When I was an undergraduate he, if you were playing one or two messes around Europe, I swapped a pint of beer for a glass of Aperol Spritz (after squeezing for a while to study, of course), you can sign up for a handy program called Erasmus.
I have the opportunity to participate in this for an overseas semester, and I’m depicting myself signing up to go to Spain soon and dipping myself into the Madrid sun with a tapas and a plate of notebooks next to me. However, the reality was very different, when I was informed that I would go to Joteburg, Sweden instead, I had clearly never even heard of it. Initially, I wanted to join the program after I realized I was trading Madrid’s sights in a Swedish city and heading towards a part of the world I had never been to before.
Scandinavia is known for its long and dark winters, but I was lucky enough to go between March and June. Although it was still chilly and gloomy at the beginning of March, the city is completely transformed in the warm month, making it a perfect spring holiday.
I usually did the same thing as I did as a student in London. I went shopping for vintage clothing in the afternoon and spent the evening at the University of Gothenburg Library with a friend I met in Erasmus, but there were also some new habits I picked up.
The Swedish tradition of taking a break for coffee and baked goods known as Fika in the afternoon became a part of my everyday life in the historic Haga district, but it soon became clear that it wasn’t just the café culture that Gothenburg was superior to London.
Despite being Sweden’s second largest city, the nature of Gothenburg was unparalleled. I was on a short bike from the forest with a lake and picnic bench with space for barbecue and a forest with a picnic bench. We often went on weekends to explore the city’s archipelago and go wild swims in some of the clearest waters we’ve ever seen.
Gothenburg is an example of living in a city, not that we have to compromise on being close to nature. This is the concept of foreigners like me who are used to compromise on the universe, whether I’m walking down the street or flying around the tube.
The outdoor space was highly regarded, and even the bike line was huge when compared to the small Slithers of London’s space cyclists.
Swedes are known to value personal space and privacy, but I quickly learned to sit next to strangers on public transport and try to avoid them.
Simply put, I describe living in Sweden’s underrated city as truly amazing. It had everything the city needed, so I was able to live there and spend another semester happy, indulge in the daily fica, spending the weekends and explore the many islands that make up Archi Parego.
With just two hours of flights from London, the June flight is now only 45 pounds from Stansted Airport, and a visit to what is described as Sweden’s best secrets will be a perfect weekend break.
