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My Uppsala: ‘Experience a touch of Swedish Cambridge’

The Local took a trip to Uppsala to discover Sweden’s fourth-biggest city through the eyes of two of its international residents.

Published: 18 April 2019 06:12 CEST
Updated: 17 March 2021 11:44 CET

My Uppsala: ‘Experience a touch of Swedish Cambridge’

Photo: André Dutra in Augusta Janssons Karamelfabrik

André Dutra’s life has changed since moving from Brazil to Uppsala. He no longer works ten hour days or relies on a car to get around. Now he lives in a city that he can easily walk from one end to the other of with a pace of life that’s slower but far from dull.

“What I really like about Uppsala is that it’s a big city but it feels like a small college town. Even the very clichéd shopping street you have everywhere in Europe, here it’s quite cute!”

One of André’s favourite spots is just a few minute’s walk from Uppsala Central Station. Opposite the Linnaeus Museum, the former home of famed Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, is Café Linné, a traditional Swedish cafe on the corner of Svartbäcksgatan.

“It feels very nice inside, you have this feeling that you’re in your grandma’s house,” André tells The Local, recommending that visitors settle into one of the cafe’s cosy corners with a cup of coffee and a traditional Swedish pastry or cake.

Just a short stroll from Café Linné is the University Park and home to six ancient rune stones. For André, who comes from Brasilia, a city founded in 1960, they’re one of the city’s most special features.

Photo: Rune stone in University Park, Uppsala

“The ones in the park come from the 11th century. They are quite beautiful, they’re pieces of art. They’re so ancient; this duality, in a modern, environmental city like Uppsala is really interesting.”

For a panoramic view of the city, André suggests wandering up to the viewpoint at nearby Uppsala Castle.

“It’s not really about the castle,” he explains. “The view from the top of this hill is scenic and breathtaking. You see all different parts of the city. It’s just beautiful on a sunny day!”

He recommends refueling with a cup of Joe from Arrenius and Company, “a tiny place with really impressive coffee,” or indulging with a decadent treat from Augusta Janssons Karamelfabrik, a Willy Wonka-esque chocolate shop where you can’t help but feel like a kid in a candy store.

Start planning your getaway in Uppsala

Wrap up the day, he suggests, with a meal at Hambergs fisk – “The seafood is amazing!” – before a night on the town with a pitstop at Shotluckan — a vegetarian restaurant by day, shot bar by night — or end it on a high note with some live music at Katalin And All That Jazz.

‘I adore living in Uppsala’

Historian Arina Polyakova Franzén moved from Russia to Sweden in 2015. After a stint in Stockholm, she upped sticks for Uppsala and hasn’t looked back.

“I adore living in Uppsala. I find it a lot calmer and friendlier than Stockholm, where we lived for three years,” she told The Local.

The city’s rich past and strong academic profile holds an obvious allure for the history buff. Particularly Gamla Uppsala, a village just outside the city easily reached by bus, and home to one of Sweden’s most noteworthy museums, where visitors can experience one of Sweden’s oldest historic sites and take a virtual reality tour of Iron Age Uppsala.

“There’s a beautiful museum in the open air with replica houses like the ones people would have lived in the old days. If you go when it’s warm weather you can see the whole territory; in the winter, you just see the burial mounds. You don’t need a ticket, it’s free.”

That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of history and culture to be found in central Uppsala. With a packed events calendar including Uppsala Reggae Festival in July, barely a weekend goes by that there isn’t something on in the city.

River Fyris, which passes through Uppsala, plays host to a number of events throughout the spring and summer. The highlight of the season is a ‘wacky races’-style rafting event which takes place every year on 30th April, a celebration known in Sweden as ‘Valborg’.

“They do a lot of interesting events involving the river,” says Arina. “As soon as it starts to get warm, people start taking out canoes. It’s very fun to see, you can sit in front of the cathedral with a cup of coffee or warm chocolate.”

Visit Uppsala: Click here to plan your trip

Arina — who holds a PhD in British monarchy — is partial to a cup of tea at Landings, a traditional Swedish cafe in Uppsala’s city centre. It’s a bonus, she adds, that she’s able to take her dog into the cafe with her.

“It’s traditional and delicious! It’s very cosy to go in and chat with friends and have something sweet. I have a very cute little dog who I like to take along! It’s also one of the oldest bakeries in Uppsala, founded in 1887.”

She heartily encourages tourists to visit Uppsala, particularly those who want to experience Sweden outside of its slick capital.

“If people want to see the calmer Sweden, they definitely have to come to Uppsala and experience a touch of Swedish Cambridge.”

This article was produced by The Local Creative Studio and sponsored by Destination Uppsala.

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How to grow your own fruits and vegetables in Sweden

Know your growing zone

Sweden is split into eight different growing zones, known as växtzoner in Swedish, with one being the mildest zone in the far south of the country and eight being the harshest, in the far north.

The easiest way to figure out which zone you live in is to search your address on a digital growing zone chart like this one from the Swedish Garden Association.

There are two “bonus” zones too, which you’re unlikely to see on plant labels: zone zero, which refers to extra mild conditions in zone one, like a sheltered south-facing garden or the climate inside an unheated greenhouse, and the fjällzon or zone nine, which is found in mountain regions.

Lots of fruit trees can handle snow, for example, but not all of them will survive the winters in harsher, colder zones.

“Apple trees or fruit trees will survive snow,” British gardener and cider maker John Taylor, known for presenting Swedish gardening show Trädgårdstider (Garden Times), told The Local.

“You can grow all kinds of apples, pears, plums, cherries, we can grow edible quince in southern Sweden, so there’s a bunch of fruit trees which will survive, but it depends what rootstock they’re on – that’s called grundstam in Swedish,” he explained.

