Stavanger is a southern port in Norway. It still has cobblestone streets, and there are close to 250 wooden buildings that date back to the 17th and 18th centuries – apparently the highest concentration of these on the continent. They were protected by a conservancy formed in the 1950s after develops threatened to destroy them.
From the ship:
The discovery of oil in this region in the late 1960s has had a huge impact in Stavanger, as it has across the country. One can see equipment and facilities around, and the jobs and opportunities that resulted brought in foreign investment and people. The standard of living increased for much of the population of this area became more cosmopolitan.
First excursion for the day was a Pulpit Rock cruise. The day was beautiful, as have all of them been so far for us. We boarded a boat just steps away from the ship and started out. We saw many cabins on the islands and stretches of land on either side of the boat. Some were right bank or rocks by the water, while others were up on the surrounding hills. Apparently, many of them are pretty basic, and also some were – or even still are in some cases – inaccessible except by boat.
We also road by salmon operations. Our guide said, among other things, that the equivalent of 42 million portions of salmon is exported from Norway each day, every day.
On the way to Pulpit Rock:
Pulpit Rock was pretty amazing actually. In fact, so much of the Norway coast is pretty amazing! The vertical (or almost vertical) rock walls of the fjords are magnificent and there are often trees growing right out of crevices. Also waterfalls emerging from the walls, sometimes more of a trickle and others more of a deluge. Some of these pics are from a large waterfall out near Pulpit Rock.
On the way, in the entrance to the cave and approaching and under the waterfall:
Pulpit Rock (604m above Lysefjord, top approximately 25 square meters)
On the way back to dock, we stopped at a coffee house and were served the waffles that are king of ubiquitous in this country, along with coffee or tea (or in my case, water). They are much thinner than the waffles we think of, and are served with a type of sour cream and with jam.
Our boat, views from the coffee house dock and a waffle!
Our boat, views from the coffee house dock and a waffle!
After lunch back on the ship, we headed out to our second excursion, which was a home visit. We had really enjoyed doing a similar thing when on our Russia cruise a few years ago. This one was wonderful. We were welcomed by a woman named Turee (sp?) into her beautiful and traditional home. It was filled with light, art, and photographs. She walked us around the house and garden areas and told us stories about life in Norway as well as the years she spent in the US. Again, we were served waffles, coffee, tea and water.
Finally, after a pretty full day we were back on the ship, where we had dinner and spent time listening to various of the entertainment options available on the ship. There is a pianist, a classical duo, a quite good rock/pop band,(The Viking Band), a guitar player/singer and the Viking Jupiter Vocalists. Overall, the quality of the music has been very good, especially (for me at least) Laurence the guitar player/singer who I have really enjoyed.
Off to Kristiansand overnight. More later!
Look at that waffle! It looks like I’ll have to add Norway to my bucket list. How does the air smell over there? I would guess that it’s noticeably different.