Dear readers,
I hope that all of you are enjoying some nice sunny and warm summer days, wherever you are. Here the days have been quite pleasant, although the last few days have been somewhat grey and windy. There are two things that I would like to discuss here in this blog.
The first thing deals with on-campus housing at SLU. During the months of June and July SUSBO (the on-campus housing contractor) does not require that you pay rent. That means that you can stay in Uppsala for free during the summer break. Actually this is sort of pleasant. Yes, Ultuna (SLU campus and also the location of the on-campus housing) is somewhat dull and not much happens here. During the summer though and when the weather is nice here and you have one or two friends around, Ultuna can be quite a blast. Especially since all the dorms are practically empty no one will bother you if you play loud music at 2 am! :-)
The second thing I want to cover is ideas of what to do in the Uppsala area during the summer months. Besides going to the city and enjoying the warm summer days in one of the many parks in Uppsala, you can also go to one of Uppsala's many restaurants and bars.
Unfortunately most of the student nations are closed during the summer months due to a lack of students. It wouldn't make sense to keep the nations open during the summer without any customers (a.k.a. students) around.
Here's another idea! As you have maybe read in my previous blogs, in the Uppsala area there are a multitude of camping, hiking and sports opportunities. This past weekend my girlfriend and I went camping on Lake Mälaren, the lake just to the south of Uppsala and the SLU campus. Lake Mälaren is a huge lake with a very extensive and diverse shoreline. There are many nature reserves, small beaches and great large and small camping sites along the lake's shoreline. If you feel like camping at some large and official camping ground you can do that, or what I prefer is to find a tiny and hidden spot along the lake. Choose whatever you prefer.
Here in Sweden you are allowed to camp on private properties for one or two nights. In Sweden the term used to describe this is "allemansrätt" or in English this means "freedom to roam". This is a truly great thing about Sweden. Basically it states that everyone can use nature and forests as they want, provided that they follow some basic etiquette guidelines. Don't create trash and don't disturb other people. Here's the Wikipedia link on "freedom to roam":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam
This is sort of nice, because in the USA some farmer dude may threaten you with a gun if you're on his property. This intense situation will most probably NOT occur in Sweden, besides the fact that in my opinion most Swedes are anti-gun and pacifists. GO SWEDEN!!!!!
Anyways, there are many things to do in Sweden over the summer. I recommend to stay here in Ultuna for free over the summer and use the rent money that you save to enjoy some of Sweden, as this is not really as possible to do during the cold winters and during the school year when you're crammed with school work and projects.
ENJOY A PIECE OF SWEDEN DURING THE SUMMER!!!
Peace and love people!
Julian
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Great Day Trip!!!
Dear readers,
I hope that all of you are well and you are enjoying some summer weather. Today the weather in Uppsala is rather grey and rainy. Actually this sort of weather is actually a pleasant change from the long spell of warm and sunny weather. I occasionally enjoy a cool and moist day. Good for the plants and animals and good for keeping the air fresh. :-)
So, this time I want to tell you readers about a small and very pleasant day trip that you can do while studying in Uppsala.
I personally can't stay in one place for too long. Generally after two months of being in once place, town or city I need to flee from that place and visit and relax at some other location. The city of Uppsala is rather small in my opinion and it's nice to see something new.
What do I do to get my time away? Go to Stockholm for a day! :-) (Yeah, it rhymes!)
Stockholm is a really nice city. The city has a beautiful old part called "Gamla Stan" and you can enjoy your time at various bars, restaurants, clubs and just hang out at the piers off of the road named "Strandvägen". Strandvägen is really great especially on a sunny day. You're basically walking along the water all the time and you can sit down for a beer and relax in the sun. Besides this, Stockholm has some nice museums that you can visit. Entrance is a little expensive sometimes (around €7-12) but I think it's worth it.
The train ticket is also affordable and is around €7 for one way. So all in all if you feel like spending around €30-40 you can have a really great day in Stockholm and walk around and see most of the city's attractions. Moreover, there are often sports events and concerts in Stockholm. You just need to find them. After a long day in the city it's great to return to the serenity of Uppsala and ultimately Ultuna campus where you can rest after a long day.
I've "escaped" a few times and I always feel more relaxed once I'm away from my regular work and living place for a while. Just an affordable idea and a great daytime low-budget student trip.
Take care my readers and look for my next blog!
