Preparation of your study abroad period

Studying at the host university

Grading in Sweden is much less granular, how my grades will be translated is still a bit unclear to me. Courses can run for parts of the semester or the full semester, depending on length and intensity (called pace) you may have one or many courses in parallel, with some courses ending early or starting late.
Contact with teaching staff is much more personal; everything works on a first-name-basis.
Arrival at the Uni (on the welcome day, in my case 16.01.) was well organized, all accounts were set up, housing keys were handed out and basic necessities like blankets and pillow could be bought at Ikea prices. The personell was very kind and helpful all around.

The library has (at least compared to HPI) fairly strict opening hours but provides a great atmosphere for studying. You can request a campus card which allows you to enter some buildings after hours and on the weekends. Computer pools are available but I never used them outside of the Exam Halls.

Contact with local and international students

Coming in contact with international  students was very easy thanks to the Erasmus Student Network (ESN). Especially the City tour and first bar night were helpful to establish a friend group. Coming into contact with local students was not quite as easy but possible via courses that included project work. I highly recommend selecting a course with a project for this purpose. I made a few friends via course work.

Language proficiency before and after study abroad period

For German-Speakers, learning Swedish is quite simple, especially given good English proficiency. Basics like ordering at a restaurant can be acquired within weeks.

Housing and living situation

I found accommodation via the University’s Housing Office. Make sure you apply in time. I heard back with 1 week from the housing office and was offered a room in a corridor. The emails landed in my spam folder which is why I almost missed the deadline to accept the offer. They do not provide another offer so make sure you check your emails regularly. I also asked my assigned exchange coordinator at Uppsala University about housing. Some Erasmus programs are allotted housing so you might be guaranteed a spot if you apply in time.

I created a Revolut account for my time in Sweden. It served my well, I never had any banking issues. Rent is payed via the housing offices website. Any credit card or Apple Pay (google pay may also work) works fine.
I payed my rent via prepaid credit card (Master Card).
For a small room in a 5 person corridor, I payed almost 6000sek. I lived in Rackarbergsgatan. It is ideally situated because of its close proximity to the city center, the nations (where I spent a lot of time) and the biggest area of student accommodation (Flogsta). While prices may be slightly higher in Rackarbergsgatan, I enjoyed living there because of slightly newer facilities, laundry and most importantly 4 great room mates.

Public transport in Uppsala is fairly expensive but the city is small enough to bike everywhere. Buying a bike is crucial for a good time in Uppsala in my opinion.

Cost of living is higher in Sweden. Choosing the right grocery store already makes a big difference. I recommend Willys. It is cheaper and good.

I am privately insured and my insurance covered my stay. I did check with them beforehand, though.

For leisure time I went climbing at Klettercentret (pretty decent bouldering and climbing gym but far from the city center) and spent lots of time in the Nations (pub and otherwise) or met up with friends for extended fika.