Uppsala, Sweden

Uppsala in 2020: An Hour North of Stockholm (13 Pics!)

I spent a Saturday in mid-October in Uppsala, Sweden, a city about an hour north of Stockholm by train. This article is a quick intro to Uppsala as well as a few of my observations as a foreigner.

Uppsala is Sweden’s fourth largest city with over 172,000 people, but it sure didn’t feel that way!

Prior to going, I wasn’t aware of this, but after walking around a bit, it felt really small. I was able to walk to all the major attractions, have lunch, as well as take a bus to Gamla Uppsala (the old town) in as little as 4 hours.

The city hosts the oldest university in all of Scandinavia, Uppsala University. It was founded in 1477, and of notable interest is that the Celsius scale was invented there! Very cool!

I walked around the campus, the main building, and even managed to venture into the library (as well as its reading room, which by the way felt like the quietest place on earth!).

Quick fact: Scandinavia consists of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Many folks assume Finland and Iceland are Scandinavian, but they aren’t. All five countries are considered Nordic, but only 3 are Scandinavian, which is defined as belonging to the Scandinavian Peninsula.

I didn’t go on a professional tour, instead choosing to meander about the city. I suppose you could say I just allowed fate to take me to where it always intended. 😉

Below are a few of the more interesting places and pictures I took while there. There’s certainly a lot more to Uppsala so if you get a chance, do go see this beautiful Swedish city.

Pictures of Uppsala, Sweden (in October)

Bridge right outside Uppsala train station
A cute little bridge directly outside the Uppsala train station
Restaurant Domtrappkallaren
Restaurant Domtrappkallaren
Uppsala stream
Stream near the Uppsala city-center
Uppsala building
This is just a random building near a stream; I thought it looked cool so I’m including it

Uppsala Castle

Uppsala castle
Uppsala Castle from afar
Cannons outside the Uppsala Castle
Cannons outside the Uppsala Castle

Uppsala Cathedral

Lions from tomb in Uppsala church
Crest found in the Uppsala Cathedral

Uppsala Botanical Gardens

Face
Stone sculpture in the Uppsala Botanical Gardens

Gamla Uppsala – the Mounds

Uppsala mound
In Gamla (Swedish for “old”) Uppsala, there are 3 mounds that legend says are the burial sites of Nordic gods – Thor, Oden and Freyr
The Thing Mound
The Thing Mound
Detached red dwelling
Detached red dwelling
Uppsala restaurant near the mounds
Entrance to a restaurant near the mounds
Skampale
Inside the restaurant

Video of Uppsala, Sweden