Uppsala & Surroundings 
16 years, that’s how long it’s been since I was last back in Sweden (or anywhere else in Europe for that matter). We only realised this when we started the planning of our trip to Europe that we hadn’t been back for that long. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to come back sooner, we just got caught up travelling through Asia and North America (due to family residing there) and for the past few years had been stuck and unable to leave Australia as the Government stopped anyone due to the fears of Covid at the time.
Anyway, we were finally back here and as luck would have it, my parents were also here during the day we arrived which meant we got a nice pickup from the airport which we’re never going to turn down. As luck would have it, they had access to a 7 seater car which meant that all of us fit in the vehicle and could all travel together. As so, we started our day in Sweden by visiting Söder Edinge to see the house where we grew up, to Tuna and Alunda to see my old schools and finally we got dropped off at Länna where we were staying during our Sweden visit.
Over the next few days we made daily trips in to Uppsala where we showed the kids around and exposed them to iconic locations such as the Cathedral, the Castle and the Uppsala University which the kids were in awe over the fact that it was created in the 1400’s. It was fun to see the kids seeing the old sights and they were quite surprised and impressed when reading the rune stones, seeing how old they really are. Later when visiting the Uppland Museum they had an interactive rune section where the kids got to type in their own messages onto a runestone (and I’m not sure I approve of Eloise’s message about me and her brother which made it into the video 😉 )
During our time in Uppsala we also took the kids to Fyrishov swimming centre where initially there were a few school classes there but very soon they all left and it felt like we had the entire swim centre all to ourselves. I showed the kids where I used to jump from the 10 metre tower and although they never jumped from that height they were happy jumping from the 3 metres and Eloise eventually also jumped from the 5 metre one as well (crazy kid that one).
Our last main sights of the area was in Gamla Uppsala (old Uppsala) where we saw the ancient burial sights, the royal mounds which area believed to date from the 6th century. We were unable to get on them as you are no longer allowed but it still made for a nice day out.
Finally, we spent a lot of time getting together with family during our time in Uppsala, we got to spend a few nights together with Clifton and Sandra with her lovely family, see family friends we hadn’t seen for a long time and also had a big family reunion with the Swedish side of my family, were we all had ‘fika’ together at their lovely summer home. Plus, my sister Zilia and my niece Noelia came over from the US for a few days and it was great to catch up with them again!
It was great to come back to Sweden and Uppsala again after being away for so long and it was fun to be able to show the kids where I grew up and places I used to go to. And of course, to introduce them to ‘mjukglass’, a soft serve ice cream that is served everywhere in Sweden and is a must when visiting. It was only a short visit on this occasion and we hope to come back soon again (hopefully not in another 16 years again!).
