New Week and Winter Wonderland Excursion

Hey everyone!

I hope that you all had a pleasant and relaxing weekend. I certainly did. I originally was going to travel to Stockholm over the weekend, but due to some predicted cold temperatures, I did not want to die of the cold and decided to remain in the warmth and nearness of the Gälbo apartments, my student home here. Still, it was a very good weekend. I met some friends and we had some drinks and played some card games. It was lots of fun and very relaxing, after a busy week at uni.

Today we had a class excursion. I'm currently taking the 15 credit class, Forest Environment and Conservation. We visit various forest patches and discuss different silvicultural and conservation methods. Today we had an excursion to forests and historic sites, such as iron smelting, agricultural and other sites. This was a full-day excursion in some very cold and snowy Swedish weather. The temperatures ranged between -10°C and -15°C, so this was very chilly. Despite this, the scenery was absolutely amazing and it was really nice to get out and hike in some Swedish forests during a chilly winter day. 

Pic. 1: This was a picture from the road onto a farm and a forest on the opposite side. The temperature was -15°C at the time.

Pic. 2: My Forest Environment and Conservation class hiking through the knee-deep snow to an archaeological site. People were laughing, having snowball fights and of course learning at the same time.

Pic. 3: View of the Swedish winter sky at dusk (around 15:20) and a clearcut forest. Conservation measures can be seen: forest retention patches, retention of Birch Betula spp. patches and high stumps. These are all kept for purposes of biodiversity (flora and fauna) and natural resource management (e.g. water quality protection) and other ecosystem services.

Pic. 4: This was our class hiking to another site. The sky was really beautiful.

Pic. 5: Another view of my class hiking. The camera never really catches the true mood of the surroundings.

I hope that you enjoy these pictures. I may insert more images of our class excursion into my blog. Before I do that, I would like to ask my classmates for permission to publish their photos.

The take home message of this blog is, COME TO SWEDEN IF YOU LIKE THE COLD AND WINTER CONDITIONS!!!! For other people, MAKE SURE YOU BRING WARM CLOTHES!!!! The expected low temperatures tonight are around -20°C.

The good news, Fika (coffee or tea) is almost always present and houses are cozy and warm! Take care all!

Julian

COMMENTS, COMMENTS AND STATS

Dear readers,

Today is hump day!!! The middle of the week! Only two more days before the weekend!!! YAAY! Smile everyone!!! Whooo! Just trying to add some pepper to everyone's probably mediocre day! :-)

It has been close to a month now since I've started this Blog for SLU, and slowly my first comments are coming in. Great and keep them coming! Remember to PLEASE ask me questions regarding SLU and coming here to study, whereever you are in the world.

I've also taken a peek at the stats of this Blog:

Blog Statistics from 2010 Oct 24 – 2010 Nov 22

 

 

I can see that there are many people checking out my Blog from the United States, Germany and Russia. I will try to gear some of my upcoming blogs more towards you international students. Please remember, if there is anything you guys are curious about, please let me know and I will write about these topics in my next posts!

Let's keep the stats climbing, remember to comment and have a nice day!!!

/Julian

This One Is Dedicated to City People Like Myself

Hey everyone! Hope that you're all having a blast today! All's well here and survived the Monday!

I will write a blog specifically geared towards city people like myself.

I will begin talking about the size of Uppsala and Ultuna. They are both fairly small. Uppsala is of course larger than Ultuna (which basically consists of some residential areas and SLU). Don't expect anything large and fast similar to the environment of major cities. Uppsala is pretty layed back and not a very wild place. There are parties and bars at the student nations, but they close anywhere between 1am and 4am, which in my opinion is excessively early. A good way to get around that is to go to or throw your own parties. It's often cheaper and you can guide or end the party at your will.

Lately, I've been a little fed up with the country life around Ultuna. It's pretty out there. Ask a person that comes from a small city and they will say Ultuna is decent-sized, but for myself coming from Berlin and having spent much time in New York City, Ultuna is really out in the sticks (boonies, country). I miss the impulses of city life and the museums, people and cultural diversity that a city offers.

Final thoughts...

Overall I like Ultuna. It's quaint, layed back, picturesque, but out there! A really good place to study, and after all, what are you here for at SLU? One thing that I will do this weekend (probably on Saturday) is take the train to Stockholm to cure the quiet in my brain with traffic noise, people, lights, trains, ethnic foods and surrounding movement/stress. I also plan on visiting a museum when I go. Even though it may sound ironic, I need these sort of impulses to feel relaxed and fulfilled.