Peace and love!
Julian
I hope that all of you are well and you are enjoying some summer weather. Today the weather in Uppsala is rather grey and rainy. Actually this sort of weather is actually a pleasant change from the long spell of warm and sunny weather. I occasionally enjoy a cool and moist day. Good for the plants and animals and good for keeping the air fresh. :-)
So, this time I want to tell you readers about a small and very pleasant day trip that you can do while studying in Uppsala.
I personally can't stay in one place for too long. Generally after two months of being in once place, town or city I need to flee from that place and visit and relax at some other location. The city of Uppsala is rather small in my opinion and it's nice to see something new.
What do I do to get my time away? Go to Stockholm for a day! :-) (Yeah, it rhymes!)
Stockholm is a really nice city. The city has a beautiful old part called "Gamla Stan" and you can enjoy your time at various bars, restaurants, clubs and just hang out at the piers off of the road named "Strandvägen". Strandvägen is really great especially on a sunny day. You're basically walking along the water all the time and you can sit down for a beer and relax in the sun. Besides this, Stockholm has some nice museums that you can visit. Entrance is a little expensive sometimes (around €7-12) but I think it's worth it.
The train ticket is also affordable and is around €7 for one way. So all in all if you feel like spending around €30-40 you can have a really great day in Stockholm and walk around and see most of the city's attractions. Moreover, there are often sports events and concerts in Stockholm. You just need to find them. After a long day in the city it's great to return to the serenity of Uppsala and ultimately Ultuna campus where you can rest after a long day.
I've "escaped" a few times and I always feel more relaxed once I'm away from my regular work and living place for a while. Just an affordable idea and a great daytime low-budget student trip.
Take care my readers and look for my next blog!
Peace and love!
Julian
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Update & THE WEATHER IN SWEDEN IS AWESOME!!!!!!
Dear readers,
As usual I hope that everyone's having a great day and week and enjoying the warm and long summer days, depending on where you are on the planet. For the rest of you, I hope that you're enjoying some beautiful winter days if you come from the southern hemisphere.
All is well here. I'm so thrilled to be done with my master's. Here's some advice. Don't take forever and procrastinate while working on your master's. Get it done already! I don't think it makes sense to sit with an unfinished master's for a long time. Of course the work is challenging and it requires alot of time, energy and thinking, especially in the "discussion" section of your master's thesis. Despite this, you really only need to sit down and do it. Basically a master's is like a normal class research paper on steroids! :-D If you know what I mean. It's (just) a supersized research paper. It takes a while, but overall I think it's a manageable task if you work on it a little bit every day. I really recommend NOT to drag it out longer than you need to.
Now to the real point as to why I'm writing this blog. The weather here in Sweden is AMAZING!!! This whole past week it's been really nice and warm and dry. The temperatures are around +15°C during the night and around +23 - +25°C during the day. Of course if you're coming from a tropical country such as India or Bangladesh or Panama that temperature is not very warm. Remember though, you're in Sweden and located 60°N! So you take what you can get here! :-)
Bottom line the weather's great here. Really great to go camping and hanging out. Over the past days I've just been chilling and relaxing. Today I think I may do a BBQ later and possibly go camping at Lake Mälaren either this or next weekend.
So good stuff going on here during the summer in Uppsala!
Julian
As usual I hope that everyone's having a great day and week and enjoying the warm and long summer days, depending on where you are on the planet. For the rest of you, I hope that you're enjoying some beautiful winter days if you come from the southern hemisphere.
All is well here. I'm so thrilled to be done with my master's. Here's some advice. Don't take forever and procrastinate while working on your master's. Get it done already! I don't think it makes sense to sit with an unfinished master's for a long time. Of course the work is challenging and it requires alot of time, energy and thinking, especially in the "discussion" section of your master's thesis. Despite this, you really only need to sit down and do it. Basically a master's is like a normal class research paper on steroids! :-D If you know what I mean. It's (just) a supersized research paper. It takes a while, but overall I think it's a manageable task if you work on it a little bit every day. I really recommend NOT to drag it out longer than you need to.
