Survival guide

When to come and when to leave

Arrival day will be the 8th of August 2023 and departure will be on the 16th of August 2023.

When you get selected for the course, we would like you to send us some information as soon as it is possible:

• Your travel arrangements, such as arrival time in Uppsala (as exact as possible) and preferably your flight number.

• The day and time you will be leaving Uppsala and Sweden.

• If you are a vegetarian or allergic to something. Note that if you do not tell this in advance, we might not be able to prepare the right food for you the first day.

• Your home address. Or make sure that the address entered in your application is correct so that we can make an address list for all participants!

• Emergency contact information to a person back home – family or a friend.

Please send this information to the organizers. See contact details below.

Coming early/staying later: If you have some extra days before or after the course, we really recommend you to visit our capital city Stockholm. To be sure to find somewhere to stay, book a hostel early.

Getting to Uppsala

Getting to Uppsala by air usually means booking a ticket for Stockholm, since the two cities are so close. In fact, the Stockholm International Airport (Arlanda) is actually closer to Uppsala than to Stockholm. Almost all regular flights to Stockholm land at the official airport Arlanda, but a few may land at the airport Bromma in central Stockholm. 

However, there are also several low-fare companies flying to Stockholm. These usually use one of three smaller airports in the area (more or less) around Stockholm: Bromma, Skavsta (pretty far from Uppsala) or Västerås (not that far, but not that close either).

Low-fare companies flying to Stockholm:
Ryanair http://www.ryanair.com
BRA https://www.flygbra.se/en (mainly in Sweden)
Wizz Air http://www.wizzair.com

Arlanda airport:
Bus: We recommend that you take the bus number 801 (UL company) to Uppsala. The bus costs 99 SEK (there is no airport fee compared to SL-train) and takes about 42 min. It leaves about every half an hour. The bus is the cheapest option. You can buy the bus ticket with your bank card on the bus, at the airport via a clerk or via the UL app. They accept most debit/credit cards except for American Express. You can find the departure times at the UL website ul.se/en or the UL app.

Train, SL: The train "SL pendeln" costs 231 SEK (including an airport fee) and takes about 24 min. It usually leaves about every half an hour, but there can be cancellations due to reduced workforce in the summer. You can buy the train ticket with your bank card via a ticket machine, via a clerk at the airport or the SL app. The machines accept most debit/credit cards except for American Express. If you don’t understand how the machines work, just ask someone at the desk outside marked “SJ” or just a random Swede and they will help you. You can find the departure times at the SL website sl.se (only the Swedish page has the search boxes - "Från" = from; "Till" = to), the SL app, the UL website, or the UL app (if you are travelling to/from Uppsala and plan to buy the ticket in the app, we recommend using the UL app to get the correct ticket).

Train, SJ: The SJ train costs 185 SEK (mostly) and takes about 20 min. It leaves att more irregular times. You can buy the train ticket with your bank card via a ticket machine or via a clerk at the airport (or on the SJ website, see below). The machines accept most debit/credit cards except for American Express. If you don’t understand how the machines work, just ask someone at the desk outside marked “SJ” or just a random Swede and they will help you. You can find the departure times and price at the SJ website sj.se/en.

Train, Mälartåg: The trains of Mälartåg cost 229 SEK and takes about 20 min. It leaves about once every hour. You can buy tickets either on their website https://malartag.se/en or on the SJ website (however SJ will take a handling fee so it is cheaper to buy from the company).

Taxi: Going by taxi costs approximately 600 SEK and takes about 30 min. Always use taxis with signs on top of the car. When travelling to and from Arlanda airport, always ask for a fixed price. You can pay by debit/credit card for taxis in Sweden and you do not need to tip the driver (the tip is usually included in the fare). Uppsala’s two biggest taxi companies are Uppsala Taxi (tel. (+46)018 100 000) and Taxi Kurir (tel. (+46)018 123 456).

