Current Master’s Students’ Activities

I’ve made a survey among the current master’s students of Borlange campus. The results about the programs and general student experience were posted earlier here: https://www.mydalarna.com/student-reviews-survey-results/

One of the questions was about where students spend their free time and where they have travelled so far. So, here is the summary of their answers. (I didn’t intend to give detailed information about the places, but to make a brief overview of the survey results, including some comments, mostly mentioned by the students).  

In Borlange:

Peace and love café in the center of Borlange, within a 15-20 min walk from the university. According to the survey responses, it offers free concerts and good food at affordable prices.

Tenoren is a club near the university where many students party at night.

Locus, the student dorm, has a party room that you can book for birthdays or any other occasions. Many people mentioned Locus partying.

IKEA with its restaurant on the 2nd floor has become a good place for both shopping and spending free time. Students go there to wander around, buy something for home, or to have a cheap meal.

Kupolen is a shopping mall where you can buy clothes, eat in one of the cafes, or even bring your computer to use the Wi-Fi, if your internet in the room is not settled yet. It is also a good place to get warm in winter in case you are frozen outside 😉 In Kupolen there is also McDonald’s, which is open when everything else in Sweden is closed (from 7 a.m. till 2 a.m.), and Wayne’s Coffee, visited by students.

Among other places to eat out people mentioned Gasoline, the buffé at China Garden restaurant, and Pronto Pizza.

Some students spend their free time in apartments with friends, in the nature, in KFMU climbing hall, Fala Bio (cinema), and Friskis gym.

Travelling:

I was surprised at the number of different places the students have managed to visit during these 3 months that most of them are in Sweden. I will list the places in the order of being mentioned most, starting with the most popular ones.

1. Falun (including Ärtknubben – from this hill you can enjoy a magnificent view on both Falun and Leksand municipalities, Lake Runn)
2. Gävle (beach)
3. Mora
4. Fulufjället National Park (with the biggest waterfall in Sweden, 93m high, especially beautiful when frozen)
5. Östersund
6. Sundsvall
7. Ludvika
8. Stockholm
9. Uppsala
10. Leksand (many students go there to watch ice hockey matches)
11. Karlstad (considered the sunny city of Sweden)
12. Göteborg (those who visited it say it’s the most beautiful city in Sweden)
13. Oslo (some students even reached Norway)
14. Rättvik
15. Linköping
16. Nusnas (where the famous Dala horses are produced)
17. Nykoping
18. Hudiskvall
19. Orsa Björnpark
20. Hamra National Park

I’ve travelled to some of these cities myself, but I definitely want to check some of the other places popular among the students, where I haven’t been yet.

Inspired by the survey answers, I’ve chosen 3 destinations, which I will be planning to visit in the near future:

1. Ärtknubben  http://www.falun.se/www/falun/upplev.nsf/doc/573760B4547E8637C12573D8005A3B84

2. Fulufjället National Park  http://www.dalarna.se/en-GB/Hotell/Fulufjallet1/

3. Orsa Björnpark  http://www.orsagronklitt.se/att-gora/orsa-bjornpark__1281

I hope the survey results have given you a better idea of what students do in Borlange and where they travel while in Sweden. You can also read more about my trips and see the pictures of the places, which I have visited so far:

https://www.mydalarna.com/tag/trips/
https://www.mydalarna.com/tag/study-trips/

And I’m really waiting for the Christmas break to go skiing and ice-skating! I will keep you updated on the winter sports as well, when I try them here.