Now to the real point as to why I'm writing this blog. The weather here in Sweden is AMAZING!!! This whole past week it's been really nice and warm and dry. The temperatures are around +15°C during the night and around +23 - +25°C during the day. Of course if you're coming from a tropical country such as India or Bangladesh or Panama that temperature is not very warm. Remember though, you're in Sweden and located 60°N! So you take what you can get here! :-)
Bottom line the weather's great here. Really great to go camping and hanging out. Over the past days I've just been chilling and relaxing. Today I think I may do a BBQ later and possibly go camping at Lake Mälaren either this or next weekend.
So good stuff going on here during the summer in Uppsala!
Julian
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Gälbo (On Campus Housing) and Uppsala is Emptying Out and A Word About On-Campus Living!
Dear readers,
Wow these past couple of weeks have been really crazy. I finally presented and defended my Master's thesis, so I've officially graduated with a Master's of Science. This feels really good, but I must take the whole thing with a grain of salt because I still need to revise some things on my final thesis manuscript before it's published in the SLU library system. Nevertheless, I'm still very happy to have the bulk of the thesis finished.
Here in Sweden (at SLU more specifically) you will write your Master's thesis and eventually present it in front of your external examinor(s). Once you have done that, you will be given the possibility to revise it and hand it in again. This final manuscript will then be graded. This is different from most countries, including Denmark (Copenhagen University) where I began my studies. At other universities, you're expected to fully complete your manuscript on the date that you graduate and present and defend your thesis. At SLU you first complete, present and defend your thesis and then you will revise it to later publish it in the SLU library system. This is actually good, because your thesis will become available online and will be accessible online via a Google search! This is a pretty cool system and in my opinion blows the other universities' Master's publishing methods and policies out of the water! Most other universitites merely make your manuscript available in the form of a booklet in the institution's library and not publicly available online.
My second thing that I want to discuss in this blog is the city of Uppsala during summer break. It's dead but still charming. At this time you can really enjoy the "Swedish" side of Uppsala. There are very few international students left in Uppsala. Most have left for the summer and the many new ones haven't arrived yet. So Uppsala is back to good 'ol Sweden and not anymore a mixing pot of various cultures and minds (a.k.a. exchange students). Bottom line, there are much fewer people around.
My final topic I would like to discuss is the SLU on-campus housing at Gälbo. The place is even more dead than the city! :-) There are extremely few people around. Almost no Swedes left (that I've seen) and some international students that haven't returned home. I like this though. Finally I don't have to see all these damn dogs that they have on campus.
A final word. If I would have the chance to redo this year in Uppsala I would've not lived on campus. Yes, it's very close to classes which is extremely convenient during a frigid Swedish winter (ca. -25°). The real negatives of living on campus is 1. the people you live with, 2. the fact that you're living in the middle of nowhere and 3. the dogs (no not police, the actual dogs, Canis lupus familiaris).
The people I lived with were extremely boring and very senstitive about even the smallest sound that I made which is really annoying. I'm not always a loud person, but being sensitive about the smallest things is sort of unnecessary in my opinion. Another thing is if I wouldn't have said "hello" to my housemates and actually attempted to talk to them, I would have never conversed with them. I think this is really strange and really just boring. I think if you live with people, you could at least have the courtesy to say "hi" to other people living there. I guess it's a thing here in Sweden that everyone must be really quiet and introverted!
Secondly, Gälbo is literally situated between a forest and a field. It's really pretty but really boring. It takes ca. 20 minutes to get to the city by bike and the way home from a party is often long, cold and really sucks!
Finally, DOGS!!!! There are sooooooo many dogs on campus. SO MANY, SO MANY, SO MANY DAMN DOGS!!!! I cannot stress this enough. ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOG!!! I don't mind that, but many residents that are dog owners seem to let their dogs have the same rights as humans, e.g. jumping up on the counters and tables, eating food from tables and just generally being allowed to misbehave. Really annoying! People, if you own a dog, discipline it! Also, the place is for humans, not dogs. People don't seem to understand that dogs do not pay the rent, people do. So following that idea, dogs should take the second place, not people. Some on-campus friends of mine and I had a pretty big problem with this and I really think it needs to be addressed by the housing committee.
Again, if I would redo my Uppsala year, I would live in the city with more people, more open and creative minds and attitudes and more things to do. Just a piece of advice for all you incoming students!
That's all folks and stay tuned to my next couple of blogs. This should be my last few weeks of blogging, as I will be leaving Sweden shortly.
Enjoy your summer days!
