When I first heard of this strange named city I said, “Opps-salad?” Where in the heck is this place? Let me first explain the story on how we found to travel there.
By a bench in Brindisi, Italy—an Italian port town famous for being the gateway to Greece—I met Bertil Larsson. The time was early July, 1979. We struck up a conversation that has lasted for over forty years.
Bertil is from Sweden. He is a medical doctor and today lives in Uppsala. I believe that is where he went to school and has lived for most of his life.
I had the pleasure of meeting Bertil later that July in ’79 where he was working in “Varberg.” A quaint town along the western coast below the larger town of Gothenburg.
Bertil, a few years later, visited me. We went to Disney world. What I remember most was playing tennis with Bertil. I felt like “Jimmy Connors” and Bertil was “Bjorn Borg.”
We lost touch for a while. It was through Facebook we reunited. In late June of 2019, my wife and I had the pleasure of seeing Bertil in Uppsala. This story is about that special day.
On our second to last day in Stockholm, we traveled thirty minutes north—44 miles to the university town of Uppsala.
Bertil met us at the train station. He has not changed in over forty years!
At the car, we met Ulla, Bertil’s beautiful wife. She is a retired dentist. They both share a common interest with family, travel and the outdoors. Ulla has a pleasant and welcoming smile.
Uppsala has a population less than 200,000 people. It is well known for being the “oldest centre of higher education in Scandinavia.” The school was founded in 1477. This is the place where the “Celsius scale” was founded. We saw plagues in town explaining the advancement of “Botany” in Uppsala.
The Larsson’s drove us around to see Uppsala’s famous Cathedral. It was once Catholic, now Lutheran.
From 1164 Uppsala has been the ecclesiastical centre of Sweden. The Uppsala Cathedral is the tallest church in Scandinavia.
Inside the church became the burial place for one of Sweden’s most powerful kings, Eric IX.
Unfortunately, Eric IXwas beheaded but did become the patron saint of Sweden. A legend was spread of a fountain that sprang up where Eric was beheaded.
There are a number of Royalty buried in the Cathedral. One of the more powerful Kings was Gustav Vasa. He is buried with his “three” wives.
The Cathedral is well known for its stained-glass.
After touring the Cathedral, the Larsson’s took us for a “Fika” break–coffee.
We had a pleasant stroll in Uppsala’s center.
By car, we were also shown three Royal burial grounds in “Gamla Uppsala” which dates back to as early as the 3rd century. The three large mounds had a significant religious importance. This was a major center for the Vikings.
Close by was the interesting 11th century Gamla Uppsala Church. It was definitely more rustic than the larger Uppsala Cathedral.
The last place that the Larssons took us was west of town to the “King Bjorn mound (Hog)” also known as the Haga mound. There mounds date back to the Nordic Bronze Age. We would have totally missed this area if it wasn’t for the Larsson’s driving us around.
Our Swedish friends treated us to a memorable lunch at their home.
The Larsson’s garden is magnificent.
Everything was freshly prepared with care and love.
We later had tea and coffee–the traditional Fika coffee break. It was a tad cool for Kathie.
The Larsson’s drove us to a small village of Sigtuna.
Along the way, we stopped at one of the forks along Lake Ekoln. From a distance, we could view the castle of Skoklosters slott. Today, the castle is a state museum. Just one of those places we need to come back and explore.
The village of Sigtuna is where Bertil and Ulla had their very first date. Pictured is where they had dinner.
