Uppsala, Sweden
Wednesday
Hej! (that's hi in Swedish). I was way too tired last night to write my blog. After I wrote my blog on the last night in Paris--two nights ago--I had everything repacked in my bags, with things laid out for a shower the next morning and the necessary bags to put everything in after a shower including the clothes that I was wearing. The room I was staying in had 6 beds, or three sets of bunk beds. Two of them faced each other in little alcoves in the wall and the third was over on the other side of the room in an alcove of its own, facing the window. I had the bottom bunk of the last one. Before this, the other women had all been assigned to the other bunks. Well, that night, two women came in with their bags, and I asked if either of them was in bed 1, the one above mine. Bummer, but yeah, one of them was. So I couldn't keep all of my things laid out on the floor under the window because that infringed on their area as well. So I shoved everything under the bed so that she could have some floor space as well.
Now my flight wasn't until 12:40, but I did a timeline, allowing three hours early at the airport (they recommend at least two but one was my cushion in case of a problem). I had checked my transit to the airport with the front desk the night before to ensure it would work (Metro 6 to RER B) and he said that it was the best route. So I allowed an hour for that. Then time for a shower, to pack the odds and ends, to walk to the metro station, and to grab a quick breakfast, meant I should wake up at 6:30. Before going to bed, I apologized in advance to the woman that was going to be sleeping above me for coughing a lot. She said that it wasn't a problem, she wears ear plugs. OK. Well, I was still worried, so I didn't sleep soundly. Woke up groggy at 6:30. In case you don't know, one of the effects of ADHD can be an incredible difficulty (almost an impossibility) getting yourself moving--including getting out of bed--in the morning unless you are very late or want to get up. I finally got up, took a shower, and finished repacking everything. I found yesterday's pair of capri pants in my bed (I had to change into my nightshirt in my bed space the night before because the other two women were using the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed. I had used the public toilet out in the hallway first. Well, there was no time to unpack to fit those pants in my bags, so I stuffed them in the sleeve of the jacket I had bought a few days before. (no judgements!). The jacket was hanging on my carry on bag. Had just a croissant and orange juice for breakfast and I was out the door, having checked out when I came downstairs and having brought my luggage with me. The metro station is less than a block away so it wasn't a problem getting there and the train came only a few minutes after I arrived. It was crowded, being morning, so I had to check a few cars before there was one with room for me and my bags. Then the RER arrived at the next station shortly after I did and I was at the airport in under 45 minutes! With over three hours to spare! Well, it took a bit to figure out exactly which Terminal 2 I needed to be at (there are at least 5). In security I only had to take out my laptop and liquids bag (shoes stayed on). I obsessively emptied my pockets and breezed through. Went to Terminal 2E, gate 35. I was able to charge my laptop by propping up the charger (heavy laptop charger on a 2 prong adapter) while I was waiting. My passport wasn't checked until I went to board. Then I boarded, had been given a window seat, and there was another person in the aisle seat but no one in the middle so I could stretch my legs out a little more. 2-1/2 hours and we arrived in Sweden. After a few texts I met up with Gunnar, the person hosting me.
We drove to his apartment and he and his wife reaquainted me with the apartment and got me settled. Margareta had been preparing a dinner. First we had brie and thin crackers. The main dish had a thin red sauce with spinach, peppers and I think tofu served with rice. It was not spicy (we are in Sweden after all) and it was delicious! Then a thin flat chocolate cake that tasted like brownies with real cream. It was all very good. Then we talked and talked and then watched a Swedish master chef show that they follow--except that it was all in Swedish. Then we talked more before bed. They have an addition to the family--a puppy--a big puppy that is obsessed with smelling my crotch and jumping up on me. He was very excited all night--so many new smells and a new person to get attention from. I am still coughing quite a bit, so Margareta gave me some prescription cough syrup she has.