The nice thing, Stockholm is merely 45 minutes away from Uppsala by train and highly affordable to reach, so always a convenient getaway for the noise-seekers!

Cheerio readers and fellow city-dwellers! ;-)

Positives and Negatives about Living on Campus Versus Living in/close to Downtown Uppsala

Dear readers,

I hope that all of you had a pleasant, fun and relaxing weekend. I certainly did. There is one dilemma I go through every weekend:

...to go out to the city to party, to stay home and find a party on campus or to do nothing (and watch a movie or just chill) that is the question...

Well, when contemplating this, I go back and forth in my mind. A part of me wants to go out to the city to hang out with friends and party and go to one of the student nations. The other part wants to stay home with the 5 wonderful female and very cool other male roommate that I live with. Also I am ever reminded of the subarctic conditions that exist outdoors :-p. (Well, it's really not that bad, but it's not the Caribbean either).

With this on my mind, I will list the positives and negatives of living on SLU campus, which is in Ultuna. Ultuna is approximately 5 Km away from the city and takes around 20 minutes to reach the city by bike.


Pros

• Close to classes! Really nice to wake up just 30 minutes before classes start in the morning and get to the classroom in enough time. Also no morning commute to classes (which saves alot of stress and dealing with other people on the bus that you really don't want to deal with shortly after waking up :-D). Last thought: no commute during the Swedish winter (HUUUUGEEE PLUS!!!)
• Really nice to be close to the library, professors, the fitness center and the Uppsala Akademic Rowing Club (Friskis & Svettis, which I will talk about more in my next post) and the student union (where parties and dinners are sometimes held)
• The student apartments at Gälbo are REALLY REALLY NICE!!!! They are about 22 square meters large, have a spacious bathroom and great communal kitchens
• Often friendly and pleasant people to live with and also a quiet atmosphere with a good study environment
• Clean, modern, well renovated, bright, well ventilated rooms
• Upon arrival the room is reserved and furnished already, so no delays or worries!

Cons

• It really sucks to get into the city and to come back home (to Ultuna) from the city. It takes around 20 minutes by bike to get into the city by bike and around 30 by bus!
• There's not very much happening on the weekends. There are some house parties, but you need to know the people that are throwing the party. Basically it can get a little boring at times
• If you're a city person like myself and you enjoy randomly and spontaneously strolling around the city, IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!! You can see fields, the river and forests. Pretty at times, but it doesn't always do it for me. 
• The store is pretty far away (ca. 15 minutes by bike to stores in Gottsunda, ICA, Lidl or Willys)

There may be more pros and cons. These are the most apparent ones I can think of. City apartments (from what I've seen and heard) are cheaper (not always), older, more crowded and generally dirtier than the ones on campus. I'm sure there are really nice city apartments around. It's just a question of finding them.

My final judgement on living on campus or not:

I'm very happy to live on campus in the Gälbo apartments. It's really convenient to get up later and still make it to classes on time. Buying food at Gottsunda is a bit of a chore, but considering the fact that I only go to the store once to maximum twice a week, it's not that bad. I like my roommates and most importantly: I DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH LATE BUSSES OR THE MORNING COMMUTE IN -10°C WEATHER!!!

I advise exchange students to live on campus. It's convenient, good value (some may say "good bang for the buck") and has a very pleasant living and study environment. I think it is a great solution to live on campus for one exchange year or semester. However, if I would stay longer I would get my own apartment, as I prefer my personal space and privacy.

...and I did make it to the city this weekend... :-)

Information about Outdoor Recreation

Hey all!

I hope that you're having a pleasant day! All's well here, just more classes!

I would like to inform you, my readers, of recreational activities around Uppsala. The first things that pop into my mind of things to do are biking and hiking!

Here is the link to a map of biking routes in Uppsala:

http://kartor.uppsala.se/SCRIPTS/hsrun.exe/extwebb/int/MapXtreme.htx;start=PrintFrameset?cmd=start&theme=CYKEL


Here is some information about hiking around Uppsala. There are many places to go, and please observe the right of public access to Swedish properties. One may camp, hike through and simply relax and enjoy anyone's property or private forest. Of course that means that you must respect their natural resources and properties. This is really important and for everyone's common benefit. Here is the website with the English version:

http://www.upplandsstiftelsen.se/__448


Also canoeing is a common thing to do:

http://www.upplandsstiftelsen.se/eng/canoetrails__450


For any other events or for ideas of what to do while in Uppsala, there is the city tourism website:

http://www.uppsala.to/en/

So, there are plenty of things to do around Uppsala, especially when it comes to enjoying nature. There are many productive (silvicultural or managed for economic benefit) and old-growth forests or forests that are managed for ecosystem services and/or biodiversity objectives around Uppsala.

