Gamla Linkoping

Gamla means old in Swedish and Gamla Linkoping is a preserved old Swedish Town. If you love to learn about the History then this is a great place to visit. We went there by bicycles but there is a bus service so you can get there very easily.In a relatively small area there are lots of things to see. You can start at the bank where you can see old notes , one of the first phones ever made etc. There you can get a map of the town for free as well which makes it easier to visit every place. There is an old police station , weaving shop etc near the entrance. There is also a large souvenir shop near the entrance which is one of the best places to by souvenirs as well. Then you can visit the Cloetta center to get an idea of how chocolate was made in the old days or you can visit the woodcraft shop to see some nice items made of food.In these days where glass dining tables are becoming the norm it was refreshing to see some great looking carved wooden tables.There are plenty more to see there , please visit my hub about Gamla Linkoping to view some pictures and to get more detailed information.

Linkoping Cathedral

Linkoping Cathedral is one of the must see place in Linkoping , It has a rich history associated with it and sheer size of the cathedral is awe inspiring. The current church is 800 years old but there were many others before it in the same place. You can read more about it in Wikipedia. As far as I can see Swedes are not that much into religion and unlike in Sri Lanka where we go to church only for mass Swedes use the church more as place where the community can gather.
At the entrance you can see the tree of life made out of silve , bronze and glass. There are leaflets nearby explaining the meaning of the different parts. You can see a picture of tree of life below this post. Then there are family crests of noble families hanged in the walls and all of them are very beautiful and has lot of meaning and history associated with them. Then there is crowns and seals used by noble families. Near the altar you can find the Maria window in the cathedral which is a beautiful artwork done by glass. Usually there are different kinds of exibitions held in the cathedral and you can see different sorts of artwork in church walls if you go on such a day. When it comes to places to see in Linkoping this is a must see one.

Linkoping Vandrarhem

Linkoping Vandrarhem is the place I am to stay while I'm on Linkoping. Vandrarhem stands for something similar to "Wanderers place" and because its in close proximity to a super market and the restaurants it sure is a very nice place to stay. On top of that you get breakfast while in Vandrarhem so you don't have to get up in the morning and prepare breakfast and all. Its also close to the main bus stop , Foreign Currency Exchange and the most of the bars in Linkoping so if you are foreigner looking for a place to stay this is a very good place.
The condition of the room I got was also great , it has its own Kitchen area if you are the cooking type and its spacious enough for two people. You get a fridge , Microwave , TV and most of the other basic stuff you need to spend a week or two. Room cleaning and laundry is also included so a great place to stay for a lazy guy. No wonder I like the place.

Getting down in Linkoping and having lunch

The train arrived at Linkoping right on time , one great thing about Sweden is buses and trains come on time , you just have to time your exit and you want be wasting any time on the road. We were met by Mona my manager and Beon who is the host for one of the other guys traveling with me. I guess we were not that hard to find because we three were the only ones covering our heads because of the cold. Its always a good feeling when you finally arrive at your destination especially after a tiring journey. We got onto Mona's car and went to her place to for lunch.

You very rarely see big houses in Sweden , there are no poor people but I suppose there are not many very rich people as well. Saving money and collecting wealth doesn't seem to be the priority here , its more like enjoy your life to the fullest without bothering anyone. Most people in Sweden are very friendly and they always greet each other , even ones who you meet for the first time. And they are very disciplined as well , you want find people running a red light in Sweden and they almost always stop for pedestrians which is a big difference from Sri Lanka.

We had burgers for lunch in Mona's place and it was a very good meal. It takes a while to get used to the all the things you have to do in the dining table but as most things in life you get used to it. After a nice lunch we dropped off the other two in IFS apartment and went to see the place I am supposed to stay , Linkoping vandrarhem

Coming to Linkoping by train

Got down at Arlanda air port in Stockholm , well that is my first footstep in Sweden , the temparature was around 6-8 degrees which was managable in a overcoat. Didn't take that while in the emmigration counters as well so we had around 2 hourse until we take the train to go to Linkoping , managed to exchange the travelers cheques and it didn't also took that much time. I guess you can call that the perfect landing but the problem was we planned for a imperfect landing. So spent some time in the Arlanda railway station taking photographs and stuff.
We came to the Stockholm station around 9.45 via the Arlanda Express and found the train to go to Linkoping. It was an 1.5 hour journey and the scenery was magnificent.One thing you realize is that Swedes love nature , almost everywhere you can see trees and the houses built in woods look very adorable. There are lakes everywhere and combined with different colored trees they make awesome viewing. We were riding first class so there were some refreshments along the way, I very much liked the biscuits they served there :)