Uppsala

	Jerry spent the school year 1975-76 in Uppsala, at the physical geography department. It was a neat trip back, after 25 years, to see how things have changed and how they have remained the same. Twenty-five years ago, the Uppsala Cathedral was undergoing renovation - this is (or was) the center of the Swedish national Lutheran church, but it no longer has official sanction or standing with the government.


When Jerry was studying at Uppsala, the U.S.A. was celebrating its 200th anniversary as a nation - that same year, the University of Uppsala was celebrating its 500th anniversary as a university. The picture above is a portion of the oldest part of the university, opposite the square from the front of the Uppsala Cathedral. The building with the green dome was the operating theater where medical students came to study - it now houses a museum. The modern university is mostly scattered around the city now - is has outgrown the old medieval buildings.

	The park around the old part of the university has many rune stones scattered about. This one has been painted to show the knot-work pattern with the runes highlighted in black. Rune stones were probably originally painted, but only the carving has survived.

	This rune stone has, in addition to the knot-work animals with inscribed runes, a classic triskelion knot.

	The main hall of the university, used for conferences, meetings, and classes, has plaques honoring some of the more well-known faculty. Everyone knows what an Angstrom is (1 billionth of a meter) but not everyone knows who (Anders Jonas Ångstrom) the unit of measurement was named after or what university he was associated with.

	Thank goodness for the sensibleness of Anders Celsius! Water freezes at 0^o C and boils at 100^o C - what the heck do 32^o F and 212^o F have to do with anything?


"Fyrisån" - the river Fyris - runs through Uppsala. It is very picturesque and a popular subject for painting by local artists. Early in Uppsala's history, 900's -1000's, the river was navigable by Viking boats from Lake Mälaren, which connects to the Baltic at Stockholm. Docking sites and the remains of boats have been found in Uppsala, but the land has continuously risen since the end of the ice age, and the river is too small to navigate today.


One of Jerry's favorite memories from his days at Uppsala was having coffee and pastry at Ofvandahls. A lot can change in 25 years, but fortunately Ofvandahls was still there and still just as good. Another favorite place, Cafe Ubo, is now an Indian restaurant. Jerry used to sit there and have coffee, and bread and cheese for breakfast, read the newspaper, and, on occasion, read the latest edition of Kalle Anka - Donald Duck in Swedish.