Enjoy!

Snowy Day Today

Hey people!!

Just want to say hi to everyone and wish you all a good afternoon. Today we went on an excursion to a forest nature reserve just a few Km south of SLU's campus to look at various conservation measures in boreal and hemi-boreal forests of Sweden. Among the conservation methods we saw, there was a large nature reserve which was managed by the regional Uppsala Kommun, and several areas that had been logged. In these clearcut areas patches of forest were protected as biodiversity hotspots, and single trees and high stumps were left. In order to determine which area should be conserved as biodiversity hotspots, indicator species are used. These include oaks, lichens and other plants which imply a great deal of biodiversity or rare (red-listed) species present in the area. Swedish forest owners are encouraged to leave protected forest patches, single trees and high stumps as habitats for flora and fauna.

Overall, I think today was pretty interesting. What I really like about many courses at SLU is that classroom information is presented, but then we go on excursions to actually see the practical side of the theories we learned in class. Really cool and it makes classes so much less boring and more interesting. Some of you may prefer theories, but I'm a person that likes to learn the theories and also the practical side of things.

Finally, I would like to add that it was a rather snowy day in the forest today. If you're considering studying abroad in Sweden, just remember that you are coming to the far north. This means that the weather is cold and snowy. Bundle up and bring warm clothes with you! Great for snowball fights and sleigh riding. Or just grab a plastic bag and slide down hills!

That's all for today! Take care people!

Julian

Table Of Contents

New Update and Information about Sweden

Hey Friends,

Hope all is well and things are going just peachy for everyone! :-)

Well, this past week has been busy but fulfilling. I started my new class "Forest Environment and Conservation." So far I'm enjoying the class. We started discussing forestry here in Sweden and conservation measures Swedish foresters, companies and the government take to conserve habitats, sensitive plant and animal species. These include leaving high stumps, protected forest patches and nature reserves. The one thing that I found interesting is that in Sweden clearcutting is permitted. In Germany where I'm from clearcuts are not permitted. We log by the selection system, cutting some trees and leaving the rest. I guess there are pros and cons to both the Swedish and German system. Otherwise things are well.

One thing that I would like to mention in this blog are food prices and costs of living in Sweden. As an international student, affordability and living expenses are something we need to focus on if we want to survive! :-) Some of us receive an ERASMUS or another form of government grant upon arrival here in Sweden. I will now mention some average expenses of common items and commodities you will need while on exchange. I calculate in Euros, and 10 Swedish Crowns = ~1€:

Rent at Gälbo campus housing/ off campus average costs:
350€ including internet and all utilities/ I've heard anywhere from 200€ - 500€. I guess off-campus housing can range in costs. It is really important to find housing early enough or have the housing department find you something. It is hard and unpleasant to arrive here without housing!!!

Healthcare (A really important topic!)
Generally it's best to have your own (private or public) healthcare. For SLU students, the university offers on-campus healthcare. I've never been there, but I've heard good things, and the average cost for a visit I've heard is around €50 per visit. So this is a pretty affordable solution.

Food & Clothing:
Overall, I think the food prices are good here in Sweden. Coming from Denmark where everything is really expensive, I think the prices are more like in Germany. 1.5 Litres of milk cost ca. 1€, bread costs around 2-3€ per loaf, pasta is pretty cheap (1-4€), and meat can get a little pricier (4-6€ per 1 Kg package, sometimes only a 500 g package, depending on where you shop). Overall I spend around 50€ on food every week. I eat alot as I'm a rower here and us athletes eat alot! Clothing can be found at affordable prices and good deals are always around!

For food I go to Willy's or ICA, for clothes I sometimes head out to Gränby Köpcentrum. The nice thing about Sweden is that the food stores stay open really late, until 21-22:00. Some stay open later!

Overall the costs of living are slightly higher than in other Western European countries, but they are generally fair for food, housing and clothing. Alcohol is really expensive here. A bottle of Vodka costs around 30-40€. So if you're planning on partying bring some from Germany or any other country than Sweden or Norway!!! :-D

Here are some basic figures for those of you who are contemplating studying abroad here in Sweden. Services are good here (just waaaayyy tooo much beaurocracy), good public transportation and fair prices. If you have any other questions about costs of specific commodities or services, please feel free to ask me!

Some Pics...

I hope that everyone is doing well on this beautiful morning. The weather is cool but very sunny here! I want to show you some pictures of the area surrounding SLU's campus.

