Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm

Stockholm is a fascinating city built on many islands. I admire the Swedes greatly and am greatly impressed by their determination to live in Stockholm in a Mediterranean lifestyle despite the wholly inappropriate climate. Everywhere you see cafés with seating outside with groups of people under heating and blankets cheerfully ignoring the cold and the dark. Here’s some feedback from one of our students on life in Stockholm.

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Local Information: The academic year starts in august and summer is July. In winter the days get very short but then get very long in the summer.

National holidays are called red days and the day before is a pink day. On pink days shops close after lunch and most shops close on red days. In general shops are open until 5 or 6 pm on week days and on Sundays they open at 11.

Alcohol is expensive in Sweden and is under government monopole. Products containing more than 3% alcohol can only be sold in special shops called Systembolaget, which literally means enterprise of the system. These shops have very special regulations and can only sell alcohol separately and not in packs (e.g. you can’t buy a six-pack of beer but you can get six separate bottles). They are also not allowed to promote products so all products are kept at room temperature as having some in a fridge would be advantaging them. But because of this monopole most systembolagets are quite big and offer a wide choice of drinks. You will need ID to buy alcohol and you can only buy if you are 20+. Even if you do not drink I would recommend walking into one of these shops just for the experience.

Travel: There are a few airports around Stockholm and different companies land in different airports (Norwegian and SAS go to Arlanda and Ryanair goes to Skavsta which is a bit further out) but they are all well connected to the city through coaches (flygbussarna).

Then to get to Karolinska the easiest way is to get the metro to Friedhemsplan (blue line) or St Eriksplan (green or blue line) and then take any bus that goes to the hospital. The bus number 3 is usually the most frequent. From Pax or Strix (student accommodation) it is possible to go by bus. The bus number 507 stops behind Västra Skogen metro station and goes to the Karolinska hospital and then the university. Depending on what time you are going in it will come from once every half hour to once every fifteen minutes. If you miss the bus you can either walk, it takes 15-20min (use Google maps) or take the metro.

The SL card is very useful even though it is expensive. The cheapest is to buy a three months student card (approx. 1500 SEK). This is the Swedish equivalent of the Oyster card. You can use it for all public transport in Stockholm including boats that have the SL logo. It is also valid on trains in the Stockholm county, so you can travel quite a bit around the city. If you want to go further out you just have to buy an extra ticket to cover your journey outside of the county of Stockholm.

It is also very easy to go to Finland and Estonia: an overnight boat goes back and forth very regularly and if you plan your trip in advance you can get very cheap tickets. It is also possible to go to Copenhagen by train. The journey takes 4-5 hours and if you plan in advance tickets are reasonably priced.

An Erasmus student favourite is a trip to Kiruna in Swedish Lapland (northern Sweden in the arctic circle). This can be done by train but the journey takes 18 hours or by plane (SAS flight).

Useful paperwork to take with you: You will need your passport and your European Health Card. You also need to register with the Swedish Migration Board (http://www.migrationsverket.se/info/150_en.html) if you stay in Sweden more than six months and for that you will need a copy of your passport, an attendance certificate (provided by Karolinska on registration day), a bank statement to prove you have enough money to maintain yourself and a certificate which proves that you are covered by the social insurance system in your country of origin.

Local bureaucracy, language issues: You need to register with the Swedish Migration Board when you arrive.
Most people in Sweden speak English very well.

Financial matters: Sweden use the Swedish Krona (SEK)
You need to pay accommodation every month but if you ask they can change your payments to termly or yearly.

Social Activities: There are a few events organised in the beginning of the year for Erasmus students and there are usually parties in the student accommodation. You will be able to meet people on Erasmus/studying in different Stockholm universities.
The Student union is very small and you need to pay to be a full member. They have a few societies such as a dance group, a wind ensemble, sport clubs, etc. I would recommend joining one of the societies to get to know some Swedish people and experience more of the local culture.

There are a few dinners/balls organised during the year by the student union. The most famous one is the Lucia Ball (13th December: Luciadagen) to which the Nobel prize winners in Medicine and physiology are invited.

Food, pubs clubs, bars: Sweden is not known for its cuisine but I would recommend trying some local dishes. Typical Swedish food can be found at Ikea or in other restaurants. Pelikan (http://www.pelikan.se/) is quite famous amongst Swedes and serves dishes such as pickled herring, meatballs and mashed potatoes and even reindeer.

