Monday in Stavanger

Entrance to Lysefjord Waterfall in Fiord Docks in Stavanger

Today started out very well, with an interesting approach into the harbor at Stavanger, Norway. The entrance was very narrow, and we passed close between the shore and a small island, to get into the harbor. The city is quite beautiful with a mixture of old and new buildings. The houses on the hills are all painted white, but the older ones in town are painted different bright colors. The old warehouses are being turned into expensive condos. We had breakfast at Sabatini’s and then met friends to go into town. We purchased our tickets for the noon boat ride into the fiords and then walked around town to do a little shopping. Before we got on the boat we discovered that Norway is a very expensive place to make a purchase. A friend bought a large Coke at Burger King; yes they have on here along with 7-11, for $10.00 US. While waiting for the boat to arrive for the tour the weather then turned on us and it started to rain. By the time we got on the boat we were soaked.
The boat trip was interesting despite the weather. The fiords were striking. We saws sheer granite cliffs that went straight into the water without a slope although most of the walls of the fiords were sheer there were grassy hillsides also where they had houses and farms, but the acreage was small. At one spot there were 3 goats living on a small grassy cliff side in the fiord, how they got there and what they live on is a mystery, but they seem very healthy. After we returned to the boat the rain stopped and the sun came out.
Norway is slightly bigger than New Mexico with a population of 4,767,000, give or take a goat or two. The capital is Oslo and the government is a constitutional Monarchy. A Bishop from Winchester, England decided to build a Cathedral here and that was force behind the building of the city. Fishing and canning were the prime sources of income in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. In 1900 there were over 50 sardine canneries here. Ship building was also a source of livelihood. Now it is North Sea oil that pays the bills. Fish farming is also a source of work here. We saw a couple of fish farms on our fiord tour.
The weather in Stavanger is affected by the warmth of the Gulf Stream, which provides warmer winters, than the rest of Norway, and lengthy wet spells. The average rainfall is 46 inches a year. The temperature range is 32 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
After we returned to our cabin we both took hot showers and then set out on the deck to soak up a little of the sun. We had pizza in our cabin tonight instead of going to the dining room.
The boat is on its way to Bergen, Norway and it is rocking at the moment. If the weather improves we will try to do the fiords again in Bergen.