(Post provided by Chloe Hnilica, Image by Maddie Green)
Hej! Today, the group left Stockholm and traveled to Uppsala! After eating one last delicious breakfast from the Clarion Amaranten Hotel in Stockholm, we then travelled to the Kungshamn-Morga nature preserve. With boxed lunches and backpacks on, we ventured into the forest.
Immediately, I was stunned by the beautiful landscape full of large trees and stunning water views. Wandering through the forests of Sweden brought me back to Houghton, as the ecology and wildlife is very similar. As we travelled through the nature preserve, we were able to practice our “forest forensics” to identify different aspects of the forest and what happened to make them that way. We also practice our field sketching skills along the way.
My favorite part of the day had to be the surprise we got on the way into the forest. About a half mile in, we started noticing some lovely “cow pies”, as one would say. Mentioned beforehand, Tara said there might be some cows on the property because they are let free to roam throughout the day, but I really had no idea what to expect. We continued on until we turned a corner to see about 20 cows just relaxing on the beach!! Bathing in the sun, the cows were purely unbothered by the pack of us that wandered past. It was one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen.
We ended the night by traveling the rest of the way to Uppsala and starting our stay at the Scandic Uplandia hotel!