Bikes on Bikes on Bikes

October 11, 2016

Dear readers,

The topic for today’s blog post is transportation and how to get around in Lund, and I must say that I’ve been excited to write this blog post for a couple weeks now. The transportation planning and options are really excellent in Sweden, and I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to public infrastructure.

To start off, I must say that just about every single person in Lund has a bike which they can ride to class or to the grocery store or any number of destinations. I have seen the tiniest of children, grandparents, and everybody in between riding their bikes on the numerous bike lanes and separate paths which get you where you need to go. While you might expect that it’s normal for college students to ride bikes all of the time, what surprised me when I first arrived here was how many adults use a bike for their main transportation around town. This is made possible by large sidewalks on most roads that have room for both biking and walking, as well as many biking/walking paths separate from roads which connect the whole town in a network of safe biking options. This also greatly helps to reduce car traffic across town, which is most noticeable in the center of Lund where there is a high density of shopping and cafes.

Besides hopping on your bike, there is an extensive bus system that can get you around town and even take you around the whole region of Skåne. With a student bus pass, this service works really well and makes it so that a car isn’t necessary if you want to go to the beach or get something at the nearby Ikea. Throughout Europe it is also very easy to take longer bus trips to nearby cities and countries. From Copenhagen it is very easy to take a bus trip to Germany or the Netherlands, where you can make any number of connections.

Lastly, train services in Sweden are the quickest way to get around. A train to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, takes 4-5 hours and offers great views of the Swedish countryside. Another great train ride is the 45 minute trip from Lund Central Station across the Öresund Strait to Copenhagen, a beautiful city that has lots of sightseeing and events.

Jesse Morrow

Greetings! I am a Civil Engineering student in my 3rd year at Northeastern University, and my particular interest is the sustainable design of buildings and infrastructure, which it turns out Scandinavia does pretty well! After just finishing a co-op in San Francisco, working with the Building Technology group at an engineering firm called Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, my hope is to learn about sustainability and energy efficiency from the perspective of European engineers and designers. I was attracted to the exchange program at Lund University for 2 primary reasons- it is a very large research institution with many scientists and engineers working to solve any number of challenges, and the university is home to a large number of international students who are either studying abroad or completing graduate studies. As I will be living in student housing with all international students, I believe that I will be introduced to many cultures and ideas. Outside of my studies, I am a lover of the outdoors and spend much of my time hiking, skiing, biking, and rock climbing and I hope to find such adventures in the beautiful Swedish countryside.