Save money!  If you are planning a trip to Oslo, save money!  Business Week and ECA International have named Oslo the 7th most expensive city in the world.  Some of the things they look at prices of movie tickets, washing machines, rice, and mineral water. 

Nordea’s cheif economist Steinar Juel explains Oslo’s place on the world’s most expensive cities list with the high cost of living.  Food, transportation, and housing are all quite expensive in Norway.  While Norway is self-sufficient in many ways (i.e. the oil, hydropower, and maritime industries), many commodities must be imported.  Importation, as well as high taxes, means high costs.  Also, an important thing to understand is that while other countries experienced (and are still experiencing) a dramatic decline in the housing market, Norway’s housing market has remained stable. 

Here are a number of prices of items in U.S. dollars (source: Business Week):  keep in mind that some of these items may be more expensive and some may be less expensive, as BM pointed out.  I got the information from Aftenposten online and it came from Business Week.  So, in short, some of the numbers may not be exactly right, but you get the idea-most things are quite expensive.

Movie ticket: 12.84
Quick lunch: 32.65
Washing machine: 808.01
Kilo of rice: 4.40
Can of soft drink: 2.07

And here are a few tips to help you save money when you are in Oslo:

-avoid tour guides for sight seeing.  Either guide yourself or have a friend/relative show you around.

-if you plan to go out for the night, have a few drinks at home.  Alcohol is extremely expensive at bars and restaurants!  I paid nearly $20 for a beer one time on Karl Johans Gate.

-avoid taking taxis.  Use public transportation or walk.

-cook your own food for the most part.  It is very expensive to eat out.  Also, meat is very expensive at the supermarket, so limit your intake, as hard as it is!  I ate a lot of rice, beans, bread, and cheese.

-buy produce at immigrant markets-it’s worth the trip on the Tbane to the east side of Oslo for this.

-If you have a visa and it allows you to do so, get a part-time job!

-be aware of discounts, especially student discounts.

I lived in Oslo for about 9 months and I was very wise with how I spent my money.  It is definitely do-able to live cheaply.  Make a budget!

Daily words.  There are certain ord (words) or fraser (phrases) that you will most likely use throughout the course of a day.  Some of these are also ord that are nearly imerative while traveling in a country in which most people do not speak your language, but let’s pretend we are natives.  I am going to list 15 ord or fraser that I think, unless you are incredibly anti-social, very ill, or mute, most people use during the course of a day.   

Hva er klokka?  What time is it? 

Jeg må gå på do.  I need to go to the bathroom.

Er du sulten ennå?  Are you hungry yet?

Hun vil ha noe å drikke.  She wants something to drink.

Mamma er trøtt og vil legge seg nå.  Mom is tired and wants to go to bed now.

Han føler seg glad i dag.  He feels happy today.

Hvordan er været?  How is the weather?

Hva sa du?  What did you say?

Hørte du at….?  Did you hear that…?

Er det allerede midnatt?  Is it already midnight?

Hvordan går det?  How’s it going?

Vi snakkes.  Talk to you later.

Hvorfor gjorde du det?  Why did you do that?

Notice that many of these ord or fraser that are necessary in expressing our human essential needs, such as going to the bathroom, eating, sleeping, and feeling.  Others are related to interacting with one another, such as asking how each other feels and questioning each other.  I would say that on any given day, I use each and every one of the 15 ord or fraser above.  Would you agree?

Modes of transportation.  Definitely something you want to know how to talk about when you are preparing to travel to another country.  In Norway, you’ll want to know about biler (cars), busser (busses), tog (trains), trikken (the trolley), tbanen (the subway), ferger (ferries), og mer (and more).   You will want to know how to get to the nearest bus stop, what time the train leaves, when the ferry arrives, how much it costs to take a taxi, etc. 

Fortunately, Norway has a stellar public transportation system (which I have described in an earlier post).  I remember the first time I was in Norway, my father and I took a train from Oslo to Bergen, then took the Hurtigrute (the big cruise ship-also described in an earlier post) up to Ålesund, where we were on a mission to find long lost relatives.  We took a bus to get to our hotel, from where the lady working at the hotel (which actually had a grass roof that goats would enjoy “mowing”) offered to drive us to our relatives’ farm (because she knew them, and everyone else in the area).  So, we got exactly where we wanted to go using a handful transportmidler.  Needless to say, it was pretty cool.

And now, some phrases that you will for sure want to learn (and keep in mind I have not translated them all literally, but rather they way you would really say them):

Hvor lang tid tar det å kjøre fra Oslo til Lillehammer (and of course replace the place names with whichever ones you are dealing with)?  — How long does it take to drive from Oslo to Lillehammer?

Hvilken tbanestasjon skal jeg stige av?  Which tbane-station should I get off at?

Hvor mye koster det å ta en drosje til Oslo sentralstasjonen?  How much does it cost to take a taxi to Oslo central station?

I hvilken retning kjører denne bussen?  Which direction does this bus go?

Når drar fergen?  When does the ferry leave?

Hvilken rute skal jeg ta?  Which route should I take?

Er det fortere å kjøre bil eller ta bussen?  Is it faster to drive a car or take the bus?

Hvor sent om natten kjører drosjen?  How late in the night does the taxi go?

Hvor mye koster billetten?  How much does a ticket cost?

Har du et tbanekort?  Do you have a tbane card?

Hvilken stasjonen skal jeg stige på?  Which station should I get on?

Er det mye plass på toget?  Is there a lot of room on the train?

Tar denne fergen biler over fjorden?  Does this ferry take cars across the fjord?

Stopper tbanen på Nasjonalteateret?  Does the tbane stop at the National Theater?

These are just a few phrases that you may want to get comfortable with before you travel to Norway.  You can get what you want in English the majority of the time, but it’s more fun to practice your norsk!