Eriksleden

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Today is St. Erik's Day in Sweden. Erik, more specifically Erik IX, was a 12th century king of Sweden who was (probably) murdered at Uppsala, (possibly) at or near the location of the present Cathedral. His head was (putatively) cut off, and a spring (purportedly) popped up where it came to rest. Oh, and he led a crusade against the Finns. That's pretty much all that anyone knows (or at least, chooses to believe) about Erik, but nonetheless he's quite a popular Saint in these parts—despite the fact that he was never actually canonized.

Well, "real" saint or no, it's his day today, and on St. Erik's Day it's traditional to walk Eriksleden, a medieval pilgrim's path that goes from the church at Gamla Uppsala, where Erik was buried, to the cathedral in Uppsala, whence his relics were later translated. Today's weather being not only cold and windy but also quite wet, I think we can leave Erik's spirit to wander on it's own, but I did walk Eriksleden a couple of weeks ago back when it was being unseasonably warm and pleasant. At first the well marked path hugs the river bank, but then it takes off inland, going past the Tuna Allotments (more later, I promise) and through some apartment complexes before cutting over the E4, through several fields to finish at Gamla Uppsala.

Anyway, if you're curious, you can check out the gallery for an overview of the walk.

Oh, and happy belated Norwegian National Day!

The end of the "Lille Lennart Lottery"

JenniferThe "Lille Lennart Lottery" ended last week, and I saw "Lennart" this afternoon, as she was brought round by her proud if somewhat tired looking parents. Her name is not "Lennart."

A couple weeks ago, as we headed into dates that people had bet on, Lennart (the name and the yet-to-be-born infant) once more became an item of fika gossip. It was mentioned that one baby was named Lennart in 2007, so maybe there would be two this year, then four next year, eight in 2010, as so forth. "In the future we will all be named Lennart!" said N., which produced another round of hysterical laughter.

Svenska för Invandrare

JoeOne of these days I'll learn that I just can't do things at my own pace in Sweden. I keep falling for the same trap: I wait until I'm ready to start something, at which point I try to sign up for it only to find out that I should have started weeks before. You would think that our experience getting personal numbers, finding an apartment, seeing a doctor, etc., would have been enough to teach me this simple lesson, but alas it is not so.

A (Nearly) Successful Journey to Stockholm

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JoeIt's been unseasonably warm and sunny all week, culminating in a weekend with temperatures around 25°C in the Stockholm area, so we decided it was a good weekend to get out and about a bit. What with getting settled in and adjusted, we haven't really been to Stockholm since we got here 4 months ago(!), despite it being just down the road. So yesterday we headed down to the train station and hopped an Intercity to Stockholm. Our destination: a football match at Kanalplan, the home of the Hammarby Women's Football program.

Help fight SPS!

JenniferMy friends, the fashionable young men of Sweden desperately need your help.

There is a terrible affliction striking Sweden. The effects are devastating, both to the victim and to the people who have to see him. And as the weather gets warmer, the plague gets worse. We noticed it first in Stockholm, in 2006. It was rare at the time, and so we hoped that it would burn itself out quickly. But our hopes were in vain. And now the plague has spread to Uppsala.

Revelations

JoeYesterday I learned two things, fascinating to me if to no one else, and tangentially related. The first is that after months of waiting, the acceptance letters for the next round of Masters programs at Uppsala University finally came out yesterday, and I'm happy to report that I've been admitted to the computer science program starting in the coming fall. The announcement was originally scheduled for a couple of weeks ago but there was some sort of delay ("caused by our national agency, not Uppsala University," according to the head of the department) which has prolonged my agony. Hmm, where to begin my story…

May Day 2008

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JenniferMy goal for today was simple: find a real May Day celebration with some real communists. Signs around town advertised a variety of rallies one could attend, and I picked the one in the poster on the right, partly because of the picturesque location (Engelska parken, right behind the University library). When we got to the meeting point (10 minutes late), it looked like this:

Forsränningen 2008

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JenniferThe weather for sista april this year was nearly ideal; warm, but not so sunny as to make it too hot. We got downtown at about 09.00, in plenty of time for the 10.00 start of Forsränningen. Plenty of time before the start, yes, but there really wasn't much time to spare. The banks of the river were already covered solidly with people, but we still managed to get a spot with a great view, in the middle of the St. Olofsgatan bridge. Around 10.00 a large rubber raft came down the river, hovered in the middle of the Fyrisån for a few minutes, then set off a large firework, and the race was on!

Bubbelgalopp 2008

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Joe The second of the University's major public events of the day was the Bubbelgalopp. At 3 PM, all the students gather around the front entrance of the Carolina Rediviva. Then the University Rektor comes out and waves his hat at them, and they all go running down Drottninggatan waving their student caps in the air, racing back to their Nations1. All of this is witnessed by the gathered crowd of tens of thousands of people packed all around the hill leading down past the castle and into town.

Valborgsmässafton 2008

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JoeValborgsmässafton is one the big three traditional celebrations in Sweden, the other two being Christmas and Mid-Summer. In most of Sweden, the occasion is marked with large public bonfires, and Uppsala is no exception—quite the contrary, actually, as the Uppsala area (or Upplands) seems to have been the origin point of Swedish Walpurgis Night bonfires.