Uppsala with the grandchildren - Grandma Anna goes botanising

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Writer: Anna Nilsson Spets

New adventures await at the children's Aunt Emma's, Elsa packs EIGHT bags for a weekend in Uppsala. We settle into the guest room and start the weekend with Friday cosiness, tacos of course.

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Sävja 4H farm

Saturday starts with a trip to Sävja 4H-gård, the latest addition to Uppsala's three association farms. 4H, a more than 100-year-old children and youth organisation present in 80 countries.

4H stands for head, heart, hand and health. The vision is that children and young people will develop into committed and responsible people with respect for the world around them. A good vision, I think.

It is quiet and peaceful at Sävjagården, not many visitors in the morning. The horses chew hay, the stalls are clean and tidy.

The goats are willing to be scratched and they have plenty of room. A free-range hen with a whole bunch of week-old chicks pecks around in the soil. Life in the countryside, as it were.

4H has daily activities, riding camps and day camps, the website informs.

Botanical Garden in Uppsala

Botanical garden is a treat for the soul, I've been there countless times and each time I discover something new.

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We start with a gofika at Café Victoria, there is plenty to choose from and it tastes just like an authentic Swedish fika should.

The tropical greenhouse is buzzing with heat and humidity, many things are in bloom and it is a delight for the eye and exciting for the grandchildren to navigate the small paths, like in a jungle!

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We make our way through different climate zones, in the tropical part we look at the cocoa tree with its swollen fruits, spy on the goldfish swimming between the giant water lily with its fat buds.

Insect-eating plants are exciting.

In the temperate zone, we find begonias and rose hips.

Desert plants may seem dull, but when they unfurl their big flowers it's a spectacle.

The Welwitchia is a locked cabinet, a very strange plant that can live to be more than a thousand years old and is found in its natural habitat in the Namibian desert. Welwitchia only grows two leaves during its lifetime and it has great importance in folklore.

Around the tropical greenhouse, you can wander through the beautiful park, again with themes such as polar plants and kitchen plants. We look at beans and cabbage in all its forms.

The palm house was closed for the day, but I already know that many fine Mediterranean plants are there as well as another collection of cacti.

The day was over and so was my holiday in Sweden, now I just have to think of new adventures for the next visit to grandma.

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Anna Nilsson Spets

60+ year old lady with a lifelong love for Africa. Emigrated to Flanders in Belgium and works with plants on a daily basis. Writes, takes photos and tries to inspire others to budget travel on their own. Blogs on "Anna's mix" about travelling, work, plants, writing and much more.

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