Day 39 - Sunday, July 21, 2024. - Stavanger Norway

By Ellen Outten

 

The harbor of Stavanger Norway 

Pronounced StaVANGer Norway, this is the 4th largest city in Norway. Not saying much, but there is a population of 139,000 people.  

Views as we entered the port




I thought this meant Houston TX was a sister city, but it appears not.  Our guide said many residents think this is funny.

We docked at 7 am and due to the distance to our next port, tomorrow (Oslo), we were only here in Stavanger until 1:30 pm with an "all aboard" time of 12:30.  You know not to miss the ship!

The draw here is their old town, called Gamle Stavanger.  The houses date to the 17th and 18th centuries. 












A city park at the edge of old town 


That's Wayne to the right of the window 
Cross eyes as ever, Wayne is on the right 
and I. The center below 

City fires severely damaged the area on several occasions, in 1766 and 1768 in particular.  Most buildings now date from 1820-1870. Merchants built storage wharves along the seafront with their homes and terraced gardens directly behind. The smaller cottages were home to tradesmen.

The area was threatened with demolition after the Second World War, but the Gamle Stavanger Society and the City Council initiated conservation and rehabilitation of the area. Between 1957 and 1974 a series of protection orders were adopted, and the conservation area was given the name Gamle Stavanger

The narrow cobble lines streets have beautifully kept homes with flowers in front of all the houses.  It was a pretty street.  Everything is uphill or downhill here.  Steep!  

Our walking tour was 2 hours and could have gonecto the old town first or the Petroleum Museum first.  We bailed out when we learned it was our luck of the draw to be the museum first.  This area sits right on the North Sea and we see many oil drilling rigs as we sail.   This museum held no interest and I really wanted to walk around old town, so Wayne and I and a friend we have gotten close with (from Tucson) did our own tour.  Her husband wanted to go to the museum and off he went with the group.

We wandered the streets, took a lot of pictures of the houses and wandered into not toomany shops.  Sunday morning here and it was quiet.  Wayne had some trouble with the steep inclines if the streets.  He's got a great attitude.  " If I don't keep moving, someone is going to throw dirt on me.








That's Wayne hanging on to the wall.
In honor of the resistance fighterscof Norway in WWII.


We lucked out with the weather as it is 74 degrees and cloudy. Rain just started as we boarded the ship at the end of our walk.

Tomorrow, Oslo Norway. We were here a few weeks ago, and have no tour scheduled. It's laundry morning for sure and then maybe I'll wander off the ship on my own although the forecast is 90% chance of rain.

We stay overnight in Oslo and I'm looking forward to the tour in Tuesday as it's a place I didn't get to last time.





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