iapetus

I will be spending June 24th through June 28th in Uppsala, Sweden, for a work conference. The meetings will be at Uppsala University's Ångström Laboratory, which is situated at Polacksbacken. We have three recommended hotels:

• Clarion Hotel Gillet
• Hotel Uppsala
• Park Inn by Radisson Uppsala

Which of these would people recommend? Are there any not on this list (I've already looked at the Hotel Villa Anna; it's way too expensive) that people might also recommend? I'd like a moderate to high-end hotel which isn't too far from nightlife.

Any suggestions for some nice day trips would also be greatly appreciated!

Fredrik74

There is also a Radisson Blu next to the Central station. I studied in Uppsala but that was some years ago and I'm not too updated on the hotel situation. I would suggest you become mentally prepared that you will pay too much for what you get though.

For daytrips you shouldn't forget Stockholm which is only 40 minutes away by train.

iapetus

It is now just ten days until my arrival in Sweden!

Yeah, it's Scandinavia. Fortunately, that part of the trip is on the company dime; so I won't be as bothered by this as I otherwise might.


I could still use some information about Uppsala if anyone has some that they wish to share. I have picked my hotel; that detail is set. But I am curious to know if anyone has any ideas for evening activities in Uppsala. I know that we are having a dinner at "City Castle" -- which I assume is a reference to Uppsala Slott? -- one evening.

I will also have a full day free. Any recommendations?

Now I could spend that free day in Stockholm, but I am concerned that one day is simply not enough for an exciting city like Stockholm. Is there something you could recommend for a traveler who only has one day? I like museums, but I lean towards historical and science ones and away from art museums. Learning about Swedish culture would be fun. And any nice pubs or the like would interest me, too. (Sounds like the Ice Bar will be more trouble than it's worth, given how little time I will have.)

Another thought I've had is to just spend my one free day in a smaller town not too far from Uppsala.


Final question: how early will I need to arrive at Arlanda for an 8:05am flight to Geneva, Switzerland, on a Saturday morning?

gnaget

I would arrive at 07:05. Maybe give yourself 10 more min if you are checking bags and not *G. If you are going by Swiss then check-in will be over in the old part of T5 near Norwegian and charter check-in and the security is adjacent. I have no idea if it is busy over there at that hour, but it's likely given the expansion of Norwegian. If you are flying business then you can use the SAS fast track but its pretty far away.

I would go to Stockholm.

For out of the box country stuff you could head toward the coast (80 km away) if the weather is nice. You could head to Öregrund and/or Forsmark. The latter is an 17th-18th century (iron) mill town (bruk in Swedish). It has a really nice manor house, gardens and there is a restaurant there. There is also the nuclear power plant in Forsmark out by the water; don't worry, you don't notice it in Forsmarks bruk. But you can visit the plant; it supplies something like 1/7th of Sweden's electricity. There also other mill towns in the area (northern Uppland); they were established by Walloons (from Belgium) in the 17th century. They include Österbybruk, Harg and Lövstabruk.

There is a regular (hourly?) bus to Öregrund. 811 if I recall correctly, but I would suggest a rental car. Not sure if you can connect up to Forsmark by bus, but it could be possible. Öregrund is nice but has become touristy in recent years during the peak holiday month when you would be going there.

iapetus

D'oh! I forgot some pretty key information, didn't I? I'll be flying SAS, business class on an award ticket. I'm only *S (better than *0 ). I don't know if that changes your answer about my arrival at Arlanda any.

And thanks for the other suggestions! I think it's likely that I'll wind up in Stockholm, but I really like having alternate options. What you suggested was very much along the lines of my thinking.

Fredrik74

If you fly SAS you can arrive even later. There isn't much to do at ARN anyway. The bad news for you is that SAS abolished intra-European business class last week. It's now called Plus and you won't even have a guaranteed free middle seat...

Gnaget's suggestion is a good one. If you have some spare time during the other days you could check out the area around the castle and the cathedral. Summer means Uppsala is dead though because most students will be away.

Julian

I was in Uppsala a couple of weeks ago and stayed at the Park Inn. It was functional - rooms are pretty small, but that's common with budget Scandinavian hotels. We did Uppsala in an afternoon - unless you want to simply hang out, the sights can be done in a day. Personally I thought Stockholm was more interesting - Gamla Stan obviously, rather than the somewhat brutalist newer part. The shopping is rather good, though $$$$.

gnaget

The check-in deadline for bags (or yourself manually at the counter) is 30 min, so arriving 40 min before is doable. I usually shoot for 60-70 min so that I have some time in the lounge and some buffer. You will have fast track security and not too far to the gate. The lounge will have bread and jam type breakfast with decent espresso based coffees. Better than on the plane, especially with the new Plus service. Essentially, there is no longer an intra-European business class on SAS, but they have retained the old price levels.

If you plan to go to Sthlm in the future then my "countryside" suggestion is different and off the beaten path for international tourists. I checked, there is a bus to Forsmark (835), but you have to connect. The regional bus service is here. www.ul.se It takes 1:40 total by bus. If you drove yourself then an hour.

tourist

If the weather is nice: Get rid of some of that conference food and get around as everyone else does in Uppsala, by bike. Rent a bike from http://www.skitotal.se/ (200 SEK for the first day, 100 SEK for each following day) and go north to Uppsala Högar or south to Mälaren, map: http://www.uppsala.se/pages/73750/cy...bbanpassad.pdf Unfortunately, the only place in and around Uppsala that isn't flat is the uphill bike road from the city center to Polacksbacken...

iapetus

Hmm ... I wonder what I'll get. I booked a First/Business award ticket via United. The reservation states that it's a business class seat. So I was looking forward to something more enjoyable than an economy class experience. I'll be annoyed if it's not much better than that. But I'm still getting a ~$400 seat for 20,000 miles; so it's a good deal either way.

I like that idea!

gnaget

Your "business class" experience will be a seat in the front of the plane (also probably in front of the only two good seats on a 737-600, the exit row windows with missing seat).

And then you can chose something from this menu: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/...67#/6dd75267/1
The people in the back of the bus have to pay.

Before, when it was business class they blocked the middle seats. If the load is not too high then they will probably leave empty seats in the "Plus" section.

The pitch on this aircraft is horrible maybe 30 inches. I suggest row 1.

Fredrik74

Please report here.