Anyone been to Norway?

[Raymond Lin]

So when we leave the EU

We become more expensive?

It already is...and we don't have the oil reserve that Norway does, with a lot of financial services leaving, the country gets poorer, pound gets weaker, it's like shooting your knee cap and then take an axe to the elbow.

 

[Kobi]

We went up Tromso in November 2015, seen norther lights(was a little cloudy) but I've got a great guide if you do go up there. Their was only about 4 hours of daylight then, so check that out when you're planning. We also went whale watching, seen orca's and humpback whales. Their wasn't much snow then so any husky rides were out the question. No joke, I wanna say in a restaurant their was a salad on the menu that when converted was around £60 haha. but it's not all totally expensive.

We also took a flight up to Svalbard, that was excellent! Pint of beer was cheaper than a pint of milk. At that time of year it was dark all the time, well not totally dark, but it was a little light. We went on a husky ride up the mountains, guides have to take a rifle out with them for protection from polar bears. But husky rides are way harder than you'd think. Put it this way, it was -20 or lower(especially up the mountains) and i was sweating. Will get some of the better pics up tomorrow, been a long day(already in bed, rock and roll!)

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

Fancy surprising SWMBO this year

We're letting this go, are we? Really? I'm not angry, I'm disappointed. Go to your room.

 

[fatiain]

I went when I was 13 with the school.

We camped next to a fjord which we canoed in regularly and climbed up a glacier, this was very cold.

Everyone in our group got food poisoning. I saw the film "Company of Wolves" on Norwegian TV in the campsite rec room.

9/10, would recommend.

 

[rallyfan1986]

We went to Bergen at the end of October last year for a long weekend. We had rain one day, snow the next then bright sunshine.

It's a great place to visit, expensive, but the local restaurants were all very good quality, you'd be looking at around £100 for starter, main and a couple of beers.

Have a look on visit Bergen website, and if you're there for a few days get a Bergen card which gets you into all the museums for free (card costs around £40 for 3 days) and includes a ride up the funicular

 

[ScoTTyBEEE]

due to the mental cost, perhaps a fjord cruise may be more attractive?

 

[Russinating]

I was there last year for work, though following holidaymakers in producing a video for a holiday company so got to see quite a bit. Video's below but the itinerary wasn't that different from a few places mentioned here.

As has been said it's very expensive once there so budget for it. I've been to Stockholm and Copenhagen on holiday and both times we accounted for it and didn't let it dampen our experience. Lots of guests in Norway when I was working didn't realise I don't think and so weren't really eating out or drinking much and were just going to bed early as a result which felt a bit sad.

I don't know if it's true but the tour manager that lives there said Norway has one of the largest cash reserves thanks to oil, but unlike the Arab states they only spend 0.3% of the interest accrued annually which keeps the NOK so high.

I visited Canada later in the year and Norway is certainly the most similar, certainly in Europe, albeit less in scale and vastness.

 

[Lopéz]

So when we leave the EU

We become more expensive?

We are already more expensive than a some EU countries. My Spanish colleague who works over here is always complaining about the cost of living in the UK, even with the recent drop in the pound against the Euro.

 

[Dis86]

I don't know if it's true but the tour manager that lives there said Norway has one of the largest cash reserves thanks to oil, but unlike the Arab states they only spend 0.3% of the interest accrued annually which keeps the NOK so high.

It's true. They have enough cash in reserve to make every citizen a millionaire.

 

[neil_g]

Why is it so expensive ?

One of the locals explained it to us when we went, if I remember rightly (this was a couple years ago so sorry if I've mis-remembered) the country is pretty wealthy from the offshore industry which means taxes are higher too but their own salaries are higher to compensate.

It means that their standards of living are pretty good, but yes it doesn't mean tourists get a good deal.

 

[Kobi]

The pics were a little dodgy and i done a super quick stitch with this one haha...

That was Svalbard

Think thats enough haha, we didnt really take many pics in Tromso.

 

[rG-tom]

twice, once to oslo once to Bergen/Odda

Photos from Bergen/Odda (only went for 1 day for a 2 hour meeting)

http://www.twilight-photography.co.uk/?p=988

Beautiful country, been hit really hard by the oil price so is "technically" cheaper to go now than a few years ago with the devaluing of the NOK but in reality even when i was in Oslo in the summer of last year before brexit screwed our currency it was still £12-13 a pint!

 

[The_Abyss]

We went a few years ago - spent a couple of days in Oslo before driving across to a little place called Flam in the fjords. Stunningly beautiful country. Me and a mate are hoping to ride to Nordkapp and back next year.

 

[ikillbears]

We're letting this go, are we? Really? I'm not angry, I'm disappointed. Go to your room.

yeah I'm with you mags, what the hell does that mean.

 

[Phate]

yeah I'm with you mags, what the hell does that mean.

"She who must be obeyed"

 

[dowie]

So when we leave the EU

We become more expensive?

we became cheaper when the results were announced

Norway on the other hand, like Switzerland, is seen as a safe haven. The EU has a load of financial troubles and when we get bad news from the likes of Greece, Spain etc.. cash flows to the likes of Norway, Switzerland which have their own currencies and aren't in the EU.

This is illustrated nicely by the Big Mac index:



(it isn't actually intended as a serious economic index)

 

[Raymond Lin]

Good thing you put the brackets at the bottom because I was going to say funny to see Hong Kong is way way up there. It has its own currency too but it is so rich in cash, it gave away around $24bill HK dollars, roughly £2 billion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheme_$6,000

 

[mjt]

What time of year are you going?
Western fjords and the north are by far the most impressive and breath-taking. Unfortunately, it also rains there all the time.
Hardangerfjord is the famous one, Aalesund, Trondheim and Bergen are all pretty towns and aren't too far apart (although Trondheim is a little further north).

Car rental is eye-wateringly expensive, along with pretty much everything else in Norway, but it's unavoidable unless you want to spend hours taking the train.

Having said that, the Oslo-Bergen train is supposed to be worth it just for the views.
Oslo and the south is nothing to write home about, so unless you really want to go there, I wouldn't bother. Tromsø is lovely, but only really worth going in the winter as you can go dog sledding, see the northern lights, etc.

Lofoten is beautiful and worth the trip in the summer.

There's a boat that runs all the way up the coast from Bergen to Kirkenes - worth it if you have the time and the money.
https://www.hurtigruten.com/?gclid=CN6PhunyjdICFUQo0wodaAMFow&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[dowie]

Good thing you put the brackets at the bottom because I was going to say funny to see Hong Kong is way way up there. It has its own currency too but it is so rich in cash, it gave away around $24bill HK dollars, roughly £2 billion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheme_$6,000

Not sure HK is much of a safe haven these days compared to Switzerland and Norway and anyway HKD is pegged to USD

 

[rG-tom]

Is Norway really a safe haven?

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=NOK&to=USD

Its currency has tanked in the last few years and so many businesses are making massive redundancies, there isn't that much outside of the very broken oil and gas sector there unless I'm misunderstanding completely?