Killing time with Amy...

This week I only had one lecture, so I had a lot of spare time on my hands and not much to do. On Thursday me and my friend Amy decided to check out what free things there were to see in Lund. 

We had wanted to visit the Historical Museum but it is closed until March (helpfully they neglect to mention this on their website!) So we had a quick Google and ended up at the Livet Museum (Life Museum). It is only a small little place which opened in 2012 and its has small exhibits on medical technology, the human body and scientific advances. It is not the kind of place I would usually think to visit, and everything was in Swedish with no English translations so I didn't really understand most of it, but it was still an interesting visit and kept us out of the cold for a bit if nothing else.

Again, I only had my iPhone with me so sorry for the picture quality. 

No idea what this is or how it is medically relevant but hey ho.

I love all the old chemical jars, they remind me of my grandparents house (my Grancher is a chemist and so they have old chemical jars on their shelves).

After a quick look around the life museum we headed towards All Saints Church, an imposing red brick Catholic church near the main University Library. 

Being a Catholic church it is very ornate inside, a total contrast to the simple stone interior of the Cathedral. 

I particularly like the old patterned floor tiles.

So yeah, that was our day really. We didn't do anything very exciting but it was nice to see some quirky little parts of Lund that you wouldn't really come across. Everyone I have met so far on exchange has been so lovely and it is really nice to be around people who are interested in going out and DOING things and exploring, even if that means spending the day looking at an exhibition of prosthetic limbs!

Exploring in the snow.

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, my courses started this week and the work has been a bit intense so the blog took a back seat.

My SLR decided to play up today and didn't want to take photos, so there is a bit of a mix in quality where I had to use my iPhone, hopefully it isn't too noticeable. Our first stop was the Cathedral, a Gothic looking building which really dominates the centre of the city.

One of the main sights inside the Cathedral is the Astronomical Clock which was originally constructed in 1380. It was in storage from 1837 until it was restored and put back in 1923. 

On top of the clock are two knights that mark the hours, the upper board is Astronomical and shows the different phases of the Moon and where the Sun sets. The lower board is a calendar which calculates where religious holidays will fall. In the middle is Saint Lawrence, the Patron Saint of the Cathedral. The present clock goes from 1923-2123, after this date another board must be made so that the clock can be used. 

The Cathedral is really warm and peaceful inside, you can look around freely and there are lots of places to sit, light a candle and reflect. The alter has an intricate mosaic ceiling and is surrounded by delicately carved choir stalls.

We were feeling brave so we also took a peek at the Crypt downstairs. It was so interesting to look at the ancient graves which had worn smooth after many years, there were also funny carvings on the pillars (one looked suspiciously like a man eating a baby??) 

Afterwards we popped off to the botanical gardens to wander around the tropical glasshouses and imagine we were somewhere exotic. I have already done a post on the garden so I won't bore you, here are a few pictures of things which caught my attention. 

This post is already very long so I will end it here, but keep checking for another post very soon (spoiler - it involves a lot of food!!)

A break from the rain...

Today was the first day it hasn't rained since I got here on Thursday so I decided to make the most of it and try and take some photos. After getting lost and having a small breakdown I eventually got to the city centre just as the clouds rolled in, typical. 

Anyway, I got a few snaps, mostly of the beautiful buildings and little streets all around the city centre. Once I have got my exams out of the way this week (EU, I'm looking at you) I am hoping to get to the Lund Botanical Gardens and some of the cafes for a 'fika' so look out for posts about that! 

Lund is full of these pretty cobbled side streets with brightly coloured houses, you just have to make sure you don't get mown down by a rogue cyclist when you're trying to snap a picture! 

The Cathedral is also pretty spectacular, I managed to have a look inside on Friday but it was closed when I went today, so that will be a blog post for another time.

The main university building is this impressive white one, it looks out over the castle like AF building and a giant fountain. 

AF Building 

The Politics and Social Science buildings are all in an area called 'The Paradise', I can imagine it looks amazing in the spring once all the trees are in leaf but at the moment I think it has the air of an insane asylum about it?! But then that's just me… 

One thing I have noticed in Sweden is that the Swedes love their candle bridges, I see them in almost every window. The city still had a lot of its Christmas lights up and people still have wreathes on their doors, I love as it as I am still in denial about the fact that Christmas is over. 

It was freeeeeeezing outside so I was sporting a particularly fashionable outfit. Excuse the giant bags under my eyes, sleep has not been a priority these last few days. 

Anyway, that's it for now, I didn't take a lot of photos because I had to come back and get on with my EU revision but by Thursday my exams will be finished and hopefully I will be able to get on with some more interesting posts!