Day # 2 in Uppsala

This cereal is similar to Total
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It feels as though we have been here for 2 weeks rather than 2 days!

7:30 this morning Jon & I were up and eating our breakfast of a Swedish version of Total Cereal.  The milk we have is a large scale version of the milk that kids get in school.  Except - there is no good way to close the box.  After breakfast, I walked Jon to work.

It was rather chilly out this morning, about 36 degrees, but the wind was relatively strong - so I decided to come home first and get dressed warmer before heading out on the errands for the day.  On my way toward downtown - I was stopped and asked where a street was.  I had to say that I only spoke English - but he didn't even understand that...  The first stop was at the grocery store to pick up "snack" foods since we have been exercising a lot more (not having a car makes a big difference) we have noticed that we get more hungry at times.  The grocery store is located in a shopping strip type of mall - except there are probably only 6 shops and all the entrances are from the main hallway.  Next to the grocery store, I stopped at a shoemaker shop to have a key made for our apartment so that we could have 2 keys instead of only one.  However, after he made the key he told me I couldn't use a credit card I had to pay in Kronos.  I didn't bring any with me - so I had to walk 20 min. back to the apartment to get the Kronos and then back to the mall!!!!  On my way back to the mall, I stopped at a Cyklar Shop to see how much the cheapest bike would be - 2995 SKE.  A little more than we were hoping to spend since we would only have it for 6 months and then have to try to sell it or give it away.  So, I returned to downtown to pick up the key.

The nutritional facts on the cereal...we think it's good for you.....
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While I was down there, I thought I should find out more information on how to ride the train.  We are considering going to Stockholm on Saturday since it is only a 30 min. train ride.  So, I walked into the train station and walked through glass doors into the office area.  I hit a button to get a number and stood there waiting with quite a few other people to have my number called so I could get help from the cashier.  The cashier was an older woman who spoke english fairly well - but she was only helpful in saying that we need to make sure we say we are students and that the trains leave approximately once every hour and we can buy tickets at that counter.

This is the coffee maker at Jon's work there are about 12 different ways you can have your coffee come out: black, black with sugar, decaf, decaf with sugar, black w/ sugar & milk, black w/ milk, decaf with milk, cappacino, cappacino w/ sugar, chocolate milk, hot chocolate, etc!
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After that, I walked south of the trainstation into the heart of downtown Uppsala.  The Fyrisan River runs through the middle of downtown.  It was so beautiful with all the buildings, cafes, and boutiques lined up down the street.  I can only image what it will look like in the summer.

Just past the Fyrisan, I stopped in at the Tourist Information center to pick up more brochures and maps.  There is a McDonald's a block north of the Tourist Information Center.  I did not go in to look at the menu - but I did notice that all the signs were in Swedish.  I stopped to take pictures of the scenery, a bank, and the train station.  Also, I took a picture of Katalin - the restaurant Jon and I ate at the first night we were in Uppsala.  Jon's peers at work told him they were impressed we have already been to Katalin that that is the best restaurant in town!

The coffee machine....
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After all that walking around, I assumed it was almost 4 and Jon would be home soon.  I was surprised that I got home around 2:30!  Our internet hasn't been working well - so I spent most of the afternoon pouring over information from the brochures I had picked up earlier as well as going through our travel books to see what places in Stockholm we should make sure we visit.

Shortly after that, Jon came home on the pink Mustang!!!  The guys that Jon works with have worked it out that he can borrow a G.E. bike (it has a flat tire but other than that it should work properly) for the duration of his stay here.  It will be so nice to be able to ride a bike rather than walking which we have found take 5 times as much time.

Jon wanted to show all the tea they have in the breakroom at work!
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For dinner we had a prepackaged dinner that we picked up from the grocery store yesterday.  Jon had fish/pork we aren't sure which it was and potatoes; while I had chili con carne.  Both of our dinners were very good.

After dinner, we decided to go on a walk to try to find the Ikea and Coops (the big one!) However, the stores weren't where we thought they were, so we walked too far east.  Eventually, we found it though but not before we found a store that was similar to Best Buy and another that looks identical to Home Depot but under a different name.  At Ikea we thought the store was smaller than the one in Chicago - but it was interesting to see the store with everything in Swedish.  We didn't make it to the Coops - we were tired and ready to come back home.  So, 2 hours later we made it back to the apartment from our exploration.

Downtown scenery by the Fyrsian River.
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We are really glad that it didn't snow today - most people have gardens in their yards and a lot of flowers are starting to sprout up!

We love you all and hope that you guys are doing well!

Love,

Jon & Katie