Gammelstad

Yesterday we visited the original settlement of Lulea, which is now called Gammelstad. The township of Lulea was relocated in the 17th century as the land had risen so much that the town which was originally on the harbour was now several kilometres from the coast. The current church was built on the site in the fifteenth century, acting both as a church and a fort.

The Gammelstad Church.

This artwork behind the altar (the original altar?) cost the same as in the main cathedral in Stockholm, but unlike in Stockholm where it was paid in instalments, the farmers in Lulea paid cash.

Around the church, Gammelstad is a church town which meant that all the families in the parish had a cottage they could stay in when they were attending church. As this was the church for most of the north of Sweden, it could be a number of days travel to attend church, hence the cottages to stay in. Gammelstad has been preserved as one of the only remaining church towns in the world, and still remains as it was today.

The cottages with the church at the top of the hill.

Swedes love christmas lights.

Typical cottages.

The snow was quite deep.

Blizzard

So if you haven't heard, apparently there is a blizzard across the whole of Europe. We can't speak for the rest of Europe, but certainly in Lulea it has been an extreme day. We stupidly decided to ride to class this morning. A foot of fresh powder snow greeted us and take it from us, you haven't lived until you have ridden your bike through snow where your feet are going under the snow as you pedal. That said, people who were walking got home before we did.

Here is a video we took from Peter's room to show you the storm:

Australia day BBQ

It wouldn't be Australia day without a BBQ and the hottest 100. So we got the best sausages we could find (German Bratwurst), a BBQ from one of the other dorms, Cassie baked a pav, and downloaded the hottest 100 for a party.

Pick the Australians (Hint: its us, Cam wearing the Mossimo top and Brenton who is wearing the bluey)

Australia represents in Lulea! (Minus Brenton)

BBQing in minus 10 degrees (Peter- what a man only wearing a t-shirt)

The Pav!

Phoenix

Introducing Phoenix.

She didn't work at the beginning, needing a new tyre (which we had to buy twice), repairing the tube (which we punctured replacing the tyre) and some tweaking of the gears. But now with a bit of Peter love she has RISEN.

In town and meeting the Mayor

So this is Lulea (Pronounced Luleo):

It has shopping all conveniently located in about one block and and some old world charm. But more importantly it has:

An ice slide!


A lovely cathedral in the middle of town

And a mayor who thinks he is a celebrity. He told everyone they were welcome to get photos with him, and that the Americans should give his regards to Obama.

The Lake

So as I mentioned in the last post, there is a lake about half way to uni. We had a spare afternoon last week so we got on our bikes and checked it out.

We were assured that the lake was frozen but I'm not sure how frozen.

And its definitely not frozen at the bridge.

Going to University

So the sun came out the other day, for the first and only time since we have been here, and so we took the opportunity to take some photos of the university and the walk from our dorms to the uni.

The walk to Uni-

So this is what the path looks like on the way to uni (when its sunny anyway). Its a couple of kilometers and takes about half an hour to walk or 10 minutes to ride and it is mostly through woods.

This is the FML shed which is the way of knowing that you are almost home, and can get out of the cold soon.

And this is the lake which is about half way between home and uni. Its amazing how the wind whips off it and can almost knock you over.

Uni-

So LTU is probably exactly physically opposite to Monash. It is all contained in 6 buildings which are well planned, and mean that the different faculties are in different areas. They also always seem to be updating and renovating which keeps the place looking nice.

This is the main walk between all the buildings.

This is what it looks like when the sun is out.

Internet

A bit of a nerdy post but I think it is worth mentioning. We get free (and unmetered) internet in our rooms which is 10 mbit down and up which is really nice. Not that we would ever use the internet to procure copyrighted material but...

We saw 3 megabytes a second down at one stage.

The Mustang!

I've always wanted an iconic sports car. And I thought Sweden would be the perfect place to get one. So i got myself a Mustang!

So its not actually a car, but a bike. But either way i think its cool. A bike with thin road tyres might not be the best idea when you are riding on snow, but it is fast and that's the most important thing. Now I can get to uni in about 5 minutes instead of having to walk for half an hour which makes all the difference in the cold.

Lulea and Room tour

So we have been in Lulea for just under a day now, and in that time we have signed our contracts and got our rooms. We are all staying in the same area, with Cassie in one building, and Peter and I in the next one but on different levels. We have also done lots of shopping making sure to focus on all the important things (a stereo and awesome leather boots), but we still have some less important things to buy (food). Luckily we are right next to a supermarket.

Some of our shopping.

Awesome boots.

Our rooms are all similar. Cassie's is a bit bigger, but they all have book cases, a desk and a bed. There is a shared kitchen and living area that is a bit creepy, as noone seems to use mine, but the people Peter is living with are really nice.

So here is the room tour:

My room with lovely pink curtains.

The creepy hallway to my room which has a flickering light.

Sunset from my room today (at about 3pm).

Stockholm

We had a night and a morning in Stockholm, most of which was spent sleeping and eating. We did however have a chance to tour the old section of the town which is full of beautiful narrow winding roads.

We also saw the changing of the guards at the royal palace, with their big guns and knives mounted. Peter wanted to "Ghost" them Hamish and Andy style until he saw the knives :P.

The easiest and quickest way to get to the airport is on a fast train from the central station. We were told by the receptionist at the hotel that it was only 5 minutes walk away so we left with plenty of time, but were taking it fairly easy. It turned out to be more like a 20 minute walk and then we had to cue for tickets. In the end we were left with tickets for a train that was leaving the other end of the station in 4 minutes, and 30 kg of luggage each. We made it with seconds to spare, proving that we will one day make an awesome amazing race team, and also that no matter how sore your legs are, you can always run for a train.

Flights

Before-

After-

48 hours of travelling.

One word- Pain!

I don't think I've ever been so mentally and physically tired as when we finally arrived in Stockholm. Time didn't mean anything any more and my legs were so stiff I was struggling to walk. So I guess it should be said that people did warn me that playing a new sport for an afternoon before setting off on a long plane flight was a bad idea, but I did it anyway it was totally worth it.

The trip itself was a lot of fun. I had the best brainage score (Age 48; how sad) so I feel I was the winner. Peter and I also decided that being a plane, normal social norms no longer mattered so we wore pyjamas for most of the trip and Peter sported a customised sleeping mask. Regardless of fashion, we made it to Stockholm.