Julian
Wow these past couple of weeks have been really crazy. I finally presented and defended my Master's thesis, so I've officially graduated with a Master's of Science. This feels really good, but I must take the whole thing with a grain of salt because I still need to revise some things on my final thesis manuscript before it's published in the SLU library system. Nevertheless, I'm still very happy to have the bulk of the thesis finished.
Here in Sweden (at SLU more specifically) you will write your Master's thesis and eventually present it in front of your external examinor(s). Once you have done that, you will be given the possibility to revise it and hand it in again. This final manuscript will then be graded. This is different from most countries, including Denmark (Copenhagen University) where I began my studies. At other universities, you're expected to fully complete your manuscript on the date that you graduate and present and defend your thesis. At SLU you first complete, present and defend your thesis and then you will revise it to later publish it in the SLU library system. This is actually good, because your thesis will become available online and will be accessible online via a Google search! This is a pretty cool system and in my opinion blows the other universities' Master's publishing methods and policies out of the water! Most other universitites merely make your manuscript available in the form of a booklet in the institution's library and not publicly available online.
My second thing that I want to discuss in this blog is the city of Uppsala during summer break. It's dead but still charming. At this time you can really enjoy the "Swedish" side of Uppsala. There are very few international students left in Uppsala. Most have left for the summer and the many new ones haven't arrived yet. So Uppsala is back to good 'ol Sweden and not anymore a mixing pot of various cultures and minds (a.k.a. exchange students). Bottom line, there are much fewer people around.
My final topic I would like to discuss is the SLU on-campus housing at Gälbo. The place is even more dead than the city! :-) There are extremely few people around. Almost no Swedes left (that I've seen) and some international students that haven't returned home. I like this though. Finally I don't have to see all these damn dogs that they have on campus.
A final word. If I would have the chance to redo this year in Uppsala I would've not lived on campus. Yes, it's very close to classes which is extremely convenient during a frigid Swedish winter (ca. -25°). The real negatives of living on campus is 1. the people you live with, 2. the fact that you're living in the middle of nowhere and 3. the dogs (no not police, the actual dogs, Canis lupus familiaris).
The people I lived with were extremely boring and very senstitive about even the smallest sound that I made which is really annoying. I'm not always a loud person, but being sensitive about the smallest things is sort of unnecessary in my opinion. Another thing is if I wouldn't have said "hello" to my housemates and actually attempted to talk to them, I would have never conversed with them. I think this is really strange and really just boring. I think if you live with people, you could at least have the courtesy to say "hi" to other people living there. I guess it's a thing here in Sweden that everyone must be really quiet and introverted!
Secondly, Gälbo is literally situated between a forest and a field. It's really pretty but really boring. It takes ca. 20 minutes to get to the city by bike and the way home from a party is often long, cold and really sucks!
Finally, DOGS!!!! There are sooooooo many dogs on campus. SO MANY, SO MANY, SO MANY DAMN DOGS!!!! I cannot stress this enough. ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOG!!! I don't mind that, but many residents that are dog owners seem to let their dogs have the same rights as humans, e.g. jumping up on the counters and tables, eating food from tables and just generally being allowed to misbehave. Really annoying! People, if you own a dog, discipline it! Also, the place is for humans, not dogs. People don't seem to understand that dogs do not pay the rent, people do. So following that idea, dogs should take the second place, not people. Some on-campus friends of mine and I had a pretty big problem with this and I really think it needs to be addressed by the housing committee.
Again, if I would redo my Uppsala year, I would live in the city with more people, more open and creative minds and attitudes and more things to do. Just a piece of advice for all you incoming students!
That's all folks and stay tuned to my next couple of blogs. This should be my last few weeks of blogging, as I will be leaving Sweden shortly.
Enjoy your summer days!
Julian
Monday, May 23, 2011
After all this information on Sweden, where does it leave us?
Dear readers,
I hope that the past weekend and days have been pleasant for you. Right now is a super busy time for me because I'm getting my Master's Thesis draft done. Unfortunately this means that partying is not really in the picture. Last week I spent an average of 12 hours a day working on and writing my Master's Thesis paper. Just a little word of warning for you getting ready to do your Master's: it's really quite a bit of work at the end. Also quite a few organisational details need to be addressed.
Anyhow, my past blogs have dealt with studying in Sweden from an American Perspective. You guys can now find out information of what it's like studying, partying, living and eating here. Great! So where does all of this leave us at the end? Do I recommend coming to Sweden, and what's the take-home message from my last series of blogs?
