Day 1: Stockholm to Uppsala

Click on the panorama and drag to look around, press Shift to zoom in, Command (Mac) or Control (PC) to zoom out. Click here to enlarge this panorama or see an ultra high-resolution version.

Here's the plan: To spend the next 17 days road-tripping an ethanol-fueled Volvo from Stockholm to the Arctic fringe of Europe, then South to within sight of Denmark, up along the islands of the Baltic and back to Stockholm — all in the single-minded pursuit of one good 360-degree panorama photograph per day, properly mapped and blogged via on-the-road postings for context.

Why me? I'm no stranger to Stockholm; I moved there in 2002 and now speak quite passable Swedish. But all these years I have shown a criminal neglect of the Swedish hinterland, flying off to flashier places like New York and London for business and pleasure. No more. It's time to get to know the real Sweden, of wide open vistas and island tufts and close-knit communities.

I'm also playing guinea pig: I've long been a blogger, then a blogger about Google Earth and about Sweden's virtual embassy in Second Life (a project I've been managing for the Swedish Institute, which produces this site, Sweden.se). But I'm also an enthusiastic photographer and a sucker for new technologies. I wanted to put all these interests to work on a single project — and you're looking at it.

But enough about me. What about the panorama above? I eased into the start of my trip today — I had some errands to run in Stockholm this morning as the city prepared for the "Go08 Festival" under very rainy skies. This is the first-ever Go08 and it is being held on 08/08/2008 not because Stockholmers believe the number 8 is lucky — that wouldn't be very secular now would it? It's because 08 is the city's area code.

This meant plenty of visitors to Stockholm today, despite the overcast skies, with one main attraction being the Royal Castle, "Slottet", where guards do double duty as snapshot props. This pano, then, is the archetypal tourist shot, just to get it out of the way. Zoom in and you'll get an glimpse of the city's watery skyline. The Swedish Institute HQ is also visible — just look for the blue-and-white "SI" flag atop the building — making it yet another way in which this pano is a suitable first shot for this series.

Having taken my photos for the day, I began my drive North. The target was Gävle, a couple of hours up along the coast, with some sightseeing along the way in Uppsala, whose university is one of Sweden's strongest academic brands.

In Uppsala, I ambled along the river and the historic center, and I was all set to continue my trip when I saw a sign for Linnaeus's Garden. As Sweden's virtual embassy in Second Life contains an exhibition on Linnaeus, including a garden inspired by this one in Uppsala, I just had to make the pilgrimage.

The place is a meticulously kempt urban oasis at the edge of the town center. The sky had cleared, so I managed to take a pano with some of the last traces of sunshine, but the perfectionist in me wanted another go, so I'll be going back there tomorrow morning, providing the weather cooperates. I'll see Gävle tomorrow, then.