Uppsala - Sweden: Birthplace of Celsius

We couldn't linger long amongst the burial mounds of Gamla Uppsala (old Uppsala) since we still had to hit up "new" Uppsala. If you liked the rune stones at Sigtuna, you're in for another treat.

I revert back to good old Rick Steves' Scandinavia again for information. Scandinavia's first university was founded in Uppsala in 1477. Famous graduates included Carl Linnaeus and Anders Celsius. The university's library houses the Silver Bible (Codex Argenteus), so named because it was written in silver ink in the 6th century. It contains a 4th century translation of the Bible into the Gothic language.

Below is Uppsala Cathedral, which contains the tomb of King Gustav Vasa. The two spires are 400 feet tall.


The photo above was taken from Uppsala Castle. Not a very impressive photo of the castle huh? That's because HH took it and he wanted a photo of whatever that thing is on the left, instead of the rest of the castle. Aren't you glad I wrested my camera back?


We caught a glimpse of a really nice garden too but we were short on time. After visiting the castle, we followed signs toward the cathedral, thinking that'd get us closer to the center of town.

Instead, we stumbled upon a park with even more rune stones. While rune stones were mostly intended as memorials to the deceased, this particular stone was created by a "clever" man who erected it for himself. Emphasis on the quotes since that's what I remembered was written on the plaque.




This rune stone had grammatical errors. Ha! As if I could read runic script to even know that. :P





Phew! That was the last rune stone.

Here's a closer view of the cathedral. We couldn't go inside for some reason that day.


So then we walked along the river. It started to rain so we ducked into a store to do some grocery shopping. When we went outside again, we were greeted by this rainbow.


The central part of town along the river really reminded me of Amsterdam. Cute bridges with window boxes.


Bicycles everywhere. Well, that could also be because it's a university town with 30,000 students.


More bicycles, a cute waterfall, and on the left of this picture was a cute outdoor eating area overlooking the water.


All in all, a very nice day and short road-trip out of Stockholm.

You can read all Europe posts with the tag Series: Europe, but I suggest reading this particular trip in this order:
"Meet-Cute" Stockholm - Sweden
Helsinki - Finland: A Two-Night Cruise and One Day
Sigtuna - Sweden: More Rune Stones Than Any Other Town
Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala) - Sweden: Beowulf and Burial Mounds
Uppsala - Sweden: Birthplace of Celsius
Tallinn - Estonia: A Two-Night Cruise and One Day
Eger and Sirens Valley - Hungary: Floral? Fruity? Woody Notes? What Notes?
Agios Georgios, Corfu Town, and Vidos Island, Corfu - Greece
Glass Bottom Boat, Corfu - Greece
Gaios, Paxos Island - Greece
Parga - Greece
Autostitch of Parga - Greece
Paleokastritsa, Corfu - Greece
Butrint and Saranda - Albania

Things to See and Do:
Silver Bible (Codex Argenteus)
Uppsala Universitet Biblioteket (Uppsala University Library)
Department of Manuscripts and Music
Box 510
751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
+46 018 471 3953

Uppsala Domkyrka (Uppsala Cathedral)
Domkyrkoplan
753 10 Uppsala
Sweden
+46 018 18 7173

Uppsala Slott (Uppsala Castle)
Rikssalen
Ingång H0
Slottet
SE-752 37 Uppsala
Sweden
+46 018 54 4811

*****
1 year ago today, Tom Kha Gai (Thai Galangal and Chicken Soup with Coconut Milk).