Let me begin with the overall experience that I've had in Sweden so far. In general, I've had some really nice and interesting times here in Sweden during the past 9 months of living and studying here. I've met some very interesting people, seen many new things (including the city of Uppsala and Stockholm and some other parts of Sweden) and of course attended some very fun and academically challenging classes here at SLU.
My final verdict. I think it's great to come to Sweden for one exchange year. At the same time, I've met some students here that have been here for several years. They all really seem to like it. I like it here in Uppsala, but it's just too rural for me. I wouldn't live here for more than one year. Also, I prefer a place that has more relaxed rules about alcohol and partying. I can understand that the Swedish government doesn't want people drinking (especially in Northern Sweden where the winters are completely dark) and alcohol is a HUGE source of tax revenue, but when it comes to having just a couple of beers to relax I don't like the government control of the Swedish liquor stores, the Systembolaget. It's a little too much government and too many rules for me.
On the other hand, I think the educational system here in Sweden is great. Everyone has the chance to attend university without any larger worries about finances as education is free and the cost of attending university can be subsidised by the government.
Uppsala is a really nice place during Spring when it actually gets warm here. The winters are beautiful but too cold for me! :-) I prefer a more temperate climate with shorter winters. I don't mind the cold very much, just if the cold is between -10°C and -20°C for more than one month (which it is here) it gets too much for me.
I've had a great time here and it's been a wonderful opportunity to study here, but I really look forward to moving on with life and to a warmer place where I speak the language and that is more populous.
Before writing this blog I've discussed with some other exchange students the experiences they have had in Sweden and their views on their entire study period. There seems to be a general consensus among the people that I've talked to. I've talked to around 20 or so exchange students during the past few weeks. The general consensus is that everyone is very happy that they came here, but most are ready to leave and move on to other places.
For you that are planning to study in Sweden, don't be biased by this opinion. I still think it's a great opportunity to study abroad in Sweden, and you should seize that opportunity. See for yourself where your new experiences and studies take you!
Get out and see the world! Come to Sweden to study! You won't regret it and who knows, I know some people that have moved here from Germany and have stayed here for over ten years. So see for yourself!
Julian
I hope that the past weekend and days have been pleasant for you. Right now is a super busy time for me because I'm getting my Master's Thesis draft done. Unfortunately this means that partying is not really in the picture. Last week I spent an average of 12 hours a day working on and writing my Master's Thesis paper. Just a little word of warning for you getting ready to do your Master's: it's really quite a bit of work at the end. Also quite a few organisational details need to be addressed.
Anyhow, my past blogs have dealt with studying in Sweden from an American Perspective. You guys can now find out information of what it's like studying, partying, living and eating here. Great! So where does all of this leave us at the end? Do I recommend coming to Sweden, and what's the take-home message from my last series of blogs?
Let me begin with the overall experience that I've had in Sweden so far. In general, I've had some really nice and interesting times here in Sweden during the past 9 months of living and studying here. I've met some very interesting people, seen many new things (including the city of Uppsala and Stockholm and some other parts of Sweden) and of course attended some very fun and academically challenging classes here at SLU.
My final verdict. I think it's great to come to Sweden for one exchange year. At the same time, I've met some students here that have been here for several years. They all really seem to like it. I like it here in Uppsala, but it's just too rural for me. I wouldn't live here for more than one year. Also, I prefer a place that has more relaxed rules about alcohol and partying. I can understand that the Swedish government doesn't want people drinking (especially in Northern Sweden where the winters are completely dark) and alcohol is a HUGE source of tax revenue, but when it comes to having just a couple of beers to relax I don't like the government control of the Swedish liquor stores, the Systembolaget. It's a little too much government and too many rules for me.
On the other hand, I think the educational system here in Sweden is great. Everyone has the chance to attend university without any larger worries about finances as education is free and the cost of attending university can be subsidised by the government.
Uppsala is a really nice place during Spring when it actually gets warm here. The winters are beautiful but too cold for me! :-) I prefer a more temperate climate with shorter winters. I don't mind the cold very much, just if the cold is between -10°C and -20°C for more than one month (which it is here) it gets too much for me.
I've had a great time here and it's been a wonderful opportunity to study here, but I really look forward to moving on with life and to a warmer place where I speak the language and that is more populous.
