Starting the Day on Bicycle

As I mentioned, one of the selling points for the Airbnb we chose was that our host could lend us two bicycles. I was going to add a link for it but they no longer mention the bikes on their profile so I’m not sure he still offers them. The night we arrived we discussed everything with our host, got the keys to the locks and he showed us where things were so in the morning we were able to head down and grab the bikes, and venture off.

It is worth noting that we used bicycles to get around. Ultimately the majority of the activities we did are in one general area, but getting from our Airbnb to the coffee place and then the area with the main attractions was made easier and faster via bike. There is a public bus system we could have used, though. The part when we went to Hagahogen and then back to food, we needed the bike for, though. If you aren’t sure if something is doable for you, try mapping out what you want to do for distance. You could also find somewhere to rent a bike. Uppsala is known as a very bikeable city.

First Stop: Getting Warm

At first, we thought we might not make it through the day biking around in the cold. Only about 10-15 minutes into our ride we decided to stop at a McDonalds. It turned out they didn’t have any of the breakfast food we wanted (hashbrowns, biscuits, etc.) so we warmed up and headed out again.

Getting Warm Part 2 – Coffee

We continued on our path but were still cold so we took the next opportunity we saw to warm up again. The cold also had us hungry. We came to a “mall” (a few stores, restaurants and a grocery shop in a building). There was bike parking in the square across the street so we locked up the bikes and took a few minutes to look around outside before we went in. 

Once inside, we found most places to be closed (it was a Sunday morning). In the center was a coffee shop which was open. Hot coffee certainly sounded nice at the time. We ordered a drink to share and sat and relaxed for a bit. It was quite pleasant, sort of hygge. Since there weren’t any food options around, after we drank the coffee I decided to finish off my sandwich from the night before.

For those curious, the name of the coffee place was Espresso House and our drink cost 32 Krone ($3.84). It was a good drink — and pretty large as you can see. 

Down by the River: Uppsala town

I had an itinerary planned and we got to most of it but not in the same order I planned. That’s because we decided to stop off when we got into town by the river and saw a good place to park the bikes. It was within walking distance of many of the places we wanted to see. We wanted to make sure we would be able to view some of these places while we still had daylight.

Within the town, there was this strange event (?) going on. I don’t know if it’s normal there or not, but there was this hockey-playing clown-nurse group having fun and they shot their puck toward me and I had no idea what to do. Please comment if you have more information about what this was.

Making Our Way To Uppsala Cathedral

After checking out some of the parts of Uppsala we’d seen the night before (this time in the light!) we headed toward Uppsala Cathedral. We really enjoyed the Medieval cobblestone roads and alleys and the general feel of the town.

The Largest Cathedral in Sweden: Uppsala Domkyrka

Standing at 389 ft., Uppsala Domkyrka, or Uppsala Cathedral is not just the tallest church building in Sweden, but in all of Scandinavia. 

Up until the 11th century, Uppsala was a pagan center and people practiced human sacrifice there. When Christianity came, a cathedral was built. As Christianity grew, this cathedral was built in the 13th century to replace a smaller one.

It took over 100 years to complete. Since it was completed it has changed some due to several fires. Unfortunately, there are not depictions of it as it was at the time of the original completion. Parts of the cathedral that you see today (like the tall spires) were added as recently as the 19th century. The outside design kind of reminded us of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh. 

The cathedral is very much a key/central part of Uppsala. You can see it from many parts of the town and we enjoyed both the day and night views.

The church is open from 8 am to 6 pm every day, though you may not be able to enter as a tourist during some services and events. It is associated with the Lutheran Church of Sweden and is built in the French Gothic style.

Another Cathedral: Helga Trefaldighets Kyrka

Not far from the Uppsala Domkyrka is another, smaller cathedral. It’s also old (from the 13th century) and is associated with the Holy Trinity Assembly. I read that this is a common venue for weddings and is currently used for teaching priests. 

Pink Castle and Fort (Upssala Slot)

Uppsala Castle is another key landmark in the city. It dates back to the 16th century when it served as a royal castle. The castle is on top of a hill, strategically to serve as a fortress (in the past) but this means you can get some good views of the city. In the early 18th century it was heavily damaged by fire but was reconstructed.

The castle then served as an administration building for many years. Today, it’s an art museum. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it inside as we had other places to see and the line was really long. Guess it must be good! If we ever return we’ll check it out because I’d like to see the inside.

The Gardens and University

We headed down to check out the Uppsala Botanical Gardens, also known as the Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala. While the area they occupy has changed some over time, the gardens are more than two centuries old. We were only able to view what was outside/in front because it seemed like the indoor portion was closed but we found it beautiful and enjoyed walking the grounds for a bit.

