Erasmus+ Journal (Issue 2) 2013/14
Sarah Breyner, Sweden, Karlstad University, Mobility for Studies
Hej Sverige - Välkommen till Karlstad
My semester abroad
written by Sarah Breyner
About Karlstad
The city of Karlstad can be found in the heart of Scandinavia and is situated directly at Sweden's largest lake, Lake Vänern, in the province of Värmland. The city’s name literally means Karl’s city and traces back to King Karl the 9th of Sweden, who founded the city as a market place in 1584.
The symbol of Karlstad is the smiling sun that you will find pictured all over the city. The citizens of Karlstad tend to proudly tell visitors that Karlstad is the city with the most hours of sunshine throughout the year in Sweden. The saying Sola i Karlstad (enjoy the sun in Karlstad), however, goes back to a waitress from the 19th century who cheered up her guests with her sunny personality. The city honoured her by putting up a statue that represents her in front of Stadshotellet close to Scandinavia’s longest river, the Klarälven (the clear river).
If you are interested in the history of Värmland, the Värmland’s museum is the perfect place to visit. Afterwards you can enjoy a typical Swedish fika (Swedish coffee break with something sweet that goes with it) or have a picnic in the lovely (in the summer also flowery) park in front of the museum with a view on Klarälven. On sunny evenings, young and old tend to meet on the wooden walkway with a little beach close by the museum to enjoy the sunset at this beautiful place with usually some wine or öl, which means beer in Swedish.
If you are visiting Karlstad you will also probably want to take a picture of the famous Gamla stenbron (the old stone bridge). The bridge was built around 1811, consists of twelve arches and with its 168 metres length it is the longest stone bridge in Sweden.
Karlstad has a population of about 87 000 people and is known for its hospitality towards visitors of the city. Especially around June and August, the Swedish region of Värmland is the perfect place to enjoy a nice Swedish summer as you can find more than 10 000 lakes there. You will realize that especially in those summer months Karlstad is filled with visitors as it is a popular stop for tourists who visit Stockholm or Oslo.
Karlstad is particularly a paradise for people who love spending time in the nature. In winter you will meet cross country skiers wherever you go, car races take place on the frozen rivers and as soon as people feel the first sunshine nothing can keep them indoors and they enjoy the beautiful lakes around the city, go hiking or fishing.
There are nice beaches all around Karlstad and families often visit Mariebergskogen, Karlstad's wonderful city park with a small, nice beach with direct entrance to Klarälven, an adventure playground, a zoo, an open-air museum, entertainment in summer (like the free three days Putte i Parken festival with artists from all over Sweden in 2014) and a skating rink in winter.
From June till August you should definitely get on one of the famous boat busses that will take you around the city for the price of a normal bus ticket and that will give you a great first impression of lovely Karlstad.
If you are into cycling you can borrow free bikes at Stora Torget (market/main place of the city) in summer and enjoy the 90km asphalted car-free cycling and rollerblading trail from Karlstad to Uddeholm.
Karlstad University is only fifteen years old and hence one of the youngest universities in Sweden. You will realise the fresh and young atmosphere the moment you enter the building. The university puts a lot of effort into helping international students at the beginning of their exchange term at the university. Host groups will be provided that guide you through the university and special activities take place throughout the year.
Besides the Wermland Opera people also often visit Karlstad's Congress and Culture Centre, which is one of the largest and most modern congress and conference venues in Scandinavia and currently hosts a photo exhibition.
Studying in Karlstad – a comparison between education in Austria and Sweden
My courses at Karlstad University, whose special slogan is "Nobody puts baby in a corner" from Dirty Dancing, differed a lot from the ones I am taking at my home university.
After three terms at the University of Teacher Training in Graz I got used to having a constant schedule for all my English and History courses. Studying at this university meant being forced-organised. Classes have to be attended for a minimum of 75% and to successfully pass the different courses you have to actively participate in them, do home tasks and pass exams at the end of the term. In addition to the university life, you get prepared for your later teaching and have to hold two teaching lessons each week including a structured lesson plan in your chosen subjects.
Compared to our system, the education at the University of Karlstad seems to be more flexible and students have to decide themselves whether to take part in the courses or not. I had classes about three times a week and, therefore, had to do a lot of home tasks.
Moreover, there is a very special room for lectures at Karlstad University. It is called "the Egg" because of its shape. International students usually meet there once a week to watch a movie there. 
Courses
If you decide to jump on the Erasmus-experience-train you get the possibility to try out different courses. I have always enjoyed learning new languages and so I decided to attend the courses Swedish as a Foreign Language 1 & 2. For each of those two courses you receive 7.5 credits after successfully passing the exams (the oral, listening and written exam make up the points for the course).
The third course I attended was World Religions, as it was the closest I could get to my subject at home, History. It was both a very exhausting but absolutely interesting course which was held by the inspiring young professor Kristian Niemi. The course took place in the second part of the term, twice a week and lasted for four hours each time. To get a positive grade I had to write several papers concerning the different religions which were then handed in on the learning platform from Karlstad University (itslearning.com) and graded.
