“I love the environment, the fact you’re so close to nature – and I’ve met some lovely people.” Marie Gerster only has good things to say about living in Bolzano. The 22-year-old German exchange student is in her third year of a bachelor’s in Educational Sciences at the Technical University in Rhineland-Pfalz (Kaiserslautern-Landau), specialising in art and geography.

Herkko Partanen admits he’s had to adjust to life in Bolzano: “The past two years I've spent the majority of time in my room, studying and working remotely.” Now he comes back to his flat in Bolzano “just to sleep.” Herkko is in his second year of a master’s in Software Engineering and Information Systems at the University of Oulu, a town in northern most Finland, also known as the Silicon Valley of Scandinavia. 

Having initially considered South Korea and Japan as possible destinations for his semester abroad, the Finnish student decided on somewhere closer to home “I’d had some experience of German language and culture, having lived there for six months a few years ago and I always wanted to visit Italy.” In fact, Herkko is the first student from Oulu University to come to Bolzano in almost six years. He remembers discussing possible destinations with his coordinator: “for my programme there were only two options for studying in Italy – Bari or Bolzano. I did some research and found Bari University’s website almost all in Italian and pretty disorganised - I thought Bolzano was a safe option.”

After deciding on Bolzano, Herkko purposefully limited the remit of his research so as not to have too many expectations and give himself the chance to discover the city. Nevertheless, he managed to do some virtual sightseeing on google maps and was immediately “hooked” by views of the jagged peaks and lush valleys, a stark contrast to the flat and largely featureless Finnish landscape. 

Both appreciate the city’s proximity to nature: “I love being active in nature, it’s so much fun. That’s one of the main reasons I chose Bolzano.” Marie talks enthusiastically about a muddy hike to Seceda, a famous peak in Val Gardena she went on with a group of Erasmus students. She was not dressed for the occasion: “the ground was really slippery, I decided to where white trainers because I didn’t have anything else. By the end of the walk, they were ruined but the view was incredible.” She mentions another recent expedition to the famous Lago di Braies, which she describes as “magical, like something out of a dream.” She even braved the icy waters and went wild swimming. “It was freezing but I’m proud of myself, it’s one more thing I can tick off my bucket list.” Trips to Verona, Florence and Venice with the Erasmus cohort are also on the agenda.

"People here are a lot more sociable here compared to Finland, but they do tend to be more introverted."

Both are getting stuck into university life, relishing the opportunity to socialise and meet other students as well as locals: “As an exchange student, you have to be open minded” says Marie, who has already joined various sports teams, “you’ve got to make the effort to go up and introduce yourself and talk to people. It usually works out!”

Herkko is also enjoying socializing with the Bolzanini. “People here are a lot more sociable here compared to Finland. They aren’t rude” he assures us, “but they do tend to be more introverted.” In other words, spontaneous encounters are somewhat of a rarity. 

Herkko recalls one such interaction on his first train journey from Verona to Bolzano. “I was sat next to this guy who was reading a book in Italian and noticed a few Finnish words on the page. I asked him what he was reading, and he explained it was a translation of a novel by a Finnish author. That was the icebreaker. It turned out he worked in the IT industry and was on his way to a conference in Trento. We ended up talking for the entire journey and he gave me lots of tips for places to visit.” The two even exchanged numbers. 

The university’s unique mix of Italian, English and German is a stimulating environment for both students. „It’s a bit like having a bit of duolingo everyday,“ says Marie. A native German speaker and fluent in English, she hopes to learn some Italian and has already picked up a few words from Italian peers such as ‚boh‘ and ‚allora.‘ She even finds it amusing listening to one of her Italian friends arguing.

"My apartment? Decent but overpriced.”

 

After such stellar reviews of Bolzano, I wonder why neither have mentioned the city’s crippling housing shortage, a hot topic for many students. Herkko admits he experienced a moment of panic before his arrival: “My flight was getting closer and I still hadn’t found anything. In the end I had to settle for the most expensive option.” He says his apartment is „decent but overpriced.” Both admit they are paying a premium to live near the university. Neither managed to secure a room in one of the student halls and were forced to look elsewhere, using platforms such as Yost and WG-Gesucht, but options were thin on the ground. Marie explains her mother even went so far as to engage an estate agent. Herkko also brings up the city’s unreliable public transport as one of the more negative aspects: “I usually take the bus to get to the university, but I often miss it as they either arrive early or late. When the bus comes early, it never waits at the stop.”

Before I leave, I want to paint a mural somewhere.

Both are enthusiastic about their study programmes as well as the range of facilities the university offers: “The art faculty is really inspiring” says Marie, “there are so many possibilities”. She enjoys the mix of theory and practical work, which involves a rigorous study programme: “the course structure here is definitely new to me”, she continues “at my home university the courses were around 4 hours of lessons whereas the course I attend here is up to 20 hours a week.” Learning in a smaller group setting means she’s been able to dig deeper into topics and discuss her artistic responses. The seminars culminate in an exhibition at the end of the semester, something Marie is particularly looking forward to. “As an aspiring artist, it’s a great opportunity to display my work and make connections with industry professionals.”

And how will Marie and Herkko look back on their semester in Bolzano? Marie is determined to leave her mark, quite literally, on the walls of the city: “Before I leave, I want to paint a mural somewhere. I don’t know where yet, maybe on the wall of a hotel or café, I still need to write a few emails!” 

Herkko is already planning his presentation for the next group of outgoing exchange students from Oulu. The content? An advertisement for the Uni Bolzano. 

by Francesca Papp