Uppsala; Monday, 12 October, 2020

I had a bit of an earlier breakfast and then checked out of the hotel, leaving my luggage with reception, before heading out to the north of the city. Uppsala today is located around the river, but the original settlement – now called Gamla Uppsala – was located several kilometres further North.

For centuries Gamla Uppsala was an important settlement, and this is shown in the number of burial sites that dot the landscape, it’s thought there are several hundred individual burial sites over the landscape, but the ones that really standout are the large barrow mound burials that make Gamla Uppsala one of the most significant sites in Viking archaeology.

The mounds have attracted attention for centuries, with parliaments and rallies regularly using them as a natural (though they are man made) auditorium. Today the mounds are fenced off to stop damage to the grass that helps to hold them together, but it’s still possible to wander round the edge of the mounds to take in their sheer size – which considering each one was built to house just one significant person is impressive.

Located at the edge of the burial field is a small museum which charts a little of the history of the area, and the use of the mounds, as well as showing artefacts that have been discovered on the numerous archaeological digs that have taken place over time.

After looking round the museum it was time to head back into Uppsala to pick up my luggage and then catch the bus back over to Arlanda airport.

I had a very early flight the following day, so I’d booked an airport hotel which is where I headed to, before heading out into the terminal in hunt of some food.

Arlanda has four terminals (called Terminals 2, 3,4 and 5), but in the current Covid-19 environment only terminal 5 has any flights going from it, and consequently most things are closed – so it was a bit of a struggle to find somewhere to eat that wasn’t either overpriced or closed. In the end I visited a Pressbryån to grab some things to take back to my room to eat.

I took advantage of nothing happening in the airport to have an early night.