David Horne

John Kulp <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:41:35 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne)
> wrote:
>
> >bob <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> ok, so once again thanks very much for the replies!! i guess we're
> >> just incredibly naive or something and waited too long, but we're
> >> having a hard time finding anything close to the city centres for less
> >> than �100 (uk pounds).
> >
> >That's not a terrible price- they're expensive countries.
>
> It is compared to the 250 Dkr I am paying per night in Copenhagen in
> August.

Well, let the OP know where then, so they can do the same, while there.

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007

John Kulp

OK. Just go to http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/ and browse their
accommodation section. I found mine under bed and breakfasts.


On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:36:51 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne)
wrote:

>John Kulp <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:41:35 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne)
>> wrote:
>>
>> >bob <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >
>> >> ok, so once again thanks very much for the replies!! i guess we're
>> >> just incredibly naive or something and waited too long, but we're
>> >> having a hard time finding anything close to the city centres for less
>> >> than £100 (uk pounds).
>> >
>> >That's not a terrible price- they're expensive countries.
>>
>> It is compared to the 250 Dkr I am paying per night in Copenhagen in
>> August.
>
>Well, let the OP know where then, so they can do the same, while there.
>
>--
>(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
>http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
>"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
>Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007

David Horne

John Kulp <[email protected]> wrote:

> OK. Just go to http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/ and browse their
> accommodation section. I found mine under bed and breakfasts.

That doesn't say where you're staying though- were you meaning per
person, or per room?

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007

John Kulp

On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:36:51 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne)
wrote:

>John Kulp <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Yes, it's true. These cities have tourist offices that have private
>> rooms in reserve for those arriving without them. They aren't
>> normally rented out but are used as an emergency backup. Trains are
>> expensive in Scandinavia but buses aren't and you might get a good
>> deal on a boat which is a drinking experience in itself. Meet
>> Scandinavians at their loosest. I checked Eurolines, for example,
>> from Copenhagen to Oslo on August 13th and it was 340 Dkr per person.
>
>It's 207 DKR on the same day for a one-way flight.
>


Actually, I found one for 199 Dkr on Sterling on that day when I
looked so that is right. Even adding in for the airport transport
wouldn't come close to the bus ticket, though depending on when one
leaves it might save an overnight stay if you're hardy. It would cost
101 Euros per person by boat but you get an overnight cabin for that
as well and presumably land downtown rather than at the airport.

John Kulp

I purposely didn't say where I was staying because they provide you
with a direct contact with that person after you book. It wouldn't be
fair to undercut them and go around them. Mine was per person and in
Scandinavia they typically will add more for more than one person
though never more than double in my experience and frequently less.
So say they doubled it and you pay 500 Dkr for two. That is still a
lot less than 100 pounds.


On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:06:08 +0100, [email protected] (David Horne)
wrote:

>John Kulp <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> OK. Just go to http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/ and browse their
>> accommodation section. I found mine under bed and breakfasts.
>
>That doesn't say where you're staying though- were you meaning per
>person, or per room?
>
>--
>(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
>http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
>"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
>Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007

-Bob

thanks again!! my wife went mad and spent the entire day yesterday
shopping online and booking everything except the hotel in stockholm.
we're on a couple extra flights and an overnight train and... it
slowly worked itself out, but i guess we were surprized by how
disjointed and ramshackle the web presence is of so many of the
companies and countries involved. i think we might start a really
simple web business for english speakers travelling there when we get
home... ;-) now how much does food cost? ;-) oh and we actually we got
a priceline hotel in copenhagen for about �65 per night... regular
rate is meant to be around �180...

John Kulp

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 21:38:11 +0100, bob <[email protected]> wrote:

>thanks again!! my wife went mad and spent the entire day yesterday
>shopping online and booking everything except the hotel in stockholm.
>we're on a couple extra flights and an overnight train and... it
>slowly worked itself out, but i guess we were surprized by how
>disjointed and ramshackle the web presence is of so many of the
>companies and countries involved. i think we might start a really
>simple web business for english speakers travelling there when we get
>home... ;-) now how much does food cost? ;-) oh and we actually we got
>a priceline hotel in copenhagen for about £65 per night... regular
>rate is meant to be around £180...

