Stavanger

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
– Jawaharial Nehru

August 9, 2019 ~ Stavanger

Our last port in Norway…heavy sigh!

For such a large ship, the Queen Mary 2 can squeeze into some very tight places. Our berth in Stavanger was snugged right up to the city center. 

A collection of charming older homes sprouted all higglety-pigglety on the hillside next to us. Most are painted white, with only the number of stories of the house and the color of the roof to differentiate it from its neighbor. Flowers erupt from every window box. Everything is clean and neat, as if they were expecting guests.

Well, here we are!

Our excursion to cruise the Lysefjord and to see Pulpit Rock departed at 9:00 AM. We secured a seat next to a window and enjoyed watching Stavanger go by. Our guide pointed out the oil museum, which showcases the industry that bankrolls most of Norway’s prosperity.

Stavanger is built on several islands, all connected by bridges.

He also showed us several salmon farms. The fish are hatched in fresh water, high in the mountains and left there to grow to fingerling size. Then they are moved to the enclosures in Stavanger bay where they grow for 4-5 years.

Fishing is a big industry here and it’s so important to Norway, in fact, there’s even been an opera written about it—“Cod, the Opera.” One reviewer states it is “the best opera ever written…about cod.”

Talk about damning something with faint praise!

After a while, our tour stopped at a fjord-side restaurant to try some Norwegian waffles and coffee. The waffles reminded me of kringla, a special Christmas treat in the DH’s family, but instead of being crisp, these waffles were limp like pancakes. But slathered with homemade strawberry jam and sour cream they were very tasty.

Pulpit Rock rises over 1800 ft from the water's edge.

Then we sped on to the highlights of our tour—a very tall waterfall, and Pulpit Rock, a very distinctive rock formation that resembles a Brobdignagian pulpit. There are no guard rails at the top, but our guide assures us that no one has ever fallen off...accidentally.

According to our guide, some whiskey smugglers hid out in this cave to avoid paying taxes on their goods!

Our guide was very informative about all things Norway, specifically their socialist economic policies. That deserves a separate post, which I’ll pen tomorrow.

More soon…

Unlike most cruise ships that are flat across the aft portion, QM2 has a broad-beamed, round backside!

In early spring I'll bet this fall is much wider!

Sometimes when we're looking about, someone else is looking back!