German exchange student arrives at KTH after bicycling 1,800 kilometres

"A bike ride of this length helps you realise how little you actually need in life,” Hanisch says. “You start to appreciate things in everyday life that you usually take for granted. You also develop with each bike ride and gain valuable life experiences.” 

Now Hanisch is in Stockholm and ready to take on the challenges of the autumn term. As an exchange student enrolled at the university for two semesters, he is taking courses from the Civil and Architectural Engineering programme along with some from Real Estate and Construction Management. 

“Additionally, by taking a Swedish language course during the term, I hope to get to know Swedish culture better and be able to talk with people here."

Life stories over lunch

Hanisch says the social experience was an important element of his 13-day journey. The many people he met along the way helped him in solve assorted problems, or simply shared their life stories over lunch.

For that reason – as well as calls home – loneliness never became a problem, he says. “Besides, I think it’s entirely normal to talk to yourself now and then.”

Challenges on the road to Stockholm

Hanisch says his realisation of what’s really necessary in life grew as he faced bike travel challenges like repeated punctures in both tyres, as well as his air mattress. Eventually the bike’s bottom bracket started to creak and groan and Hanisch made a valiant effort to resolve this by having bike parts—and a new air matress—sent to Heiligenhafen, the last German town before the Danish border.

"Nowadays, I know that you get used to creaking sounds after 1,500 kilometres of pedalling, and that just a sleeping bag is enough for sleeping," Hanisch says.

Work on the bike meant an unplanned stay in Heiligenhafen, so Hanisch could only cycle for 11 out of the 13 days. However, with 200 kilometres covered on each of the last three days, he was able to make up for lost time and arrive just in time for KTH’s "Arrival Days."

How do you plan to travel when you return to Germany?

"I won’t cycle home after my studies, as I already know the way. But it definitely wasn’t my last long bike trip. I already have a few ideas about where I could pedal next. Nothing is decided yet, but when the time comes, I’ll post it on my Instagram account."

Text: Peter Asplund

Fact Box

• Here are some of the cities Arnd Hanisch passed through on his way from Karlsruhe to Stockholm: Frankfurt, Kassel, Hanover, Lübeck, Rødby, Helsingborg, Halmstad, Jönköping, Linköping, and Nyköping.
• Hanisch aimed to travel as sustainably as possible throughout the journey. However, at Öresund, he had to diverge slightly from this plan. "It turned out to be quite difficult to cross the border between Denmark and Sweden by swimming with a bike and luggage, so I ended up taking the ferry."
• Food is crucial on bike trips of Hanisch’s calibre. "To get enough food, I took many small breaks during the day, eating what I had bought from bakeries and grocery stores. I tried to taste the typical delicacies in each country, and I particularly liked the Danish pastries and the Swedish cinnamon buns."
• Hanisch’s biggest motivation was to find out whether he could complete the bike trip. According to him, the best way to do this was to try it, not just think and talk about it.