Before writing this blog I've discussed with some other exchange students the experiences they have had in Sweden and their views on their entire study period. There seems to be a general consensus among the people that I've talked to. I've talked to around 20 or so exchange students during the past few weeks. The general consensus is that everyone is very happy that they came here, but most are ready to leave and move on to other places.
For you that are planning to study in Sweden, don't be biased by this opinion. I still think it's a great opportunity to study abroad in Sweden, and you should seize that opportunity. See for yourself where your new experiences and studies take you!
Get out and see the world! Come to Sweden to study! You won't regret it and who knows, I know some people that have moved here from Germany and have stayed here for over ten years. So see for yourself!
Julian
Monday, May 09, 2011
An addition to my last blog about Swedish food....
Dear readers,
I hope that all of you had a great and relaxing weekend. I spent most of this weekend outside in the sun, the weather was absolutely amazing here this weekend. Really great sun and warm temperatures. During these days I'm really beginning to notice how far north I truly am. The sun sets around 20:30 and it's light until shortly before midnight. Not totally light that is, there is still some sunlight in the sky facing towards the north. It starts getting light around 03:00 again and the sun comes up around 05:00. Really cool!
In my last blog I wrote about Swedish food. I want to add a website link to last week's blog on food. This web site is a Swedish online version of a weekly periodical called "Land". In my personal opinion it's sort of an exceedingly boring Swedish old-people's magazine. My on campus corridor receives this periodical every week. My house mates seem to enjoy reading it and looking at the images, but as it is in Swedish and the articles seem utterly pointless and about the most petty and uninteresting stuff I could ever think of, I refrain from reading the whole thing. The only part of "Land" that I look at is the recipe section. The food looks pretty good and it's interesting to look at some typical Swedish dishes.
Here's the link to the website. It's all in Swedish, but I think you'll be able to look through it. All you have to do is click on a link that will take you to a recipe page. Here it is:
http://www.mixr.se/mat-dryck
Enjoy looking though the typical Swedish recipes and should you have any questions please feel free to ask me this question as a comment to this blog post. My last blog which discussed Swedish food was a little abstract in my opinion. With this website you'll be able to more "tangibly" see what Swedish food is about.
Take care and have a great week!
Julian
I hope that all of you had a great and relaxing weekend. I spent most of this weekend outside in the sun, the weather was absolutely amazing here this weekend. Really great sun and warm temperatures. During these days I'm really beginning to notice how far north I truly am. The sun sets around 20:30 and it's light until shortly before midnight. Not totally light that is, there is still some sunlight in the sky facing towards the north. It starts getting light around 03:00 again and the sun comes up around 05:00. Really cool!
In my last blog I wrote about Swedish food. I want to add a website link to last week's blog on food. This web site is a Swedish online version of a weekly periodical called "Land". In my personal opinion it's sort of an exceedingly boring Swedish old-people's magazine. My on campus corridor receives this periodical every week. My house mates seem to enjoy reading it and looking at the images, but as it is in Swedish and the articles seem utterly pointless and about the most petty and uninteresting stuff I could ever think of, I refrain from reading the whole thing. The only part of "Land" that I look at is the recipe section. The food looks pretty good and it's interesting to look at some typical Swedish dishes.
Here's the link to the website. It's all in Swedish, but I think you'll be able to look through it. All you have to do is click on a link that will take you to a recipe page. Here it is:
http://www.mixr.se/mat-dryck
Enjoy looking though the typical Swedish recipes and should you have any questions please feel free to ask me this question as a comment to this blog post. My last blog which discussed Swedish food was a little abstract in my opinion. With this website you'll be able to more "tangibly" see what Swedish food is about.
Take care and have a great week!
Julian
Friday, May 06, 2011
Studying in Sweden- An American Perspective: FOOD!!!!
Dear readers,
I haven't posted anything in a while. I hope that Easter break was as good for you guys as it was for me. I hung out with friends and partied and of course also thought about my future. Soon I will be done with my Master's degree and will have to decide what to do for the next months and years to come. Such decisions take lots of time and thinking.
Finally the time has come for me to write my last blog on what it's like to study in Sweden from an American perspective. This time I will write about Swedish food.
