Thursday, April 24, 2008

Feeling Poor in Norway

If you think New York is expensive, go to Western Europe. If you think the Euro is way too strong, go to London. If you think the pound is outrageous, go to Norway. The Norwegian Kroner is king. Some items listed below are outrageous but then again, others were oddly cheap (though these were the super saver economy book in advance tickets).
  • Bacon cheeseburger at a TGI Fridays-type restaurant - 147 NOK = $29.15
  • Big Mac (according to the Economist's Big Mac Index July 2007) - 40 NOK = $7.93 - most expensive in the world!
  • .5L of beer (about 1 pint) - around 50 NOK = $9.91
  • Unlimited one-day public transport pass in Oslo - 60 NOK = $11.89
  • 20 minute train ride from airport to Oslo city center - 160 NOK = $31.73
  • Flight from Bergen to Trondheim (1 hr flight) - 205.20 NOK = $40.70
  • Train ride from Trondheim to Oslo (6 hrs) - 199 NOK = $39.46
Cost aside, Norway is a very beautiful country (with lots of beautiful people!). And I loved catching up with Ida and meeting her friends and family.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I totally felt the same way when I was in Oslo this summer -- its completely outrageous. I remember going to the big ski jump in Oslo and paying like $20 for a water and an ice cream sandwich. At least you will feel like everything is super cheap when you come back to the states!