There is supposed to be a Linneanum Orangery and a Tropical Glasshouse but there was no one around and as far as we could tell everything was closed. According to the opening hours listed on the website, I think the Tropical Greenhouse should have been open when we were there but who knows. We definitely enjoyed the outside grounds so I can imagine the other parts are great too if you’re able to see them. You can learn more about the history of the garden and what it offers on the website.

Next, we headed over to the university. Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest university in all of the Nordic countries. It’s considered to be among the top universities in the world. We found it to be pretty much deserted, probably because it was a Sunday.

Snacks at the Uppsala Castle Cafe

At this point, Kyle hadn’t had anything to eat yet and we were both hungry so we decided to find a quick snack to tide us. Since we weren’t far we headed back up to the castle and went into the castle cafe. It had a very nice and cozy atmosphere and there was also a restroom.

We ended up choosing two pastries which turned out to be much smaller than we anticipated. Together, our pastries cost $5.09 which felt expensive at the time but what do you expect from food from a castle in Sweden? Plus they were actually quite good.

On Our Way to Hågahögen

Part of the reason we decided to just get a snack rather than a meal was because we wanted to get over to Kung Björn’s high before dark and knew we’d want a bigger meal afterward. It was actually a very pleasant bike ride. We passed through town, went by the cemetery and then made our way on a bike path across a large open field. 

Sunset Hike: Hågahögen 

Sunset was already close to creeping in and we weren’t sure exactly where to enter. We weren’t even positive this was the area to enter to get to King Björn’s high. I wanted to continue along the road in the light and enter from the outside if possible but Kyle insisted that we go in via the entrance you see below. I thought it might be late to go at all if we couldn’t access it from the outside. Kyle said sunset was supposed to last like 5 hours. (Or at least that we would have some light well past it.) We argued about this but finally, I gave in and we parked our bikes.

It was actually darker than it appears in many of our pictures in this area because (1) for some reason they just appeared lighter on the camera and (2) we edited the photos to be light enough so you could actually see what’s in the pictures!

It was a pleasant walk. We went through some woods and then out near this open field. On the trail, we only encountered one other woman who we think might have been hunting with her dog.

We Made It: King Björn’s High

We grabbed a map but actually had no idea where to go and just kind of chose random paths and tried to remember which directions we chose. To our surprise, we actually did make it to the destination we were aiming for. King Björn’s high is a Bronze Age burial mound from around 1,000 BC. It contained more gold findings than any other bronze age grave but experts say it did not actually contain the king for whom it is named due to timing inconsistencies.

Within Hågahögen there are three additional burial mounds. When this particular mound was excavated in the 1920s, in addition to the gold and the bones of people, some which may have been from human sacrifice, they found bones of several other animals including squirrels, dogs, and pigs. The findings are now in the Historical Museum in Stockholm / Swedish Museum of National Antiquities. 

Journey Back in the Dark

If we hadn’t seen that we were coming towards our destination, we probably already would have turned around but since we made it there we decided to check it out. We wandered around the area and tried to read what we could while it was light enough. All in all, we actually had very little time there and would have liked to explore more but within minutes of our photos (which again, appear lighter than actuality) it was completely dark.

In fact, it was so dark we had trouble even finding our way out of the mound area (it was gated off). Now with it dark, icy, and below freezing, it was slippery and a bit dangerous. We had some trouble figuring out the way out but eventually, I led us the correct way. We made our way to the forest and tried to remember the path we took. I am not sure how we would have done it without the flashlight battery app, though. I actually made a point to clear some space and install it before we left because I was afraid of things like this. After Kyle’s phone was stolen in Barcelona he gave me the tip of putting my phone on low battery mode which also helped it last through the day.

Keep in mind that because it was late November, so the sunset earlier than other times of the year. 

Back to the road. We grabbed our bikes and headed for food because we were hungry!

Food: Lutagens

Time to eat. We already planned to eat at Lutagens (and were glad we did plan ahead). We had done a little research to find an affordable (for Sweden) place which would have something for both of us. Sure, it’s not Swedish food but we actually didn’t see much true Swedish food in town! If we were in the country longer we would have made a point to get something more local.

Lutagens was also a nice refuge from the cold. It had a nice atmosphere. While Kyle originally thought we should each get our own pizza, we decided to start with sharing a pizza and a falafel salad. Both were good!

The cost was 200 Swedish Krone (~$24). For those interested, you can find the menu on their website.

