Uppsala Castle was one of the major attractions. It was built by King Gustav Vasa in 1549, originally, but was destroyed by a fire that engulfed the city in the early 1700's. Much of the rubble was used to construct Stockholm Palace, and the castle was reconstructed in the French Renaissance style (I believe). There is an entire wing of the castle that was never constructed. The castle is home to a multitude of museums, but we were short on time and couldn't actually go in (bummer). Behind the castle was one of the most impressive botannical gardens I have ever seen.
Most impressive was Uppsala Cathedral, originally built in the late 13th century. Like the castle, it was reconstructed in the Renaissance style because of the fire in 1702. It is currently the largest church in Scandinavia and, while originally Roman Catholic, now belongs to the Lutheran Church. I guess it isn't too surprising that, on the inside, the church was strikingly resemblant of the Cathedral here in Linköping, though the outside was constructed of brick (most others are stone).
Like many of the churches here, there were many famous burials in the church. The most notable is probably King Gustav Vasa, who led the movement to liberate Sweden from Danish (Kalmar Union) control in the early 16th century. He is also famous for his reign during the Reformation, which brought Protestantism to Sweden, and constructing a ship that sank after 10 minutes of service and is now on display in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. 
After Uppsala, we went to Martin's home in Hedemora, a town of 6,000 people northwest of Uppsala. I was very excited to have my first glimpse at a typical Swedish home and typical Swedish family life. Small-town Sweden was entirely surprising to me; the rural towns seemed better-developed than many similar towns in the United States. Others have described rural areas of Europe to me as backwards, some even lacking internet and clean drinking water, but that's hardly what I saw (though Scandinavia has proven itself time and time again very different from the rest of the continent). Hedemora had a fairly extensive bus system, the entire town was serviced by city water, and I hardly felt like I was in a sparsely-populated, backwoods area. Even the small towns in Sweden are fairly concentrated, like the cities. For comparison, many rural towns in New England lack city water, public transportation is non-existent, and it's hard not to feel entirely alone at times. While in Dalarna, I was able to witness first-hand the rich music culture of Sweden. Martin's brother is a talented singer, and I attended a performance with his family at the music-based community college in Dalarna that his brother attends. The performance gave me my first true taste of typical Swedish music. The show featured covers of songs by famous Swedish artists, including Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Coldplay, the Rolling Stones... OK, it was all American music. There were even some country and bluegrass numbers thrown in, genres that I had always thought were strictly American. The influence of American pop culture in Sweden is truly remarkable. Some of my friends back home have wondered why I haven't picked up on any Swedish artists, movies, etc... that's because they listen to the same music and watch many of the same TV shows and movies that we do in the United States. As more than one Swede has put it, "we're like a 'Little America.' " I thought I was nuts at first, when I thought that Sweden had so many similarities to the US, but Swedes that have visited the US have confirmed the cultural mixing between the two countries.
To reflect a bit, while the cultural mixing occurs, the lifestyle differences between Sweden and the US were well-highlighted in the small towns. In the US, while rural towns are marked by (sometimes) large, spaced-out homes on multi-acre properties, Swedish towns somewhat resembled miniature cities with, albeit small, "downtown" shopping areas, clumped, mid-size houses in residential areas, and frequent bus stops. While most Swedes drive to work, even with the public transportation, few people work more than a half hour from home. Martin's father's house is actually heated in the winter using geothermal energy, and a little bit of electricity to get it going, a trend that is apparently spreading in Scandinavia. In general, I get the impression that people live more economically in Sweden than in the US, but I have not quite figured out if it is the result of government regulations and energy taxes or just a difference in culture and upbringing. Likely, it's a combination of the two. Taxes on energy are indeed higher in Sweden than in the US, but Swedes and other Europeans have said that they just don't see the "need" to live extravagantly.
On another note, while the US is on its anti-carb craze, the typical Swedish diet is loaded with breads and potatoes, and Swedes are well-known for frequent coffee and cake breaks throughout the day. Just an interesting fact... and that pretty much sums up my weekend.
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