The Travel Diary: Uppsala

Written by: Tereza Lysakova

Travelling can really shape us all. With an open mind and heart, it offers new horizons and perspectives by discovering unknown cultures, countries, cities and people. And for sure, every such experience is truly beneficial. That is why we shall try to go beyond and step out our comfort zones as often as we can. Although, easier said than done these days, right?

I don't necessarily mean the far and exotic destinations or shining hotel resorts. Sometimes, just the train or coach trip beyond the comforting borders of our day-to-day reality might be sufficient to discover new and wonderful places and experiences.

The memories travelling brings will remain forever imprinted in our mind and heart. And as travelling is almost impossible these days, I often think back and remember some nice trips, places, or countries I have visited, the situations I have experienced or the lovely people I have met.

I hope you will enjoy the travelling stories at least as much as I enjoy writing them. And maybe, who knows, you will be inspired to pack your bag, get on the earliest bus or a plane and experience the places for yourself.

The latest place I had a chance to visit abroad before the global pandemic outbreak was the lovely city of Uppsala in Sweden. And that is also the first topic of my travel diary blog post.

Uppsala is a beautiful and vibrant Swedish historical city located close to Stockholm. It is the fourth largest city in Sweden, well known, among others, for its great academic history [1]. I travelled to Uppsala at the end of November 2019. I have never been to Sweden before and the first thing that really caught my attention right after landing at the Stockholm Arlanda Airport and taking the coach to Upsala was that everything was so green. The trees were literally everywhere along the road, and that is really amazing.

Next thing to remember when travelling to Sweden during the winter is that it's really cold there. I mean really cold. From the relatively calm winter season in Prague I am used to dress quite lightly even during winter. OK, so this winter was a bit of an exception as for two weeks we have experienced temperatures way below zero and also, believe it or not, snow. And that is why my ensembles consisting of nice dress, tights, and light coat which, although highly fashionable, was totally impractical for tough northern winter weather.

This experience was intensified even more by the fact, that my hotel room contained the aircon which was not only impossible to regulate but totally impossible to stop. So, my first trip in this city lead to the local clothes store chain. But I did not buy any fashionable Swedish pieces (I so liked the cool and stylish fashion, especially the fluffy white long knitted cardigans). But I bought thermo leggings, thick hoodie, warm tracksuit trousers and gloves. And with this outfit, I was much better prepared to overcome the winter weather as well as the omnipresent aircon in the hotel room.

Another noticeable thing. As I had already written in my previous posts, I really like riding the bicycle. But only when the weather is nice, and the temperature is quite high. 😊 So, you can for sure imagine how surprised I was, that it really does not matter whether it is freezing cold, dripping rain or snow, the people in Uppsala were happily riding the bicycles even in such weather. Real heroes! But I am still going to wait until first spring beam of sunshine and nice high temperatures.

As it was already way close to Christmas, the whole city was shining with millions of lights. In parks, on trees, in the streets and also on the Fyris river reflecting the laser lights show. It was really quite nice spectacle.

A must go place in Uppsala is definitely the Cathedral, which is by the way the greatest and tallest cathedral in the whole Scandinavia [2]. Its breathtakingly beautiful. When I was visiting, a gospel choir had just a rehearsal for an evening gig, so I sat there and listened for a while and it was really nice. Almost like listening to a Sister in the Act choir live, if someone still remembers the film. 😊 Unfortunately, the evening concert was sold out.

Another remarkable sights are definitely the Uppsala Castle and famous Uppsala Universities. The Upsala University, established in 1477, which is actually the oldest university in Sweden [3] as well as the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Did you know, that one of the most famous alumni of the Uppsala University was Anders Celsius, the founder of the 100-degree thermometer scale? [4].

And last but not least, make sure you taste the Swedish delicious cinnamon pastry as it really tastes like heaven. 😊

References:

• [1]  Uppsala: Business. Available at: https://international.uppsala.se/business/ (2021-02-26).
• [2]  Uppsala Cathedral. Available at: https://destinationuppsala.se/en/activities/uppsala-cathedral/ (2021-02-26).
• [3]  Uppsala University: History. Available at: https://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/history/ (2021-02-26).
• [4]  Uppsala University: Prominent People. Available at: https://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/history/prominent-people/ (2021-02-26).

 Images credit: Tereza Lysakova