Stranded In Ikea In A Snowstorm? Sleep On Their Display Beds
What better place to be trapped in a snowstorm than an Ikea store? Perhaps a pub for alcoholic purposes, but having the comfort of a bed as comfortable as yours…
Chinese shoppers sleep on a bed in the showroom of the IKEA store on July 6, 2014 in Beijing, China. Of the world’s ten biggest Ikea stores, 8 of them are in China to cater to the country’s growing middle class. The stores are designed with extra room displays given the tendency for customers to make a visit an all-day affair. Store management does not discourage shoppers from sleeping on Ikea furniture, even marking them with signs inviting customers to try them out.
Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesWhat better place to be trapped in a snowstorm than an Ikea store? Perhaps a pub for alcoholic purposes, but having the comfort of a bed as comfortable as yours at home isn't so bad either. Plus, they're already assembled!
Per NBC News, 12 inches of heavy, wet snow piled high Wednesday night (December 1) in northern Denmark — coating roadways, grounding flights and halting train lines. A group of shoppers and employees still inside an Ikea during the storm in the city of Aalborg had a feeling that they weren't going to make it home that night.
Six customers, about two dozen employees and a handful of workers from a neighboring toy shop hunkered down in the Swedish furniture store and made the best of an unusual scenario, Michelle Barrett, one of the toy store employees, told public radio broadcaster DR. “We just laughed at the situation, because we will probably not experience it again,” Barrett said.
Apparently Wednesday's storm was the heaviest snowfall Denmark had seen since 2018, hit with 20 percent of the snowfall Denmark typically sees over the entire month.
Store manager Peter Elmose told Ekstra Bladet that he encouraged everyone to “pick the exact bed they always have wanted to try.” That evening, they watched television and enjoyed stuffed pork, hot cocoa and risalamande, a Danish rice pudding served during Christmastime.
Elmose said he strolled around the floors singing good-night songs and in the morning, they had hot coffee and freshly baked cinnamon rolls. 75-year-old Erik Bangsgaard, one of the stranded customers, said he was impressed with the service the staff provided. “It was fantastic considering the circumstances. We were just really happy to [have] shelter," he said.
Last week, 61 people spent three nights stranded from a snowstorm at Britain’s highest-altitude pub, and they also had a great time. Most of the guests were there to see an Oasis tribute band, while others were just in for a drink. They played quiz and board games and even sung karaoke.
