Tuesday 29 July 2014

Off to the (expensive) Tromso Olympiad

Like a lot of people in the chess world, I am heading off to the 2014 Chess Olympiad. When the bid was received from Tromso, it did look quite impressive, but some people did suggest it would be an expensive place to go to. At the time this concern was mainly concerned with the price of alcohol, but it turns out just about everything is pricey. I expect there is going to be a degree of 'price shock' when the masses arrive at Tromso Airport.
Getting fed is probably going to be the biggest challenge, if you are not there as a player. The meal package seems to be around $110 a day(!), for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As this is the first Olympiad I will be attending as a non-player, scouting around for a good hot dog stand may be my best option. Even a load of washing is going to cost $45, so buying new shirts might be the most economical plan.
I am leaving tomorrow evening so the usual blogging caveats apply. Light blogging while in transit, with the chance of no posts for a day or two. Stopping over in London both there and back, otherwise it will be 15 days of reporting from Tromso.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

One of the guys in the Scottish team at the World Team Seniors assured me that one of the best hot dog stands in the world is located at Tromso Airport...

Jim said...

Certainly would not like to be in a confined space with someone who had been eating hotdogs for 15 days straight.