Hundreds of new international students arrive in Umeå – Anne from Germany chose the eco-friendly way

Anne Rheinberger is an Erasmus exchange student during autumn 2024 from Heidelberg University in Germany. She travelled the entire 2200 km journey by train and bicycle over nine days.

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The autumn 2024 semester begins on 2 September with classes in full session, and the campus is alive once again with many new and returning faces from near and far. The new international students include 460 exchange students and approximately 300 foreign students enrolled in degree programmes and individual courses. Umeå University offers more than 40 master’s degree programmes and two programmes at the undergraduate level with instruction entirely in English.

An orientation session was held on Wednesday in Aula Nordica to help the new students become acquainted with life in Umeå and studies at the university. It included information about the first weeks on campus, Buddy Programme and social life, the university library, recycling, the city of Umeå, student unions, insights into Swedish culture, and among other things, got to learn more about sustainability practices in recycling and waste sorting. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Cathrine Norberg welcomed the students and talked about the university’s global engagement and international collaboration.

Anne Rheinberger is one of the many international students that just arrived in Umeå and attended the orientation. She is an Erasmus exchange student from Heidelberg University in southwest Germany and was determined to travel to Umeå in the most sustainable way possible. Since Anne is a cycling enthusiast, she took several trains to Östersund, and then biked the rest of the way (about 500 km) to Umeå. The entire experience took over nine days and gave her memories to last a lifetime.

I cycled through a lot of forests, along rivers and lakes, along the sea and through the High Coast. I fell in love with Swedish nature, it's breathtaking! 

Q&A with Anne about her 2200 km "green" journey to Umeå

What made you decide to travel here by train and bicycle?

I knew that I didn't want to take the plane to come to Umeå for environmental reasons and at the same time, I was looking for a possibility to take my own bike with me. I was looking for night trains to Sweden, but normally, it's necessary to disassemble the bike. The only night train where this isn’t necessary is the one I took, so that's why I started my bike tour in Östersund. 

During the last years, I’ve done several tours with my bike and tent and I think it's a great way to travel - you can cover long distances while getting to know a country, so I thought this might be the perfect adventure right at the beginning of my Erasmus semester!

Describe your journey.  Was it complicated to travel by train and bicycle? 

My journey started on the 15th of August when I took the train to northern Germany and stayed at a dear friend’s house. On 16 August, I took the ferry to Malmö and cycled to Lund. The night train to Östersund departed on 17 August, so my first day of cycling was 18 August. It is always a bit complicated to take the train with my bike and my luggage, but it wasn't my first time so I was prepared for that! 

After arriving in Östersund, I first cycled east to Hammarstrand and Kramfors and then further north through Örnsköldsvik and Nordmaling. On my way, I cycled through a lot of forests, along rivers and lakes, along the sea and through the High Coast. I fell in love with Swedish nature, it's breathtaking! 
All in all, it has been 9 days of cycling, more than 500 km and nearly 3500 meters difference in altitude. 

What were the highlights of the trip? 

There were plenty of highlights! First of all, I'm so happy about meeting many kind and open-minded people along the way. Only to mention a few: During my time on the night train, I had a nice chat with a employee of snälltåget, he wanted to support me in any way possible and decided to give me breakfast for free. On my second day in Sweden, I was invited for a fika by Kristina and Kolerik, two Swedes who I had just met, and in Kramfors, I met Matthias and Olivier from France with whom I had a lovely evening, and we even cycled together the next day. 

On my one and only very rainy day, I rang the doorbell at a Swedish house to ask for a cup of tea because I was cold and wet. Maria invited me to come inside, made me a sandwich and hot chocolate and spent some time with me. Everyone was open-minded and helpful and I'm more than thankful for that! 

I often took a break at the cemetery - there was water to refill my bottle, and I always met elderly Swedes who were interested in where I'm traveling. Many of them didn't know English and when they heard that I'm from Germany, they were happy that I was able to talk to them in Swedish while I was happy to practice my language skills!  

My favorite sights until now have been the Högakustenbron and Skuleberget. I was really looking forward to cycling the Högakustenbron because I had previously seen a lot of pictures. It was impressing and the view was great! 

Two days after that, I hiked up Skuleberget and I was amazed by the beauty of the High Coast that I could see. With the bike, the High Coast was exhausting, but it looks so beautiful from the top of the mountain! 

Did you have any challenges or difficulties during your journey?

It hasn't always been easy!

On my very first day, I forgot the key for my bike lock at home - luckily, a friend of my mum drove to northern Germany that day, even to the same city, and I could collect the key at hers.

For me, the biggest problem was that sometimes, my knees start to hurt when I'm cycling, and on my first day in Sweden, it hurt so badly that I cried because I thought this was the end of my journey. The following day, I tried to take it slowly and it worked out, but it could have been the end of my journey on my first day!

In my opinion, traveling alone is a privilege because I can decide how long and fast I ride, when to get up in the morning and when to take a break. However, sometimes, I just wish for someone to talk to, and I've got a lot of time alone with my thoughts which isn't always easy.

By bike, I have to plan my way a lot more than by car. Every kilometer counts and I had to decide which sights I can see on my way. For example, I couldn't see a cave I'd had loved to visit because this would have meant 10 km more plus a hike on an already long day.

I realized that except for cities, there isn't a lot of bicycle infrastructure in northern Sweden. Often, I had to decide between traveling on the same streets as cars or on gravel through forests which also always meant to take a longer way.

All in all, although my journey was hard and complicated sometimes, I'd do it over and over again. The nature I saw, the people I met and talked to and the opportunity of spending so much time outdoors and already seeing a part of Sweden is what I love and it was a great adventure. I'm ready for Umeå!

Why did you select Umeå University for your exchange experience?

There isn't just one reason, rather a few.

I've already traveled to Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, and fell in love with the nature of northern Europe. I haven't been to Sweden before but I hope that as an Erasmus student, I’ll not only discover the Swedish nature, but also get to know the people and their culture - a possibility that I don't have when I'm just on vacation. 

My home university has a variety of partnerships with different Swedish cities, but the university of Umeå was the one I liked most. I had the impression that there is very good biology research and that it's a young city, not too big - all while being surrounded by nature and having the possibility to experience a winter with lots of snow.  

What is on your bucket list of things to do during your time in Umeå and northern Sweden?

A lot of things! First of all, I want to enjoy my time and collect as many memories as possible. I'd like to make friends from around the world, go hiking together and find out where to eat the best cinnamon rolls in Umeå. I'm also interested in Swedish culture, celebrating St. Lucia in December and improve my Swedish language skills. 

And, of course, I'm excited to see the northern lights!!