#1 General
Lund is a beautiful small city in the South of Sweden. I think the ability to appreciate the landscape of Lund was helped through the equally beautiful weather that was received during my first week in Lund, not going below 23°C and getting as high as 31°C. This was certainly not expected nor packed for, but nevertheless greatly appreciated. The city is made up of many greenspaces and old buildings, with many having their own unique personality to them.
The population of Lund is less than 100,000 people, with, on average, there being 40,000 students also in the mix. The people of Lund are very helpful and welcoming, all of whom (or at least thus far) have impeccable English skills, which has made the daunting task of moving to a new country so much less so.
An interesting point about Swedes that I have been told repeatedly since my arrival is that they love to sing, this has been proven to me as within 8 of my welcome activities I have been told to sing and/or sung to.
A useful thing to know about Sweden also is that you get charged an extra 1 SEK if you buy a plastic bottle for the environmental cost, so it is always useful to carry a bottle around as all water is drinkable too. Also good to know, is that any cans or bottles you accumulate can be taken to certain recycling points where you can get 1 SEK per item recycled.
#2 Lund University
The university, just like Lund itself, is very pretty. The buildings are beautiful, some of which are hundreds of years old and covered in vines and greenery.
Lund University has put on many welcoming events for international students in order to help them feel settled and meet people. Personally, I have over 3 weeks of orientation events. The events and activities are inclusive, diverse and plentiful. They range from Swedish classes, sports days, boardgames, club nights, pub nights, mentor groups, IKEA trips, a pub-crawl to Copenhagen and more. Lund has many international students, inclusive of bachelor, master and exchange students there are over 2000, I believe. However, many exchange students here are only studying in Lund for one semester. In fact, so far, I haven’t met any exchange student who was not British and who is studying for the year.
#3 Transport
Despite Lund being a small city, it still has a very good and reliable public transport system. Buses and trains run regularly until about 1am and begin again around 5am with multiple routes that can get you to where you want to go. Additionally, the buses and trains use the same ticket which is useful if you have to catch a bus and a train to get somewhere for example. The tickets are purchased via a newly introduced app, ‘Skånetrafiken’, which works throughout the region of Sweden, Skåne. The ticket prices are fairly average, costing 18,75 SEK (~£1.59) for a single, 52,50 SEK (~£4.50) for a 24-hour ticket and about £30 for a 30-day ticket. However, this is not the best way to get around Lund by any means. The best, most time-efficient and popular is by bike. The ease and cost of getting a second-hand bike, in addition to the many cycle lanes makes the bike the superior mode of transport even for an unexperienced cyclist like myself. The population of Lund, and the students of Lund University in particular, use bikes to get anywhere and everywhere in the city, whether that be to class in the morning or getting home after the club. It’s what is done.
#4 Alcohol
Prior to coming to Lund, I didn’t expect there to be quite so many different rules surrounding alcohol. Sweden, as a whole, is relatively strict with alcohol. Any alcoholic drink that is stronger than 3.5% is only sold in monopolised government shops called Systembolaget which are far fancier than your classic off-licence. The employees are dressed smartly in waistcoats, shirts and bow-ties. Lund has 3 of these shops in total. They shut no later than 7pm, normally earlier and particularly so on Saturdays where they are closed by 3pm. Price-wise, I would say alcohol from Systembolaget is generally not that much more expensive than at home, however if you are buying a drink from a bar, which is not one of the nations’ bars/clubs, it is pricey. Low-percentage alcohol and alcohol-free drinks can be bought from normal supermarkets across Lund though.
There are other interesting laws regarding alcohol here, for example you are not allowed to cross a road with alcohol in hand and if you are caught doing so it is punishable by a fine. Also, despite the legal drinking age being 18, you are unable to purchase alcohol from stores until you are 20. But you are able to purchase drinks from bars and clubs etc. from 18. Lund perhaps is more lenient with alcohol relatively to the rest of the Sweden as it is one of the only places that you are able to drink outside as this is illegal elsewhere. As a result of this, it is not uncommon to see people sat in the park having a social drink during the warm weather.
I think all of these laws demonstrate the drinking culture that Sweden has, where alcohol is there to be enjoyed and appreciated rather than anything else.
#5 Food
The classic takeaway food here, whatever time of day it may be, is falafel, usually with garlic, chilli and yoghurt sauce on it. There are many places across Lund, and nearby Malmö, which have been recommended to me as great for falafel which I plan on making my way through during the course of my year here. Fika is another part of Swedish food culture which I fully plan on throwing myself into. This is a coffee and cake (or something of the variety) break. It occurs twice per day in work schedules and is taken as a granted thing to do by colleagues. Fika has had its part in many welcome events here.
I would say that food from supermarkets has been the notably more expensive category than home. The big shock came to me when I expected Lidl to be much cheaper than other shops, but it is just a bit cheaper really. I have ranked what I believe is the best value for money (starting from least expensive): 1)Netto 2)Wallys 3)Lidl 4)ICA 5)Coop.