Hi. I’m Joe and I have just finished my second year studying geography. Last semester I studied abroad in Bergen, Norway, at the University of Bergen. I arrived in January during a record snowfall event and left in July in the midst of a record heatwave. It was an amazing experience and I’m so glad to have decided to pursue this opportunity. Bergen is a very liveable and unique city, surrounded by mountains and fjords. The UNESCO world heritage site of Bryggen is located at the heart of the city, and many pretty neighbourhoods spread out along the coast and along the valley sides. The university is spread out over the western side of the city centre and is well integrated into the city. It’s separated into faculties and there are many international students who are well intermixed with the Norwegian students. I studied at the faculty of social sciences and although my classes were mostly Norwegian students, everything was taught in English since all Norwegians seem to speak perfect English: something I was not expecting! I also studied an introduction to Norwegian language course, designed for exchange students, which helped to learn a few basics which were useful in everyday interactions. Lectures, coursework, and exams were also a lot more relaxed with mid-lecture coffee breaks and plenty of opportunities for support.
As someone who loves being outside in nature, Bergen was perfect: I did hikes, runs, or mountain biking most days. Once a year there is an event called the 7-fjellturene (the 7 mountains hike) where people attempt to climb all seven of Bergen’s mountains in one day. Me and my roommate successfully completed it in 14 hours, despite the torrential rain! I also joined a local running club which was a great way to make new friends. I was able to compete in some local races including Bergen City Marathon which was a fantastic experience. Once the summer came around and the snow melted, I could also go mountain biking which was very fun. Public transport was also very accessible and affordable, especially with the under-20 youth pass or student discounts, allowing me to explore further into the fjords. For example, I learned to ski just an hour’s train ride away in Voss.
Living at the city’s largest student accommodation, Fantoft, was great socially. I made friends from all over the world and did many activities with my Norwegian flatmates, who helped a lot to settle me into Norwegian culture. I shared a room with a friend on the same course who was also studying in Bergen at the same time as me which was useful, especially as it made the rent cheaper! We had 7 Norwegian flatmates who we shared a kitchen with and they taught us many Norwegian customs, notably tacofredag (taco friday!) which we fully embraced. Although Fantoft is slightly outside of the city centre, roughly 20 minutes on the tram, there are local supermarkets (tip: shop at Kiwi or Rema1000 not Meny), a very well equipped gym, a common room with weekly events, and even a bakery: many Skillingsbolle (the traditional Bergen cinnamon bun) were consumed! I did many activities in the city with my flatmates and new friends such as swimming in the fjord and sauna, watching Brann (the city’s football team), going to pub quizzes, playing futsal every Friday, going on hikes, watching ice hockey, and doing ParkRun every Saturday.
However, my favourite part of studying abroad was travelling across Scandinavia on weekend trips. I visited many incredible places since the lower workload meant I had more free time. In March, I visited Lapland on a trip organised by ESN which was unbelievable. We flew to Tromsø then took a bus to the village of Kilpisjärvi, just over the border in Finland. Highlights included seeing the northern lights, e-fatbiking, and snowmobiling to the 3-point border of Sweden, Finland, and Norway. In April, me and my roommate did an interrail trip to Oslo, Gothenburg, Växjö (where we met a Swedish friend from Southampton), Copenhagen, and then got the ferry back to Bergen from northern Denmark. In May, I did a road-trip with some friends and flatmates all the way from Bergen to the Lofoten Islands in the Arctic Circle. Despite the 10 hours of driving per day and many events (be careful of electric car chargers and Norwegian speed limits!) we saw some spectacular landscapes and made some great memories. Finally, in June, me and my roommate spent a weekend in Stavanger, a 5-hour ferry ride south. We hiked to Preikestolen (aka the Pulpit rock), surfed (wearing wetsuit hats, gloves, and socks!), and saw the Tour of Norway.
Bergen was also the ideal place for studying geography being in the fjords and therefore with a surrounding landscape shaped by glaciations. I has a few different field trips where we got to see in person what we were studying about. For one of my courses we had the opportunity to go in a nearby cave, which was a very unique experience, and for another course I had a residential field trip to Jostedalen. The best part of that field trip was visiting a glacier which was something I has always wanted to do, having studied about them for so long. Despite missing out on some modules that I would have wanted to have done in Southampton, I believe that the geography I learnt in Norway was much more enriching and taught me many new skills and ways of working.
Overall, I have certainly become more adaptable and confident about meeting new people and trying new things. I would advise other students thinking about going abroad to absolutely go for it. Don’t worry about settling in, as there will be many other students there in exactly the same situation. And, as was the case in Norway, make sure to profit from the lower workload and do as many new experiences and travelling as possible!