Sweden at last - settling down in Uppsala

We had been on the road for so long that the thought of settling down, studying and working again (despite being the primary purpose for our trip in the first place) seemed strange. Nevertheless, we were sick of living out of our backpacks and were looking forward to doing mundane things again like watching TV.

Before we left Melbourne, we had tried to learn a little Swedish via a set of CD language courses. It was only basic conversation but we were eager to try and use what we knew. Sweden however is a country with an amazing fluency in English (as is all of Scandinavia) and so practicing Swedish when you can just speak English was going to be a challenge.

The other thing was money. With a reputation for being one of the most expensive countries on earth, Sweden is not usually the first choice for the budget-concious traveller. When we arrived, the Australian dollar was worth about 5 to 6 Swedish crowns, making the conversion rate even more hard to decipher. With a superiour conversion rate, we had a false sense of our dollar going further than it really was.

Having flown in with Ryan Air, one of Europe's notorious budget airlines, we landed at Skavsta Airport in Nyköping which looked more like a warehouse than an international airport. The bus ride to Stockholm took about 1 and a half hours, which was about as long as our flight.


On the bus to Stockholm

We were ravenous by the time we arrived but still had to find out how to catch a train to Uppsala, the university town where we would be staying. Uppsala is about 40 minutes north of Stockholm by high-speed train. After buying our tickets and realising that the next train was leaving in a matter of minutes, we hastily purchased what was to be the most expensive Burger King meal of our young lives to date and jumped on the train.


Candice digging into our first (and probably last) Swedish Burger King meal onboard


The high speed SJ train at Uppsala Central Station

We had heard that many people cycle in Uppsala but we weren't exactly prepared for this:


The multitude of bikes parked at Uppsala Station

Uppsala is Sweden's 4th-largest city and houses Scandinavia's oldest university. The student population is very evident, making up about 40% of its 128,400 inhabitants.


The quaint streets of Uppsala


Uppsala University's main University Building which apparently was one of the first in Scandinavia to get the telephone


Candice on the main street (or rather mall) of Uppsala, Kungsangatan


I (Nat) sample Swedish McDonalds

We had organised to rent a little flat with Akademihotellet, the student housing department. Unfortunately, the university had run out of the little two-bedroom flats which we were supposed to get and so we had to be content with a studio apartment. This actually suited us better because it was cheaper but it did mean we were going to have to buy another bed!

We were dismayed to discover that our accomodation (dubbed Lille Sunnersta or Little Sunnersta) was situated in Sunnersta, a suburb about 6 kilometres south of the city centre. Normally this wouldn't be too much of a problem, except a one-way trip on the bus costs 30 crowns (almost 6 dollars) per person! Walking was out-of-the question as it takes over an hour, so the only option was to join the thousands of others who have invested in bicycles.


Lille Sunnersta, where we live


Candice and Veera, our lovely Estonian friend who lives below us

Uppsala is a lovely little city situated on the Fyris river. Its short skyline is dominated by the Dom Kyrka (Uppsala Cathedral), which is the largest cathedral in Scandinavia and the headquarters of the Church of Sweden.

Uppsala University itself is about 600 years old and througout its history boasts a list of Nobel laurietes and famous names like biologist Cark Linnaeus (father of modern taxonomy) and Anders Celsius (who proposed the Celsius temperature).

The other prominent building in the city is Uppsala Castle, a massive pink assault on the senses built in the 16th century in which the Governor of Uppsala now resides. The castle has burnt down a number of times over the years, each time being rebuilt according to current fashion. Apparently the last time it was rebuilt in the 1800s, it was fashionable to paint castles pink.


Dom Kyrkan dominates the Uppsala skyline


Uppsala Castle atop the hill


Dom Kyrkan (Uppsala Cathedral)

The first couple of weeks saw us trying to sort out the essentials. Because we had been backpacking around the world, we had packed relatively light - especially in the context of having enough things to furnish a house. In fact the first thing we did was to empty our backpacks on the bed and rejoice in this newfound space!

A trip to Ikea, Sweden's famous furnishing and homeware export to the world solved our immediate problems. We soon found our local suburban shopping centre too and did some food shopping. We have almost become vegitarians here - not by choice but only because meat costs a small fortune!

Thanks to the help of some friends, we managed to score ourselves two secondhand bikes for 500 kronor (crowns in Swedish) and even borrow a spare one! Soon we were cycling about 12 kilometres a day and getting fit again!


Ikea in Sweden!


This is me in our little flat watching TV. For a second bed we have a mattress that slides undernearth our single bed. We take turns on the floor.


British Pub and Indian Kitchen, owned by Turks. Makes an interesting combination.


A typical Uppsala street


The Cathedral as viewed from the other side of the river

Although it was summer (August) when we arrived, the nice warm weather soon gave way to the beginning of chilly Autumn. Autumn in Scandinavia begins midway through August, earlier than most other European countries.


Students milling around inside the Neo-Renaissance Universitethuset (Main University Building) during orientation


A reception for new students inside the Universitethuset Grand Hall. A stringed orchestra is playing.

Life in Uppsala is a lot slower than life back in Melbourne. I somewhat enjoy the simplicity of student life all over again. We've made friends and are becoming more and more acquanted with Swedish life.

Because of my visa, I am considered an immigrant. This entitles me to free government-sponsored Swedish lessons through SFI (Swedish for Immigrants). Candice is also lucky enough to learn Swedish at uni.

Candice soon discovered that her timetable had very few contact hours, enabling us to fit in a whole lot of travelling while we live in the lovely land of Sverige (Sweden). This travel is the subject of future blogs (which I know we are very overdue in posting) - we'll keep the updates coming!


The church we attend in Uppsala, Korskyrkan


My mean green machine, Kermit came complete with a basket!


University nightlife in Uppsala

For more pictures of our first few weeks in Uppsala, visit http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52936&l=47431&id=681501850