Stavanger

 Stavanger is a very old city, celebrating 900 years in 2025. My first impressions were fantastic, from the smooth transfer from the airport to the very warm welcome at my very basic but comfortable Stavanger b and b. Streets seem uncrowded, nobody seems in a hurry and everything is so clean and tidy. As I had heard horror stories about the weather, I was in quite a hurry to get out while the weather was good, unaware that I was going to have incredible weather most of the time!

Typical old buildings near the harbor.

And a lovely sunset by the port.

The streets were often cobbled and the older houses were wooden. It reminded me a little of Lyttelton.

 Street art abounds here.

I wandered into the main tourist/entertainment district of the city. What a colorful and restful place it was. Everyone was out enjoying the midsummer evening, meeting friends, watching the world go by!

That's exactly what I did in one of the very colorful little bars. The cider I had was delicious, and probably the most expensive I have ever had!

I noticed that there was much more of a buzz among the bar goers than in Switzerland. People are very relaxed and in no rush! Bars provide games for guests to play. It's really great to see the interaction. As I sat enjoying the pleasant evening temperatures, I suddenly realized it was past ten o'clock and light! No wonder I didn't feel tired.

More 

interesting street art! Two very different genres.

I had decided against a fiord trip because I will hopefully be seeing lots of them. I would have quite liked to view Pulpit Rock, where David had been, but opted for a hop on and off bus followed by city walking on my own.

First stop was The Swords in the rock at Hafrsfjord. Seems like some of the early kings were great womanisers- 7 wives and 20 known offspring!

The city was brimming with thousands of passengers from the absolutely massive cruise ship. I certainly heard more Spanish and Italian than Norwegian around the city. Actually, I had a wonderfully fulfilling language time, starting with helping out some Japanese tourists who couldn't understand the bus driver, to speaking my very rusty Swedish to a local in the old town (the more she felt I understood, the faster she got!) and finally French to some people in the hotel. Love it!

Back to my fabulous time in the Old Town. As I stood by the cannons pointed at this overwhelmingly huge ship, I thought how much some of the locals might wish to actually open fire to protect their privacy and peace and quiet! I actually felt guilty for invading their space, but made sure not to peer in windows. 

The 

wooden homes, all privately owned, seemed to be consumed by the towering ship. Apparently, they have a ship a day in the summer but luckily most residents of the old town work during the day and so are not as hugely affected as I thought.

I had a long chat with the owner of the Glass boutique and he seemed to think it worked!

I need to make a post box for me and Mike!

The old town is certainly a gorgeous place to meander through the peaceful, picturesque lanes.

Potters worked outside, enjoying the sunshine.

Stunning little gardens, so colorful and well maintained.

Beautiful 

shadows from wrought iron chairs.

Many years ago, fire swept through the old town and half of the buildings were destroyed. There were plans to demolish all of the remaining buildings, but fortunately they were saved.

How awful to think that these gorgeous buildings would have been replaced by concrete giants!

Back to the city, and after an early Thai meal, I once again strolled around the colorful streets.

Past the pub I had been in before - I decided to forego another 169 kroner 75 ml cider, about 30 dollars!

This street is simply called The Colorful Street.

Before heading back, I joined groups of locals to enjoy this lovely view across Breiavatnet, a pretty little pond right in the heart of the city.

I had to be back early to get super organized for a 4.00 wake up! It was still very warm and sunny as I got to bed at 10 pm

Sunrise over the pond but thick fog at the ferry terminal. We didn’t even see the boat arriving right in front of us!

Fortunately, nobody needed to be rescued for the first three hours of the trip!