With accommodation and transport taken care of, now I just needed some food and feel for the basics – groceries, coffee, beer, a standard lunch.
Because of my amazing luck with accomodation, I was only living 100m from a grocery shop – so off I went. Initially I was a bit scared, having heard tales of $10 loaves of bread in Northern Europe. Here’s what I found…
Firstly, this isn’t some sort of holiday where you just eat out and order room service. No. No. I’m living it the full Euro way – checking out the local delights but staying on a budget.
So let’s check out this milk. 1 litre for 5.95 DKK (Danish Kroner). That’s $1.36. In Australia it costs $2.40. Not bad for the Scandos.
Milk is cheaper in Norther Europe at $1.36 a litre
How about Mars Bars? 9.99DKK = That’s $2.28. It’s only $1.80 for us. Again, it’s not out of this world.
Mars bars are a little dearer in Norther Europe – $2.28
Bread? It’s 24DKK = $5.52 AUD compared to 4.10 AUD at home. OK?
Bread’s a tiny bit dearer, but a lot better
So I’m not really seeing any evidence to support the tales of Northern European extortion yet am I?
Let’s venture out for a lunch and a beer.
This picture was at a nice place in a canal in the city renowned for local Danish type food. 2 of us had a great meal and 2 big beers for 300DKK = $70. Probably a touch exxy but not out of control by any means.
Beers were 50DKK = $11.50. That is a bit exxy for sure. Certainly drinks out are 50% dearer here. No question.
Usually when I ventured down the road for a tuna salad sandwich and a coffee it was about 70DKK = $16.
At home a similar thing might be $12.
Coffees were about 30DKK = $6.90 – a bit dearer than at home. At the Gold Coast coffees are $3.50 – $4.50 tops.
So eating and drinking out is a bit on the pricey side, which is why you need to cook it up a but and just have maybe one meal every couple of days out max.
Finally the last and most reliable test. How much is a meal at McDonalds? Theoretically, Maccas is supposed to cost the same no matter where you are in the world – with the Maccas prices being as reliable as exchange rates in the finance markets.
We’ll use Big Mac, Large Coke and Large Fries as our examples. In Australia is $6.95 AUD.
And in Copenhagen? 48DKK = $11.04.
That’s a $4 difference. Any wonder these guys look a bit healthier than us at home.
So there we have it. If you don’t eat and drink every meal out, hanging out in Northern Europe is fine. Again, it’s just a bit of common sense, good organisation skills and discretion. In other words Tight Artistry.
To complete my series of blogs on Tight Artistry in Northern Europe, I have something you’ll never expect. See you in a few days