In addition to the courses at the University of Karlstad I was given the chance to see how the Swedish school system differs from the Austrian one. Corina Hechl, the second student from the Teacher Training College in Graz, and me were allowed to observe all kind of different lessons in the Engelska Skola Karlstad. From the beginning we were warmly welcomed at the school. Everyone was really open-minded towards us, teachers asked us about the Austrian school system and the education process we are going through and everyone was very keen on making our stay at the school as nice as possible. We were able to speak with students at different levels and in different subjects. The school has, as its name suggests, a special focus on the English language and has a lot of teachers from Great Britain, the USA and Canada. I was mainly surprised by how talk-active and almost fluent most of the children in the classes were. We mainly walked around in the classroom and offered our help and very often someone of the class started to talk to us and asked us random questions. Besides that, I noticed some differences concerning the organisation of the daily school life compared to Austria. Smart boards are replacing chalkboards. There is a big “staff room” for comfortable breaks (coffee machines, tea machines, fridges, couches, large tables – not a place to work but to relax and talk to your colleagues) and also a “chill area” for learners. The children are offered great equipment including IPads, which are even used during presentations, and Mac Books.
I was surprised when an English teacher told me that homework, which is handed in on an online platform, is not graded and only discussed in class. The learners do not need to take books or even pencils with them to class as everything is provided for them in the classroom. Swedes take allergies very seriously and hence there are, for example, nut-free schools. Moreover, university students work as substitute teachers.
How to apply for Karlstad University
Before someone can attend courses at Karlstad University he/she has to fill in an online application concerning the courses the person would like to participate in. After some weeks an e-mail will be sent from the course administrator listing the courses the student has been accepted to for the following term.
The exchange student then has to fill in the so-called Learning Agreement (a document with the chosen courses, name of the university) which has to be signed from both, the home university and the exchange university. There is an additional document which can be used if the student decides to participate in another course - however, according to the guidelines of Karlstad University, there have to be specific reasons to enable a change of courses.
Applying for Karlstad University seems to be hard at the beginning as you do not know which courses you are allowed to take until some weeks before the beginning of university. However, a lot of information is sent out to new students and will give you all the help you need for successfully applying
Accommodation
Choosing a place to stay for half a year is, of course, not a very easy decision. Most exchange students choose to live on campus, which is situated in an about 10 minutes walking distance from the university. It is the perfect possibility to get to know people from all over the world as you will be living together with them as your neighbours. However, some students also choose to rent their own flat and live together with other students.
How to afford a living in Sweden and some life hacks
Everyone knows that living in Scandinavia is more expensive than in Austria. However, I was surprised how much the prices really differ from ours. Meeting friends in the city and having a nice evening with a glass of wine and a dinner is not what you can have very often during your stay in Sweden. If you want to enjoy a glass of beer in a pub you have to be aware that it costs twice as much as in Austria.
Due to the high prices, students most of the time bring their own food to the university (about 20 microwaves are available for heating the food and the people are welcome to eat their own food in the cafeteria). A lot of money has to be spent for the monthly bus ticket (about 40€ a month) -there is the possibility to put money on your bus card and pay for each travel but as the university is about 25 minutes away from the city center it is probable more reasonable to buy a monthly ticket.
There are a number of discounts for students if you become a member of the Student Union - ice hockey games, food and in some stores also clothes have reduced prices - moreover, you can go to the student pub Bunkern and have a drink and food for normal prices. In general, being part of the Student Union in Karlstad is a good choice as then you even get discounts on several trips inside and outside of Sweden.
In total, I would say that I have spent about 700€ each month (travels are not included).
Depending on the courses you choose during the Erasmus term you will have some days off during the week which provides you with some time to explore Sweden together with your new Erasmus friends. Going by train is relatively cheap in Sweden. Students get discounted prices and there are quite a lot of last minute tickets. Going by the very popular, but also slower transportation option, Swebus is also very cheap (e.g. you pay about 16€ from Karlstad to Stockholm, which is about 4 hours away if you go by bus).You can also rent a car.
The organisation Scanbalt offers several trips within Scandinavia and, moreover, gives exchange students the chance to visit places all over Europe. A very popular trip is the St.Petersburg ferry trip, which takes you from Stockholm to the capital of Estonia, Tallinn, to Helsinki and finally to St.Petersburg.
A few things to know before visiting Sweden
People LOVE to fika – Swedes are crazy about their fika, which means having a coffee break with friends/family/ or at work. It usually includes something to eat like the typical Swedish cinnamon roll (kanelbulle) or a sandwich (smörgås). It is said that especially in Scandinavia people drink the most coffee throughout the day. It is served everywhere and usually included when you eat in a restaurant.
Only one store, called Systembolaget, sells strong alcohol as compared to Austria where you can buy alcohol in any supermarket.
Some people refer to Swedes as being unfriendly and shy. I, however, realised that Swedes are the most helpful people I have ever met. The only thing is that you most probably have to take the first step and talk to them.
Midsummer is the year’s biggest holiday and for some people even more important than the Christmas celebration. It takes place at a time where the sun almost never sets and involves flowers in the hair of girls and women, dancing around a pole, singing songs and, as with all Swedish parties, a lot of alcohol and funny drinking songs. This special day, which is spend with family and friends outside, is often interrupted by rain. People serve all types of sea food, especially pickled herring, with fresh potatoes and sour cream. It is taking part at special festivities like midsommar that makes you a part of the Swedish culture.
Some last words...
Spending 8 months in Sweden has been the greatest adventure in my life so far. I met so many great people during this time and I am more than lucky to have friends all over the world and even a second family in Sweden now. Above that, Sweden is probably the most beautiful country I have ever seen and it offers far more than ABBA, Ikea, moose and the wonderful, cozy wooden houses.