Bromma airport: Bromma airport is pretty close to the center of Stockholm. Take the bus from there to Stockholm Central Station, followed by the train from (approx. 40 mins) or bus (approx. 1 hour) to Uppsala. Take care if you are arriving very late in the evening; check that buses/trains are still going. Make sure that you don’t miss the last bus to Uppsala!

Skavsta airport: It is relatively far from Uppsala. The bus from the airport to Stockholm, takes approximately 1.5 hours. The bus will leave you at the Stockholm Central Station. From there, take the train or bus to Uppsala. Check the timetables at http://www.flygbussarna.se for the bus between Skavsta and Stockholm, and https://www.flixbus.co.uk/ for the time-table of bus from Skavsta to Uppsala.

Västerås: This is the fifth biggest town in Sweden. Take the bus to Uppsala (it leaves when the plane has arrived).

From Stockholm City: You can either take the train or the bus to Uppsala from Stockholm City station. Here you can find bus tickets to Uppsala: https://www.flixbus.co.uk/. On the website is says that it is cheapest to buy tickets in advance through their website. It is possible to buy tickets on the station as well, however the difference in price is unclear but it shouldn’t be much.
The SJ train costs 75-132 SEK and you can buy tickets in machines on the train station. Travel time is ca 40 min. Mälartåg costs 100 SEK and travel time is the same as with SJ. The train called SL Pendeln (SL) costs 123 SEK and takes 57 min to travel with.

Useful information for traveling by air: There is a policy when traveling by plane, which restricts liquids to be taken to the cabin. Therefore, all alcoholic drinks as well as hygienic items (shampoo, toothpaste, shaving cream, etc.) should be put into the checked-in luggage. Otherwise, you will be forced to discard it (unless you buy it inside the airport).

By boat: Boats, which can be cheaper than planes, are available from Poland, Finland and the Baltic countries. The boats arrive in Stockholm and from there, Uppsala is 45 minutes away by train.

By train: Book the ticket to Uppsala (or Stockholm and take another train from there) and enjoy the ride.

By car: The highway E4 goes from Helsingborg (south of Sweden) all the way to Uppsala. With a road map, this should be easy.

By foot/bike/horse-carriage/riding a moose: If you plan something like this, you probably don’t need our help to find your way around anyway!

What to bring

• Passport

• Student ID card (necessary; if possible both in your language and an international)

• Tickets

• Pocket money -  thought you only really need a debit/credit card (some places don't even accept cash - like the bus) 

• Insurance papers and phone number to your insurance company

• Towels

• Rain clothes (just in case)

• Warm clothes

• Shoes suitable for walking

• Alarm clock

• Swimsuit

• Pen and paper

• Your family's and/or friends' contact information (in case of emergency)

• Some songs from your university

• National drinks and snacks/food for International Evening. If you want to cook something, try to let us know in advance.

• A fancier outfit for the Final Gasque (= the last evening event, see schedule)

• Clothes that you don’t care if they get dirty for Cantus (= a slightly messy event, see schedule) 

Insurance

You will have to make sure you have the proper insurance coverage to go abroad. This includes full medical and dental insurance. Travel insurance to cover any accident or loss during the course is strongly recommended. Do not forget this!

Weather

The weather in August in Sweden is usually very nice. The temperature is between 15 °C and 25 °C approximately (some years up to 30 °C!). However, it is quite windy in Uppsala and there might be some rain if we are unlucky, so bring warm and waterproof clothes!

Course fee

On the arrival day you will be asked to pay a course fee. This should be paid in cash and therefore we ask you to have this prepared. The fee is accepted in Euros or in Swedish currency. BEST-member countries are divided into four categories and depending on where you come from, you pay a different amount. Students from countries in category 1 pay the full fee, which is 45 Euros. Students from countries in category 2 pay 80% of the fee. Students from countries in category 3 pay 60% of the fee. Students from countries in category 4 pay 40% of the fee and students from countries in category 5 pay 20% of the fee. This fee system is common for all BEST courses.

