behind the castle.

The botanical garden (Botaniska trädgården) is owned by Uppsala University. The garden was planted on land that was donated by King Gustav III in the late 1700s.  From the garden I walked back past the castle, through the town, and past the train station to Old Town (Gamla Uppsala).

I no longer had any Swedish money (kroner). I hadn't thought about the possibility of needing cash, so I spent the last of my money on a snack at the Coop grocery store next to the train station. Because I had no money left, I was unable to take the bus the four kilometers to Old Town.

Those four kilometers were exceptionally long ones. My day bag was heavy, and I quickly tired. More than once, I stopped to check my progress on my iPad. I finally arrived at the burial mounds site.

I first stopped to see the old village of Uppsala before checking out the church, and finally the mounds. Thousands of years ago, the area where Gamla Uppsala exists was under water. People have been buried in the area for about 2000 years. Although two to three thousand burial mounds existed in the Gamla Uppsala area, only about 250 remain today. The others have been turned into farmland or quarries.

The three large mounds, dating to the 5th and 6th centuries, are known as the Royal Mounds (Kungshögarna). According to mythology, the gods Thor, Odin, and Freyr were buried in these mounds. Later, in the 1800s and 1900s, legend told that three important kings, Aun, Adil, and Egil, were buried in the mounds. Visitors were permitted to climb on one of these mounds; access was not allowed to the others.

Before I walked back to town to catch my train, I checked the map on my iPad and discovered that there is a hiking and running trail from the mounds to the city. I wish I had known about this path earlier; I would have used it on my way to the mounds.

Walking on this path until I got the the city, I arrived at the train station in plenty of time to make my train.

Day Trip to Eskilstuna

Before I left California for Europe, I tried to plan out as much of the trip as I could. I did my research and read about where in each country I should spend my time. I had never been to Sweden before, so I did a little extra reading about the country. During my research, I found a website with a list of the top ten most beautiful cities in Sweden. Eskilstuna was on the list. A small town, Eskilstuna probably doesn't make it onto most people's lists of must dos.  However, I was looking for a small city to visit with some history and good photo opportunities, and I found it with Eskilstuna. Granted, there is not a lot in the way of entertainment in the town, but there is a picturesque river and a few buildings left over from the town's medieval days.

I must admit that I scheduled too much time in the town. I could have easily spent a half day in Eskilstuna and seen all there was to see. I had purchased my train tickets in advance. In Sweden, the train tickets are like airline tickets: the earlier you purchase them, the better price you get. This purchase meant that I paid less for my tickets but also mean that I was unable to take an earlier train back to Stockholm. The day worked out okay though; I spent my time walking around the city. When I got to the old town area, I sat on a bench in the sun for awhile.

Here in Sweden, I keep looking around me only to be amazed by the colors of the leaves. I don't think I've ever experienced a true fall before, what with being from Texas where the leaves are either green or brown. I remember several years ago going on a leaf walk with an excited kindergarten class where all the leaves were brown and sad. The idea was to find a couple of really cool leaves to do rubbings of. Leaf rubbings are much happier when they are red or orange.

I know you can't see many leaves in this picture, but I promise they are there in all their fall glory.

Sightseeing in Stockholm

Although I spent four nights in Stockholm, I only spent one full day exploring the city. I have day trips scheduled for my other two full days. Stockholm is a city made up of fourteen islands. Despite the cold, I enjoyed my time sightseeing in Stockholm. I spent some time exploring the narrow, mostly-pedestrian old town streets. I saw  Swedish Parliament building, the Cathedral of Stockholm, and the Stockholm Palace. From the palace, I walked past the Moderna Museet on the island of Skeppsholmen to the island of Kastellholmen.

I have been amazed by the colors of the leaves. The leaves don't turn those vibrant colors in Texas or California. It actually feels like fall. Most years, I don't notice it's fall until it's almost winter. But here, I noticed as soon as the plane landed and I saw the trees.

After exploring the Kastellet, a small castle built in the 1800s on Kastellholmen, I walked back toward the Strömbron bridge to Stockholm Sightseeing boat company to go on the last Royal Canal boat tour of the day.

On the 45-minute tour, I listened to a recording while the captain steared the boat. The boat floated through the Djurgården canal and around Djurgården Island. The tour featured Rosendal Palace, Villa Gröndal, and the home of one of the members of Abba. As we neared the port at the end of the tour, it started raining. I was glad I was dry on the boat rather than wet outdoors. The rain lightened up. Fortunately, I had taken my rain coat, so I was okay even after I disembarked and started walking back towards the hostel in old town.

Off to Sweden

It's 5AM, and I'm on my way to Keflavik airport. My next adventure awaits in Stockholm.

Getting Ready to Leave!

Our itinerary is pretty much set. We will start in France then travel to Switzerland, Austria, and Czech Republic. Then we will fly to Denmark. G will fly home from Copenhagen, and I will fly to Iceland. I will fly fly to Sweden, see Norway, then fly home. We are finishing up our packing and are excited about leaving tomorrow.