This first picture is from along the Fyresån River, which runs adjacent to the SLU campus. I took this picture on Saturday while taking a walk.

...and another one (picture quality isn't as good)

Here are some nice pictures that I took during September. I really like them because they capture the mood of a Swedish late summer day:

This first picture shows the dorms on SLU campus. So if you live in a dorm, you're not far away from breathtaking sceneries and Swedish countryside. Note the bike path at the bottom of the picture. Uppsala is a very bike friendly city, with countless bike paths (that are also lit at night - Very biker friendly and good excercise!).

In this picture I wanted to capture the mood at the end of the day:

Finally, here is one picture that I took close to Uppsala Castle. I really like it and it shows some of the nice green Uppsala surroundings:

So, here are some pictures of Uppsala that will hopefully give you an idea of some of the beauty and nature around Uppsala. The city has clean, fresh air, a plethora of forests and other habitats and many relaxing and long walks!


Hope to see you here soon!

Studies...

Now to the more serious topic of university, classes and Master’s Thesis. This past week was really intense but also rewarding. I finished the final tests and projects in my class that I attended for this block, “Ecology and Management of Pests and Diseases of Forest Trees”. On Monday I will begin my next and last class of my Master’s, “Forest Environment and Conservation”. (I can’t believe how fast time flies!)

Also, this past week I met with my Master’s Thesis supervisor. We discussed our Thesis topic on edge habitats and distribution and frequency of red-listed (endangered) lichens. My supervisor was very friendly and helpful to me. In addition, we visited different forests around Uppsala to look at different habitat conservation methods in a productive forest. We saw forest patches that were preserved, high stumps and areas that were designated as protected. All are intended as habitats for flora and fauna. Lastly, my supervisor gave me materials to read over the weekend. She told me to think about my Thesis and whether I really want to work with her.

Now I have to read and reflect on my Thesis. All seems to point more in the direction of yes: I do want to work with Professors Jörgen Rudolphi and Lena Gustafsson on edge habitats and lichen distributions!

I will keep you up to date! All of you, enjoy your weekend and GET OUTSIDE TO TAKE A WALK AND ENJOY THE FALL WEATHER!!!!!

Update... Friday 5th November

I hope that all of you are doing ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL and are enjoying your weekend! I certainly am! Today was a beautiful day here in Uppsala. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and despite the actual temperature being around +2°C it felt more like +8°C! So a really nice fall day. I went on a really nice long walk in the forest with my roommate and her dog.

Around SLU's campus there are ENDLESS possibilities to take AMAZING walks! One of my Favourite walks is along the picturesque Fyresån River, which flows through Uppsala all the way into Lake Mälaren. One can observe a great variety of birds along this walk and simply be astounded by the nice views. I will try to upload some pictures these coming days!

HOW IS EVERYONE ELSE DOING?

NOTES AND NOT TO FORGET...

Just a note to my readers:

-PLEASE feel free to comment on my blogs and ask questions

-Once you ask your questions I will do my best to answer quickly and clearly

-Ask me anything that pertains to university, student life and personal opinions about things here in Sweden!

-NO QUESTION IS A STUPID QUESTION!!!!!

***One thing to remember: ask me anything, but please keep it professional***

WHAT I WILL BEGIN BLOGGING ABOUT

*****WHAT I WILL BEGIN BLOGGING ABOUT*****

***Collaboration with Professors***

I was thinking about something to start blogging about, and decided on the following: The thing I have found most striking about SLU is the very close collaboration between me as a student and the professors. Whenever I have had any issues understanding class material or finding a topic for my Master’s Thesis, my professors have always been very quick, understanding and professional in helping me. I will begin my blog with discussing these experiences with professors in more detail.

 

INTRODUCTION AND HELLO TO EVERYONE!!!!!

****JULIAN'S FIRST BLOG****

Hey everyone!! Greetings to my new BLOG on SLU and my experiences during my exchange year here in Uppsala, Sweden!

I would like to now tell all of you a little about myself and what I will begin blogging with!

My name is Julian. I was born, raised and attended a German-American High School in Berlin, Germany. From 2004-2008 I attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, USA, and studied Environmental Science.  During my studies, I worked as a Range Manager with the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. After graduating with my Bachelor’s Degree, I moved to the Western United States to work full time for the Forest Service as a Wildland Firefighter. In 2009 I was accepted into and began studying for the EnvEuro (Soil, Water, Biodiversity) Master’s Degree. I am currently on Erasmus Exchange at SLU and will shortly begin working on my Master’s Thesis.