Well, there are two ways of looking at Swedish food. If you're a food connoisseur and a real lover of Italian, Japanese, French and Spanish food, in other words really gourmet style food, then Swedish food is not very satisfying. If however, you prefer simple and filling foods, you've come to the right place.
Swedish food tends to be very basic in my opinion. Lots of meat and lots of potatoes, bread, crackers, cheese, milk, rather heavy things. There are many different types of breads and milk products you can find in a Swedish supermarket. Many Swedes eat bread and cheese for breakfast including a variety of cold cuts. A good food many people eat in Sweden is fish. Many Swedes eat dishes made with salmon and other types of fish such as cod, flounder and halibut. So there ARE some very good things to choose from.
An interesting Swedish dairy product is "Filmjölk". Basically it's a type of rotten milk. I know this sounds really weird, but it's actually quite good. Filmjölk is actually fermented with a type of Lactobacillus or bacteria naturally found in raw milk products. Give it a try when you're here with your breakfast cereal! It's very healthy and I promise you, you won't get sick! ;-)
Another thing very common here in Sweden is hamburgers and a deal of (pretty healthy) fast foods. So it's sort of like home! :-D
Despite my opinion on Swedish food not being the best in the world, Swedish pastries ARE among the best in the world! You will find a great variety of cakes, cookies, sweets and candies here in Sweden, and they're all very tasty and professionally made if bought from an up-scale pastry store.
I personally prefer to cook here and not go out very much. Going out is sort of expensive and I consider myself a pretty good cook. I certainly satisfy myself when I make my own dishes. Don't expect to cook with gas stoves here, as all stoves are electrical here.
My overall opinion: Swedish food is ok, meaning average. It's not the best in the world and other countries have much better track records when it comes to variety and tastiness of food (for example France or Spain), but I promise you, you will get by without any problems. And if you ever get too sick of Swedish food, there are always the world-class pastries or the occasional ethnic restaurant in Stockholm to lighten up your days!
That's all for now folks! Take care and look for my next blog on Sunday!
Julian
I haven't posted anything in a while. I hope that Easter break was as good for you guys as it was for me. I hung out with friends and partied and of course also thought about my future. Soon I will be done with my Master's degree and will have to decide what to do for the next months and years to come. Such decisions take lots of time and thinking.
Finally the time has come for me to write my last blog on what it's like to study in Sweden from an American perspective. This time I will write about Swedish food.
Well, there are two ways of looking at Swedish food. If you're a food connoisseur and a real lover of Italian, Japanese, French and Spanish food, in other words really gourmet style food, then Swedish food is not very satisfying. If however, you prefer simple and filling foods, you've come to the right place.
Swedish food tends to be very basic in my opinion. Lots of meat and lots of potatoes, bread, crackers, cheese, milk, rather heavy things. There are many different types of breads and milk products you can find in a Swedish supermarket. Many Swedes eat bread and cheese for breakfast including a variety of cold cuts. A good food many people eat in Sweden is fish. Many Swedes eat dishes made with salmon and other types of fish such as cod, flounder and halibut. So there ARE some very good things to choose from.
An interesting Swedish dairy product is "Filmjölk". Basically it's a type of rotten milk. I know this sounds really weird, but it's actually quite good. Filmjölk is actually fermented with a type of Lactobacillus or bacteria naturally found in raw milk products. Give it a try when you're here with your breakfast cereal! It's very healthy and I promise you, you won't get sick! ;-)
Another thing very common here in Sweden is hamburgers and a deal of (pretty healthy) fast foods. So it's sort of like home! :-D
Despite my opinion on Swedish food not being the best in the world, Swedish pastries ARE among the best in the world! You will find a great variety of cakes, cookies, sweets and candies here in Sweden, and they're all very tasty and professionally made if bought from an up-scale pastry store.
I personally prefer to cook here and not go out very much. Going out is sort of expensive and I consider myself a pretty good cook. I certainly satisfy myself when I make my own dishes. Don't expect to cook with gas stoves here, as all stoves are electrical here.
My overall opinion: Swedish food is ok, meaning average. It's not the best in the world and other countries have much better track records when it comes to variety and tastiness of food (for example France or Spain), but I promise you, you will get by without any problems. And if you ever get too sick of Swedish food, there are always the world-class pastries or the occasional ethnic restaurant in Stockholm to lighten up your days!
That's all for now folks! Take care and look for my next blog on Sunday!
Julian
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