Thursday
Today we officially started. Up early and a shower. Then breakfast. I just had some slices of break (more like a french bread), toasted and with butter, cheese, and meat. And tea. They have something similar to oatmeal or muesli and sort-of sandwiches as well as coffee and tea. Then we went to the school where we were meeting--a new school. It has three buildings broken down by grades--young students (they start school at age 7), middle students, and the oldest students. We met in the lunchroom of one of the schools for fika. Fika is very important to the Swedish people. In the schools, classes stop, teachers and staff go to the lounge and have coffee/tea and usually a pastry. Children are given milk and crackers or cookies and often get to go outside for a short bit. In the lounge, no one talked about students or lessons, it was all about their personal lives and things going on in the world. It is a time to stop working and reconnect as people. Then it happens again in the afternoon. What a great concept. Granted, some people have to watch the students, but I think you could get parent or community volunteers to do that. Everyone has fika, not just the schools.
For our fika we had cinnamon rolls and coffee-tea and the jubilee teachers reconnected with people that we had met before. The jubilee teachers were there (that's me) as well as the annual delegation of teachers. And all of the hosts and leaders of the program. One of the teachers from the delegation my year worked with a teacher in Sweden to create a mural with the students. When it was ready to be painted she sent the Sweden half of the mural as well as buckets of paint home with the Swedish teachers from that year. Both groups worked on it and we saw the final product. She will be bringing the mural home to Minneapolis to display possibly eventually living at City Hall. A smaller copy will be sent to Sweden for them to display. The Uppsala mayor spoke and was excited to possibly hang it in their city hall.
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| The organizers of the jubilee and former delegation leaders. |
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| Past and present leaders. |
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| The mural |
Then, after speeches and photos, we went to a local folk museum and saw the Gamla Uppsala church. The museum is at the site of the original city of Uppsala ( a short distance away from the current city). Gamla means old, it is the Old Uppsala. We were broken into two groups. Our group first went into the church to hear about the history of the church in the evolution of the city. Then the groups switched and walked around outside (it was VERY COLD outside with icy winds). We learned about the original inhabitants (BCE). And about their worship of the Swedish gods and the sacrifices they performed. We looked at the burial mounds and heard about some people buried in their boats with all of the earthly goods that they would need for the next life. Uppsala was the center of Sweden, people from all over the world came to visit it. It was all fascinating.
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| All Swedish churches have an area at the back of the church for the children during the service. This one at Gamla Uppsala has clerical staff vestments for dress up, a child size communion service, a basin for baptisms, and even a tiny coffin that stuffed animals can go in. It is all adorable. They talk about how much they love cats because it is a cathedral. |
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| ceilings |
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| Originally the walls were painted with bible scenes and decorations, but during the reformation they whitewashed over all the paintings. They have been able to recover some, though some became damaged by the covering over and from sunlight. |
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| The organ in the back of the church. |
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| The organ--we were able to take turns playing it. One duo played heart and soul. |
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| the nave |
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| The ceiling |
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| Some of the burial mounds. The three major ones are named after the three primary Swedish gods. They keep finding boat burials all over. Only a tiny part of the area has been excavated. |
After that, we had lunch at the folk museum, paid for by some organization. It was Swedish meatballs (with gravy) with mashed potatoes garnished with lingonberries and pickled cucumbers. I didn't eat the cucumbers because I don't like them, but the rest was delicious. Mashed potatoes with lingonberries was very yummy and the meatballs were great. We found out later that the meatballs were made with a mixture of reindeer and moose meat.
After that we drove a teacher home and went back to the apartment. We stopped on the way for me to buy cough drops. I went in to take a nap and fell asleep right away and didn't move--I woke up on my back with my phone still sitting on my chest. I was feeling a bit dizzy before that. I think is was probably the caffeine in the three cups of tea today (breakfast, fika, and lunch) combined with my ADHD medication (a stimulant). I looked it up and that was the likely cause. I'll have to try and drink herbal tea tomorrow at least one of those times. I woke up from my nap feeling much better and not coughing nearly as much. I worked a bit writing this and then we went to dinner. We were meeting many of the other jubilee members (I think we ended up with 17) at a local restaurant in an old house turned school. This one was on us. We could order the three courses or just the entree. I just ordered the entree. There were three choices, I chose the fish (cod). It was the fish, potatoes cooked into what looked like a hockey puck, and asparagus. All very good. It was fun talking and laughing with the other teachers. There were several special ed teachers as well. Then we dropped off a different teaher/host pair and came back near 10:00.
Tomorrow we are due to start with school tour at 8:00.
