restaurants for people in scandinavia with food allergies
My daughter and I are traveling to Copenhagen, Rostock, Stockholm and Helskinki next summer. She is a lactose-intolerant vegetarian. I am severly allergic to MSG. Any suggestions for restaurants or grocery stores? Anyone know how to say MSG in Swedish, Finnish or Danish?
Carmen
Colorado Springs, CO USA 5/13/08
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Since the actual name for it is Monosodium Glutamate (MSG for short) that they should be familiar with the full name, and would probably be more likely to understand the actual name instead of the abbreviation mostly used by Americans or Asians.
Most folks you'll meet in those countries probably will speak English (Scandanavians are famous for their multilingual abiliites) but to be safe get someone who knows the language to write out the restrictions in the local languages. That way you can hand something to a waiter that they can surely understand. It's what we did for my veggetarian sister in the past and it worked very well.
Carmen
You probably already know this but if your allergies are severe don't forget to carry your Epipen or Twinjects with you at all times. Make sure you know how to use it if need be. You can practise with an expired one on an unpeeled orange.
It's also not a bad idea to teach your travel companions to use it if need be. A medic alert type bracelet or necklace is a good idea also. We (Paramedics and other Medical First Responders) do look for those in an emergency.
Safe Travels,
F/A
Hello Carmen. In COPENHAGEN, eat at the Riz-Raz Vegetarian Buffet, located at KOMPAGNISTRAEDE 20. It is located in between the Stroget and Christiansborg Palace. The price for food is higher in the evenings.
Carmen, I'm lactose intolerent and found that I had no problem with dairy products throughout Europe, with the exception of England. I still carried my lactaid pills but never had to use it.