“There’s one rootstock called B9 that survives down to minus 40, because it’s from Russia, then there’s another called M106, and that probably doesn’t want to live in the depths of Norrland.”

Buy plants local to you

An easy way to make sure the plant you’re planning on buying is going to survive in your zone is by sourcing it from a local plant nursery or garden centre, as they won’t sell plants that can’t handle the local climate.

“There’s a nursery in the north of Sweden and Finland called Blomkvists, they sell lots of fruit varieties which will survive up there,” Taylor said. “You can grow pretty much anything you want up there, just as we can [in Skåne, southern Sweden], but it will be different varieties that taste different and will survive the frost.”

You won’t be able to grow Mediterranean fruits like lemons or oranges in Sweden unless you bring them inside during the winter, although you should be able to grow peaches or nectarines in most of the country.

“The further up in the country you go, the further north you are or the further away from the coast, the harsher the climate becomes, so you might need to have them on a south-facing wall or in a greenhouse,” Taylor said.

Think outside the box

Although the growing season in Sweden may be shorter than it is further south, there are still a number of crops from warmer climates that do surprisingly well.

“People don’t really grow cucumbers outside here, I don’t think they realise that you can actually grow them outside,” Taylor said. “Tomatoes, too. You don’t need a greenhouse, you just stick them in the ground, they’re basically a weed – you’ll get so many you won’t know what to do with them.”

Sweetcorn, for example, performs well in a Swedish climate, Taylor said, although Swedes more often grow it as a feed crop for pigs.

You can also test things by trying to build a microclimate so you can grow things that are one or even two growing zones away from yours. Usually this is done by providing shelter from the wind and the weather using fences, hedges or by planting near buildings, as well as providing protection during the winter.

And if you’re pushed for space, look into companion planting, where you can grow multiple plants which complement each other in the same space.

One example of this is the “three sisters”: corn, climbing beans (or peas), and squash. The corn provides a support for the beans or peas, which anchor the corn in high winds while fixing nitrogen in the soil, while the squash’s large leaves provide shade for the soil, preventing it from drying out.

Don’t be put off just because you don’t have any outside space

Thinking outside the box applies to balconies too.

“If you’re in a built-up area, you will get reflected light from other buildings, so even if you’re on an east-facing balcony, you should be able to grow a lot of stuff. North is a bit more tricky, but east and west are probably better than south as you’re not getting hammered by the sun all day,” Taylor said.

You should be able to grow things like tomatoes, cucumbers and flowers, but it’s important to get hold of good soil and replenish it each year, so your plants have enough nutrients.

“Anybody with a balcony can grow pretty much the same that you can in a garden, you just have to get the soil up there and you always have to fertilise, the soil becomes nutrient deficient after one season.”

“But if you’re prepared to get the soil up on your balcony you can grow anything, even fruit trees. They will be smaller and stunted, and won’t give as much fruit – I’ve done it myself – so don’t see it as an obstacle, see it as a possibility.”

Kale and tomatoes growing on a balcony. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Take inspiration from Swedish growers

Thinking outside the box doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore what all your Swedish neighbours are doing. If you’re not sure what to plant in your garden or what fruit and veg you should try to grow, take a look at what other people who live near you are growing.

You might also come across some crops you’ve never tried before which work well in a Swedish climate, like Alpine strawberries (smultron), honeyberries (blåbärstry), wild garlic (ramslök) or sea buckthorn (havtorn).

This doesn’t just apply to varieties, but also where you plant them in your garden. Some crops need full sun, some work best in shade, and others, like asparagus, can grow tall and cast a shadow over your garden.

“You want a south-facing location for all fruit, and berries – check out what your neighbours are doing,” Taylor said.

If you don’t want tall plants to cast a shadow over other crops, see if you can plant them at the northernmost edge of your garden, while making sure that sun and soil conditions are still optimal. Blueberries, for example, need acidic soil to thrive, meaning you will probably need to amend your soil if planting in the ground, or even plant them in containers.

Think about what you want to do with your harvest

This may seem obvious, but it’s important to plant what you like to eat, too. If you hate the aniseedy, licorice-y taste of fennel, why bother growing it?

You should also choose the variety of crop based on what you’re going to use it for. Do you want to make pickles with your cucumbers, or are you going to eat them on salads? Do you want cherry tomatoes for snacking on, or big beef tomatoes for making sauces?

“Think ‘what am I going to do with my harvest’,” Taylor said. “Am I going to juice it? Am I going to preserve it? Am I going to make cider with it, for example?”

Apples, for example, can range from sweet eating apples to tart cooking apples, so make sure you do your research before you commit to buying an apple tree. Most varieties exist in English-speaking countries, so you should be able to search the name of the variety online and find some information in a language you understand, if you don’t speak Swedish.

“Patience is a virtue,” he added. “A lot of fruit trees are going to take two or three years, or even more, to give a harvest. So you have to have patience.”

Learn to deal with the Swedish weather

Many areas of Sweden along the coast or in the south of the country can get windy, which you’ll have to learn to deal with.

“How to deal with the wind? You can’t,” Taylor said. “We cannot affect this, we are powerless.”

“What you have to do is plant them in areas where there’s less wind, usually behind large buildings.”

Some plants simply won’t survive the wind, so either you plant them close to buildings, protect them, or accept that you’re restricted in what you can grow.

Make sure to provide supports for crops which will grow tall, like sunflowers, peas, beans and sweetcorn, and tie these down well or bury them deep in the ground, so summer storms can’t blow them away.

Listen to the full interview with John Taylor in The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers. Out on Wednesday, May 8th.

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