ESN Brännö Hike

Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a non-profit organization that seeks to support international students. They are working in at least 40 different countries mostly in the EU I think. From what I have experienced, they plan welcome week events, excursion trips, and small group mingles for international students. I really enjoyed going to their welcome week events they had everyday during the first week of classes. They organized board game nights, bowling, pub crawls, etc. It is a great way to meet other international students and socialize. I have enjoyed myself at all the events I have gone to. The first Saturday I was in Gothenburg ESN organized a hike on Brännö island which was about 30 minutes by tram or bus from the city center and then another hour by ferry. I am poor at estimating numbers, but there were around 50-75 students who attended. With the transit system in Sweden, we did not have to pay for the ferry since it is included in our transit pass. We traveled together in a huge group from the city center and then walked to our first overlook. The ferry ride was pleasant and so fascinating as the water at the port looked frozen. After our first overlook, we walked towards a trail, but along the way our group got split up into a couple groups just because of everyone’s pace, and there were so many of us to keep up with. My group and another group took a wrong turn and had to backtrack. Observing the different landscapes and adorable, colorful houses was so lovely. After a couple hours of walking around, I felt I had seen as much as I could see since the island is pretty small, and I was starting to get really cold from all the snow. I couldn’t tell if my socks were getting wet from the snow seeping into my boots or from sweating. A small group of girls and I tried heading back early, but with the few ferry times we ended up just walking back and forth on the island and ended up rejoining the rest of the group. We gathered that Brännö island was mostly used as summer houses for locals as it felt very empty and even the few shops and stores were closed on a Saturday. I really enjoyed seeing natural landscapes in Sweden and taking the ferry. I’m glad I got to learn how to take the ferry with a group too. It would be nice to come back when it is warmer, and there is some greenery.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•