More Wandering

I was full, but Kyle said he could have used a little more so we decided we’d get something else later. We walked around by the river in the town for a bit, enjoying the night lights and Christmas decorations.

Max Burger

After wandering more we started searching for another place to eat. We went inside a sit-down dessert restaurant but we soon left due to them not listing prices on the menu. There actually aren’t a whole lot of restaurants in the town in general and those that did exist looked on the fancier side. Actually, it seemed like almost everything in Uppsala was a little more upscale.

We made our way back to the town center (ish) area and went into Max Burger. It’s supposed to be a healthier fast food place and didn’t look too expensive. They even had multiple vegetarian options that looked good. I was in the mood for dessert, so while Kyle ordered a basic hamburger, I ordered a pie. Kyle had a hard time deciding with lots of good-looking options (to him) but he went with a basic burger (cheaper option).

Kyle’s burger was good and for a little fast food pie, my dessert really good! The only thing I didn’t like was the bathrooms. There were two areas, they weren’t well-labeled and they all were locked. Some other women went and asked about it but I couldn’t understand as the cashier answered in Swedish and then a long line formed at the single bathroom. I guess they weren’t able to use the women’s restroom which had multiple stalls?? My opinion is that a food place should have accessible restrooms and I had to go so I found this really annoying. Fortunately, I have learned to make the world my toilet.

The cost was $5.20 for the cheeseburger and pie. Here is the website.

Final Snack: Candy

While the pie really filled me for the time, by the time we were making our way back to the Airbnb I had suddenly become very hungry again. Kyle proposed we simply use the rest of the cash we had left, which was not much. The items in the grocery store were expensive, at least compared to what we’re used to. It’s possible it was a higher-end grocery store, but then again, everything seemed high-end in town.

I wanted chips or something more substantial but since they were too much I decided to get candy. Kyle convinced me that I could only get a very small amount of candy. I really wanted more and thought I could get more but he said it would be too much. I soon found I could have taken at least three times the amount (and really wished I had)! If you do want a snack I would recommend the grocery store candy because there are many options and it’s pretty good.

At this point it was a Sunday night and not much was open plus we were tired and a wee bit cold so we finished our bike ride back. It was time to relax and prepare for the next day: 2 buses, a plane, and a car ride back to our place.

All in all, we really enjoyed our experience in Uppsala. We thought that one day would be enough but we actually probably could have filled up at least two days. We are pretty good at finding things to do and like to take things at a somewhat leisurely pace, though.

What We Missed

Here are some of the activities we didn’t make it to. We didn’t plan to go to Gamma Uppsala because we knew we couldn’t bike all the way there and do all the other stuff while it was still light. All of the others we planned to go to but didn’t have enough time/it just didn’t work out.

•    Biotopia – small diorama displaying the local fauna and vegetation of the region. Aimed at families.

•    Stadsskogen Nature Reserve – small nature reserve measuring 1 sq km with a couple km of hiking trails.

•    Carolina Rediviva (Uppsala University Library) – the oldest and largest library in the country.

•    Gamla Uppsala – a historic village outside of Uppsala notable for its ancient burial mounds.

Note: Uppsala actually has a very interesting history and we recommend you do some separate reading if you’d like to learn more about it.

Prepare Your Day

Uppsala is a pretty easy town to enjoy yourself in. Most everything you could want, you’ll be able to get (at least, until things close down). That doesn’t mean that you just want to wander off without any thought. Here are a few things that might improve your trip around town.

*Note that we are members of the Amazon Affiliate program and that we receive a small compensation at no cost to you for all valid purchases made through our site.

• Headlamp/Flashlight. Uppsala is pretty well lit, but the sun sets early in the winter and you want to make sure you can see where you’re going. You saw the problem we ran into at Hagahogen. So if you plan to go in the woods, bring along a headlamp, or flashlight, something, in case. Foxelli Headlamp Flashlight
• Water Bottles. Collapsible Water Bottles – These are what we normally carry around these days. You should be able to drink the tap water in Uppsala so you could carry this around with you if you want. Or a different water bottle if you prefer. We did not have these during this trip, though and I do wonder if it would have frozen.
• Winter Clothing. If you’re going to be in town any time during the winter, you are going to need to dress for the weather.
• First-aid Kit. This is another one of those just-in-case things if you plan on hiking/going in the woods though it could be useful other times. First-Aid Kit
• Head Wear. I don’t know about you, but my ears get cold pretty easily. This is a head wrap I use a lot and it does a great job of keeping my head warm but doesn’t squeeze my head the way ear muffs can. Head Wrap

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