# Svartmetall tours UPPSALA (Sweden) 2015 07 25



## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

*Uppsala 2015 07 25*



Uppsala is one of the biggest cities in Sweden - in fact it is the fourth largest in the country. It possesses one of the most important and oldest universities (Uppsala Universitet) as well as being the seat of the Archbishop of the Swedish Church (Svenska Kyrkan) at Uppsala Cathedral. The city is situated just north of Stockholm and is very easy to access by train (as per all of our Swedish travels). The Stockholm commuter rail (pendeltåg) now calls at Uppsala, though it requires a surcharge to your regular SL ticket as it crosses the county boundary. This time, however, we took SJ - the national railways as they are much quicker, and actually cost less than the surcharge does from Uppsala back to Stockholm (that is two zones, whereas they only charge one zone from Stockholm to Uppsala, go figure). 

Anyway, Uppsala, probably my favourite city in Sweden that I have visited thus far, and I hope after this photo thread you'll see why. 







First, we start at Stockholm Centralstation. 















Our train is waiting!














Here is an extensive tour of both Stockholm Centralstation, Uppsala Centralstation and a view from the train window leaving Stockholm Centralstation and arriving into Uppsala Centralstation. I spent quite a long time piecing this one together!












We arrive at Uppsala Centralstation. 








The station was rebuilt into a "resecentrum" - so a travel centre to include the buses in a new bus station as well as the trains. It also opened up the eastern side of the station to extensive redevelopment. This area looks so much better than when I first visited in 2010. 







The old station. 









The bus terminal has completely electronic signs. 







And really nice bus stops. 







Uppsala puts a lot of effort into city beautification. It is this kind of display I rarely see outside of a country like Japan. 








So we start walking towards the city centre. 








There are lots of pedestrian streets and malls in Uppsala. Far more than one would expect for its size and proximity to Stockholm. 









Interior of a mall. 







And the newly developed atrium, which happens to be part of a supermarket! I thought it looked cool anyway. 







Continuing on with the pedestrianised streets. 









Lots more to come.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

For those of you who would like a video of Uppsala city including shopping streets, the riverfront, the cathedral, the castle and more, please look at this video I made which showcases the best that Uppsala has to offer. Plus you get a free organ concert in the Cathedral - the organist was practicing for Sunday!


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## skymantle (Jul 17, 2010)

Beautiful, I've read good things about Uppsala and have always wanted to see it one day. I recall it being known as a prestigious university town with a glorious campus to match. Great showcase...:cheers:


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

The Uni makes the city feel more like the UK "university cities" of Oxford or Cambridge in many ways. The campus is fully integrated with the city with buildings scattered everywhere (only distinguished by their plaques). It's a really nice city, and if you come to Sweden, it is one I recommend (along with Norrköping).


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

Another shopping mall. 






We're at Stora Torget (the large square). This doubles as a large bus hub for the centre of the city as well, it has quite cool bus stops actually. 









Little details again that really make the city. Note that whenever I've toured elsewhere too I've appreciated touches like this that, to me, just make a city awesome. 







More pedestrian street for you guys. 






I like the coloured boxes.








Another side street. 







More to come.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice photos from Uppsala :cheers:


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

Thanks, Christos! Hope you continue to come to my threads.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

More pedestrianised streets. 









And now we're at the riverfront. 













The riverfront in Uppsala is one of my favourite parts. 













A super old water pump! 







And the river. 







More to come.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

Continuing down the riverfront in the rain. 







Cinema on the opposite bank. 









Another nicely decorated bridge. 







Down a cobbled side street. 







More grand buildings on the riverfront. 









And more humble on the other side. 







This one is an interesting sculpture. 









Onwards downriver. 












More to come.


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## Neitzsche (Sep 28, 2005)

Great shots Svarty. Quite the idyllic looking town.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

It's a really nice little city - probably one of my favourites that I've visited in Sweden so far. It's got a buzz thanks to the Uni, but it's also quiet and well-kept. Not to mention close to a bigger city (Stockholm) which is 40 minutes by train if you hanker for a big city. Good combination if you ask me.