Swedish cuisine is not very vegetarian friendly but there are a few vegetarian restaurants. Hermans is one of them. It is situated in Södermalm and has an amazing view over Djurgården and Gamla Stan. In the summer they open an outside terrace. They have a student price on Monday evening and it is 100:- SEK for the buffet and a hot drink.
In most places if you ask for tea or a regular coffee you will get at least a second refill included in the price.

Trädgården is an open air club only open in the summer and is located under the bridge going from Södermalm to Hammarby. It is an interesting and very Swedish hipster but be prepared to queue! It is 21+

Berns is a very famous hotel and quite a few stars have stayed there. It is also a night club as you would expect it is a bit expensive but worth a visit.

There are quite a few Irish pubs in the old town (Gamla Stan) where rugby fans usually meet up to watch the game. O’Connells, Wirströms and Liffey are the main ones and they usually advertise what events they are showing on their websites. At Wirströms you can also book a side room with a screen if you have enough people.

Accommodation: You will most likely get accommodation in Pax or Strix. For these you will need to provide a deposit when you accept the room. You will be able to get this back at the end of your stay. The room is furnished and you are provided with a duvet and a pillow. The Kitchen is shared and most of the time there will be quite a lot of common kitchen stuff for you to use. If you need more utensils you can always go for a quick trip to Ikea. Depending on your luck the kitchen might be clean or very dirty. It is up to everyone on the floor to keep the common areas clean and empty the bins and recycling. There is usually a weekly rota set up but if it is not working you should talk to the other people on your floor to make a new one.

Student accommodation in Stockholm has a big problem with bed bugs so check your mattress when you move in. If you think you have bed bugs contact someone as soon as possible. In your room you should get a piece of paper telling you who to contact if you have a problem.

Local places worth a visit: There a quite a few places to visit in Stockholm and in Sweden.
I would recommend wandering around the old town and attending the change of the guard. The ceremony is fast during the winter but more of a show during the summer season but it is not as great as what you would see at Buckingham palace. The palace in itself is not really worth visiting.

Djurgården is an island full of activities as it has many museums. I would recommend Skansen, an open air museum/zoo/park. The creator was a collector and wanted to keep Scandinavian culture alive so he would move houses into the park. You can see traditional housing from different regions of Sweden. They all have people staying there during the day who are dressed in traditional clothing from that particular region/era who are very happy to tell you a little bit more about life at that time. There are a few Scandinavian animals such as reindeers, wolfs, bears… residing in the zoo area of the park.

Uppsala is the other big university town of Sweden. It is a short train journey away and if you have an SL card you just need to buy a ticket for the journey outside of the county of Stockholm (approx. 90:- SEK one way). Many students head out there for Walpurgis night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpurgis_Night), the 30th April. Trains get very full that evening/early morning. If you plan on spending a night there book well in advance.

The first ever Ikea is located close to Stockholm and is easily accessible with the Ikea bus leaving from outside the central station every hour on the hour but not during weekends.

Where to go for help: The international student coordinator at Karolinska is very helpful. If you have any problems you are not sure how to deal with contact her and she can help you.
If you have problems with accommodation contact either the building caretaker or the University accommodation centre.

Health matters: Pharmacies are called apoteket and people there can help you with most superficial health problems.
If you have health problems due to university or bed bug bites you can contact the university health centre for help.

Comments on project/lab: People in the lab were very helpful and open to teaching techniques. If you are interested in an experiment that someone in the lab is doing do not hesitate to ask if you can watch them. Most of the time people are happy to show you what they are doing and explain who stuff works. I got to learn many techniques that I did not require for my report because everyone in the lab was very open and willing to share their knowledge.

Preparing your report write-ups: Start preparing your reports early, especially the cultural one as you will not get time off lab to write it. For the scientific report I would recommend reading a lot of papers to get a good grip on the subject. The lab should have copies of theses that previous students have written. The introductions are usually very clear and go into detail so they can be useful in understanding what is known about what you are working on.

Preparation for final year while abroad: I would recommend planning for accommodation quite early. If you can find roommates in London that is best as they can visit potential places. If you do not find roommates contact other people on Erasmus or out on a year in industry as they are probably in the same situation.

To choose final year options talk with people from your year who are doing them and get advice from them. Keep an eye out for the emails from the student office with all the information about deadlines and application procedures.

Try reading a lot of papers and talking with people in the lab as this will no doubt help you for your final year courses.

 

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