walk in the sun!

Today is Sunday.  Retail stores, cafes and restaurants seem to generally be closed today.  The local food super-store was open today and since I needed to gather more supplies for my belly, I decided to take a brisk walk to this superstore, Willys, across town.  This store was definitely a step up from the local corner mart I had been going to, with a wider selection and better quality foods.  For instance, I could have bought a foil 1 pound brick of margarine!  Or some tubed american spread?

Willys was also more affordable which always excites me.  I filled my backpack to the brim with foodstuffs and made the trip back to the hotel.  I stopped briefly (so as to not freeze the extremities) to appreciate some of the fine scenery Uppsala had to offer on this sunny Sunday afternoon.  In the picture below is THE cathedral of Uppsala.  I'm sure it serves many purposes.  For me it is a reference point when I'm wandering about the city:  the cathedral is up on the only hill in Uppsala and you can see it from pretty much everywhere.  It also makes me think of the Two Towers, a personal favorite.

In comparing my 90 minute walk to yesterday's 90 minute bike expedition, I would have to say that the walking keeps me warmer than the biking.  The caveat is that walking must be done in a brisk fashion - no moseying.  The weather has been trending towards getting colder and I wonder if the walking to stay warmer will hold?

Running Errands

Saturday - a good day to catch up on chores and such that need doing.  In San Diego getting my to-do list finished would be routinely easy.  1) Get tupperware from Ikea to put lunch in, 2) go to the outdoor store and get a Nalgene, 3) go to the drugstore for soap and a brush (forgot to bring one of those and it has been almost 5 days since i brushed my hair).  An easy list.  Now add the complexity of navigating a new city in the snow on a bicycle where every street has a strange name, and the mundane errand transformes in to a strange adventure.  Uppsala is a small city, so getting so lost to the point of no return is almost impossible, but it is easy to take the wrong turn at a roundabout and end up very far from the intended course.  This may have happend a few times or more on my first outing and in general it was nice to explore the city with no time constraints.  I soon realized after about 45 minutes on the bike that there was most definitely a time constraint:  the amount of time it took for my fingers and toes to become completely frozen.  I surpassed that time constraint on the way to my first stop.  This is the reason there are no new pictures in this post.  I was glad to arrive at Ikea and I spent perhaps more time there than necessary.  I did leave with toasty warm phalanges so my errand there served a double purpose. 

The next stops were done with more quickness and I arrived back at my temporary home (hotel) only partially frozen.  After some lunch and a coffee I will go check out the local gym which includes a bouldering gym.  Right now the gym offers a free week of use and I see no better time to try it out! 

Jake and Starla take a ride in the snow!

Jake the Snake and I had a ride to Ångström lab today... in the snow.  I put a studded tire on the front wheel and turned my touring bike into a tractor.  This thing plowed through snow like no one's business.    The only real challenge on the commute this morning was keeping my eyes opened despite bombardment by rather large snowflakes.  I'm excited for tomorrow's ride!

My first day a new city: Uppsala, Sweden.

After lots of anticipation and perhaps not enough planning, I have arrived in Uppsala, SE.  Getting here was easier than I imagined in the physical and mental sense.  I was mostly worried about how to manage the enormous amount of luggage (one suitcase that fit 82 lbs of clothing and two bike boxes weighing 60 and 95 lbs) all on my onesies.  As it turns out, all I needed to do was walk outside of the airport and there was a taxi porter who found me a taxi!  He loaded the car up for me and dropped me off 2 feet from my hotel door - awesome!  I may have paid $20 more than I would have with a pre-arranged airport shuttle, but honestly, in this instance the convenience was well worth the extra money.  

My first house for 8 days, a hotel room, is more like a studio apartment with a kitchenette.  I am certain the whole room is outfitted with Ikea furniture and appliances.  The room includes a coffee maker (a very important detail), but there are no filters (dang!), so this morning I made some cowboy coffee.  The coffee addict in me wishes that I had brought my camp french press.  I was filled to the gills by the time I got to the airport on Monday, but had I known my coffee situation this morning I would have plugged the press somewhere.  

Last night, after a four hour jet-lag nap, I walked to a small grocery store down the street from where I am staying.  I figured I should get the most out of my kitchenette and make my own food.  I bought basic supplies: bread, butter, yogurt, muesli, apples, pasta, arugula, tomatos, olive oil, cheese, eggs, nutella, coffee and creme fraiche.  The bill came out to 358 kronor ($53).  I saved myself $7 by not getting any peanut butter.  This is certainly more expensive than I am used to, however, not surprising.  Before coming here I learned that food has a 23% tax.  If there is a less expensive grocery store in town, I will find it!

It is 8:30 am and the sun has just risen.  I'm going to go have a walk through the city to check out my new workplace, the Ångström Lab.  It should be a very nice walk indeed.