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## Adde (May 8, 2011)

Uppsala is lovely. I lived there for 9 years ('04-'13) and it improved a lot over that time, especially the area around the train station but also in the center where there's been an ongoing pedestrianization project. And yes, Uppsala is great at things like public flower displays etc.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

Indeed - I remember going to Uppsala first in 2010 and the train station was still under construction and the eastern side of the station was comparatively very underdeveloped compared to the centre. 

I think good governance and proper public spending in Uppsala has given rise to a nicer city environment than Stockholm. It's even evident between the areas of Stockholm - Solna being the worst, Sundbyberg and Botkyrka being the best in terms of government funded upkeep and beautification (as well as being better run, such as clearing snow etc etc).


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

As seen in the last picture of the last set, there was a guy rowing down the river. It turned out the students had started a race down the river with plenty of beer in tow. Here was one of the participants. 






And a few more. Didn't look like the boats would last long!









Flowers on the bridge. 







Green riverbank. 







Bikes bikes and more bikes!









Up near the Cathedral now. 











More to come.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

The little waterways make Uppsala incredibly photogenic. 







We finally arrive at the Cathedral grounds. 







And the side of the Cathedral. 







Walking through to the front. 







The Cathedral is the largest in Sweden, and is incredibly impressive. As I said earlier, it is the centre for the Church of Sweden and is where the Archbishop is seated. 







As there was a Wedding at the Cathedral, we had to move along and come back at the end of the day. 













There is a little chapel next to the Cathedral. 















More to come.


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## Adde (May 8, 2011)

The chapel is actually Helga Trefaldighetskyrkan, the Church of the Holy Trinity. It's one of originally three medieval parish churches in the town that served the daily needs of the people of Uppsala. The cathedral was for large state and church functions (coronations, royal weddings and funerals, religious festivals and the like) while ordinary services, weddings and funerals were conducted in the parish churches. 

About city maintenance, Uppsala is great at some things but pretty bad at others. The entire time I lived there, the city was pretty abysmal at clearing snow, which is a problem when 30,000 students use their bikes all year round to get around town...


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

Thanks for the information about the chapel, I wondered what it was. It is an incredibly pretty little thing that seemed to be overshadowed a bit by the cathedral, so others seemed to simply pass it by, which was a shame. 

With regards to city maintenance, I went to a conference in Uppsala during winter and I'd agree with you to a point, though to be honest, different parts of Stockholm manage better than others. Solna I'd say is even worse than Uppsala at clearing snow, whereas Sundbyberg (for example) is awesome in general (as is Botkyrka in fact). Stockholm city itself is middling.


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## Shifty2k5 (Jun 17, 2010)

Uppsala is a really nice city with a beautiful city centre combined with a real cultural and historic feeling to it that many other swedish cities sadly lack. However, Uppsala has a couple of very worn down and poor neighbourhoods as well - I especially remember two places, Gränby and Kvarngärdet, with probably the most worn down and most unkempt residential buildings I've ever seen in Sweden. But most tourists dont go there luckily


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

Shifty2k5 said:


> Uppsala is a really nice city with a beautiful city centre combined with a real cultural and historic feeling to it that many other swedish cities sadly lack. However, Uppsala has a couple of very worn down and poor neighbourhoods as well - I especially remember two places, Gränby and Kvarngärdet, with probably the most worn down and most unkempt residential buildings I've ever seen in Sweden. But most tourists dont go there luckily


A friend of mine who moved out from New Zealand and has now completed his PhD, settled down, married and had a child started off his life in Uppsala living down in Gränby. He moved out of there though and now lives somewhere nice. He's quite settled and happy in Uppsala.


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## MarkusErikssen (Oct 4, 2005)

Nice pictures, they really show how beautiful and lively the city is! Gränby is not the best part for sure, but it seems like they are renovating many buildings over there and make it nicer. I often bike there on my way to the mall or supermarket. Gottsunda seems to be the worst part, quite far away from central Uppsala.


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