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International Exchange

University of Karlstad, Sweden

My exchange to Karlstad University, Sweden was the best experience of my life. Undoubtedly. I have never laughed so much in six months ever! During my exchange I was able to make trips to Switzerland, Germany, Latvia, England, Denmark and Norway, as well as trips within Sweden to Uppsala and Lapland. There is so much variation in culture and history in Europe so close together that travelling even short distances is an eye-opening experience.

This is a photo of a river a street away from my residence. Karlstad is built on a network of rivers and lakes. The traditional barn-style Swedish houses are found a lot in Karlstad.

My time in Karlstad was equally as fascinating. It is a beautiful small city built on rivers and lakes ideally located equal distance between Oslo, Gothenburg and Stockholm. This made travelling and sightseeing very easy as all three of these cities have major international airports. Its regional location also enabled me to see a different side of Sweden to the big cities. If in Karlstad it is a must that you visit Hamarr on Lake Vanern. This is the biggest lake in Sweden and is just beautiful. My trip north was also great and by staying in the hostel in Abisko st, it made the trip very affordable. This hostel ran the dog sled tours and had free use of its sauna and equipment including cold weather gear and cross country skis. I found that Sweden was more expensive than Australia but that it was not cripplingly so. I was still able to travel and live comfortably, and the student travel grant was really helpful.

Karlstad University was very fantastic. It is very modern and caters really well to their international students. The study abroad office organised trips for exchange students and alerted us to any parties and events. They picked you up when you first arrive from the airport or station (I recommend on coming by train) to take you to your new residence and the great host student program meant that we were taken on the first day to buy groceries and linens etc by someone who new the area and the cheap places to shop. The University also has a great Orientation program for the uni and the city. I recommend the student dormitory Rosenborg (on Oldevigsgatan) as a place of residence because it has such a strong community feel and is in walking distance from the city centre.

By far the best moments of my exchange and why I loved it so much was due to my ‘Swedish family’, a group of about twenty students from my residence who came from all over Europe and the world. It was with these people that I took a trip to go dog-sledding in Lapland. It was these people who made just sitting in my kitchen or having a BBQ (once we even had a snow BBQ!) a whole lot of fun and it is possibly these friends who I will have for life that I will treasure above all else from my time in Karlstad.

I strongly recommend Study Abroad for any student looking for a new adventure and especially recommend Karlstad University.

Cassandra Strakosch