If you by food restaurants, it can be expensive in all 3 cities,
though generally restaurants there have lunch time specials you can
take advantage of and then buy store food for the evening meal (or all
of them if you wish). Of the three, Stockholm is the cheapest in
general. Buy your booze in the stores, btw, or you will pay through
the nose.

cdr

Hi!
I live in Oslo and have done for many years. It looks like there's a lot of the "it's so expensive" myth going around. I hear this all the time- it's one of these stereotypes that doesn't go away. But the fact is that everything is NOT more expensive here, so don't be put off!
True, booze is taxed higher, so a pint will cost a bit more than in the UK, but that does not mean that the same difference applies to a pint of milk or a loaf of bread or a meal in a restaurant.
One major reason that Norway is often considered to be expensive is that in surveys of the most expensive places to live it often rates fairly high. This is a lot to do with things which have little impact on visiting tourists. For example, to buy and own a car is expensive, as cars are taxed heavily. But you're not gonna buy a car when you're here. If you're on holiday it's more food and drink and maybe transport costs that are important, and in that regard i don't think Oslo is a lot different from London, where I spend a lot of time. At least to get around is cheaper than the tube!
To buy clothes costs the same, albeit when you don't know where to go you might end up in shop more expensive than you usually visit. Eating out is not so different. Even when it comes to booze, it's a mixed picture. Bottled beer is sold at fiercely competitive rates in the supermarkets (under a pound for a 33cl bottle of tuborg) and in fact a few years ago supermarkets were ordered to put up their prices as they were selling it at a loss (i.e. for less than the tax they paid per bottle) to attract customers in, kind of like that beaked bean war in the uk in the early 90s. Wine and spirits are sold exclusively by the state owned off-licences (Called the "wine monopoly"). At the wine monopoly they take a flat rate profit per bottle of wine (£2 i think). This means a £5 bottle of wine in the uk might cost £10 here once the higher taxes and flat rate profit margin is added on, but a bottle of Don perignon will cost the same in Norway as in the UK as the profit is much lower (only £2 on a £75 bottle) and the taxes higher, cancelling each other out. Wine in restaurants is never a good deal here, so check the prices before you order. I've never understood why!
When it comes to eating out, there are a lot of decent restaurants where a main course will cost you in the region of £10-15. If you want somewhere with a michelin star then it'll be closer to £40. You can of course get a main course for down to £5-6 if you're on a budget, but of course we're not talking anywhere fancy here.
I would recommend www.realfood.no if you want something cheap- here you can get some gourmet food in surroundings that are a lot like pret a manger. It's healthy stuff, lots wraps, salads, soups etc. There are 2 branches, see the little maps at the bottom left of the web page for the address. At Karenslyst Alle you can sit down, at the other one you have to take it away, there's no seating.
If you want to spash out on somewhere fancy, I would say Oscarsgate is THE place to eat this summer. It's a newly opened place by a young norwegian chef who has been working among other places at El Bulli, north of Barcelona. At about £25 for a main course, it's not cheap, but definately worth it, I reckon this place is at the cutting edge of norwegian cuisine at the moment, and potential michelin star material when the next guide comes out. The a la carte menu varies a lot day to day depending on what they get hold of, and they have set menus - 4 or 8 course if i remember right. It's a little place (space for about 25 people) so you need to book a day or 2 in advance.

Probably the biggest problem you'll have if you buy food in the shops is not that it's expensive, but that you can't find the stuff you usually buy. Most supermarkets have a very small selection of food compared to the UK, especially the cheaper ones like Rema1000 or Bunnpris (or recently lidl). Often the more choice there is, and the bigger they are, the more expensive they will be. Kiwi and coop are mid range, ica is more upmarket and the fanciest chain is centra.
I'm sure this is far more information than you need, so i'll shut up! good luck and happy travels!