Stupid Bed Sizes!

When I moved into my apartment here I found I had what I thought to be a 'standard Danish king size bed' - AKA, 2 single beds pushed together to form a large bed. In standard Danish fashion, there were also 2 "top mattresses" (kind of like mattress protectors in the rest of the world), and then single size doonas too (which seem to be all the rage in northern Europe). I had a large bottom sheet though.

Unfortunately, when you have the above combination on timber floors, with bed legs made out of wood, not only is it bloody uncomfortable lying across 2 single beds, but it doesn't take long for the beds to slowly push apart in the night while you're in the middle.
Easy fix: go to the local Jysk (discount retailer of bedroom furniture and bedding) and get myself a kind size "top mattress" and some proper fitted sheets that go around the bottom mattress as well (not very common here). I describe my needs and return home to find that the top mattress is bigger than the bed. Initially I resign myself to the fact that this is just the way things work. However, thanks to my good friend, Wikipedia, I discover that not all kind size beds are equal. My bed is 160cm wide. Standard width is 180cm. Standard width of a single bed is 90cm - which means I have some very narrow single beds!

So I return to Jysk a couple of days later later and exchange the sheets (since I had already used the top mattress, I figured I can't take it back). I am informed that my bed sizes are Swedish, and therefore they do not stock what I need. Seriously!?!? Sweden has a unique size single bed that's narrower than the rest of the world.

Onto the Internet I go, figuring that someone must sell the size sheets that I need. The top mattress I bought, being one of those memory foam things, I can always cut to size (never mind the DKK 1,000 cost!) Before too much searching I realise that surely IKEA has what I need. Sure enough, it does! So I finally make it to an IKEA in the suburbs, purchase some 160cm wide fitted sheets that go over the WHOLE bed (top and bottom mattresses) and cut my top mattress to size. Now without an excessively large top mattress I can finally push pedestals against the bed at either side to discourage separation mid-night. Add to that some rope to tie the two beds together, and finally - a normal bed to sleep in!

What a saga. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I was frustrated trying to figure out how to get a good night's sleep!