Category 1: Austria, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands
Category 2: Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Category 3: Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Turkey
Category 4: Greece, Montenegro, Russia
Category 5: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine

International Evening

For those of you who have not been traveling with BEST before, the International Evening will be a new experience. It is your perfect occasion to get to know other European cultures, or at least the parts of the cultures that you can drink or eat. For this event you are supposed to bring one or more bottles of drinks from your country. The evening also involves a typical dish from your country. The concept is that you will present the food and drinks from your country (everyone else will do the same), and then everyone can come and taste a bit of everything. You will have plenty of time to prepare your food before the International Evening starts. Note that if your dish involves any “special ingredients” that probably won’t be found in Swedish supermarkets, you will have to bring them yourself. Please tell us on the arrival day if you need to go and buy something from a local supermarket. You can email us in advance before the course and ask about ingredients and if they can be bought here.

Information about Sweden

Student nations: Uppsala has a rich and active student life and is one of the most popular student cities in northern Europe. The student life of Uppsala is famous for its so-called student nations. There are 13 of them, representing different geographical regions of Sweden. To enter the nations, you will need guest cards which we can get for you ONLY if you send us a photo of your student ID and passport (or student ID and national ID for EU-citizens) by email in advance before the course. Send these to the board email and also bring your student ID to Uppsala - then we can explore the student nations together!

Buying alcoholic drinks: In Sweden you can only buy drinks containing alcohol in state owned shops called Systembolaget or bars. You have to be 20 years old to buy it at Systembolaget and 18 years old to buy it in a bar. This is due to Sweden’s very strict policy on alcohol, which also includes heavy taxes. Prices on beer, wine, and liquor are what most Europeans may consider very high – so don’t be shocked by the prices - a cheap beer at the pub is about 40 SEK (about 4€). If you want to drink cheaper, it can be a good idea to bring some from home. The prices at the student nations are not of the worst kind either. In Uppsala you are also not allowed to drink outdoors in parks (laws regarding that varies between cites - Stockholm is a bit more relaxed)

Smoking in Sweden: It is prohibited to smoke in most common places (indoors) in Sweden and also in restaurants and bars. In Sweden, people usually do not smoke indoors at all, not even at home, so it will also be prohibited for you to smoke indoors at the places where you stay. Smoking simply is an outdoor activity. Note that you have to be 18 years old to buy cigarettes.

Going out early: This is usually a cultural chock for people coming to Uppsala. Here we go out really early (before 9 pm) and the clubs close at around 1 or 2 am. There will be no official place open until the late hours.

Spex: This is a kind of amateur comedy-theatre act performed by university students in Sweden. University cities, such as Gothenburg, Lund, Uppsala and Linköping have long-running traditions of spex. The word is likely derived from abbreviated student slang for spektakel (meaning show or spectacle). Prominent features of spexes are the musical-like mix of spoken text and songs, the often rhymed dialogue, a good amount of satire and parody and the tradition of having the audience shout “Omstart!” meaning “One more time!” if they consider the current scene especially hilarious or if they think they know how it should be done better. The length of the spex can vary. We will let you try this!

Gasque: This is a kind of formal dinner, where you are supposed to be fancily dressed. It is exclusively an Uppsala student tradition. Gasques can involve spexes and they certainly involve lots of song and laughter. These are one of the more memorable kinds of parties, so we have saved this event to the last night of the course.

Small crash-course in Swedish

Contact Information

E-mails
Board: uppsala@best-eu.org or lbg.uppsala.board@gmail.com
Main Organiser, Dianna Zeleskov: dianna.zeleskov@best-eu.org 

Address (post box)
Uppsala Lokala BEST-grupp
c/o Uppsala Teknolog- och Naturvetarkår
Uthgård
752 37 Uppsala
Sweden