Stavanger

This weekend I traveled to Stavanger to visit Kristine. I took a five hour bus ride, through tunnels and on two ferries. After I arrived, Kristine and I walked out along the ocean to a nice spot to watch the sunset. It was cloudy, but still beautiful.

Saturday morning we headed into the city center. We walked around the shops, and listened to the music that was around town. Stavanger was chosen as the cultural capital of 2008. There were three stages set up around town for various performances. Kristine had to go to work that afternoon so I opted to stay in the city and catch the bus back later. I watched a few of the performances on the main stage including: a song from les misarables, a Congo band, and a hip hop dance group. Then I wandered into Domkirken, the oldest church in Stavanger, built in the 1200s. The inside was beautiful. There were huge stained glass windows behind the altar, and a wooden pulpit stand with intricate carvings. When I arrived there was a concert taking place inside. The police in Stavanger had arranged a concert. Their officers performed songs, brass ensembles, and one even played the organ. It was wonderful to see those performances in such a breathtaking place.

Later in the day I met up with Solveig and she and I had dinner with a few of her friends. We ate at a Greek restaurant. Being that I’m not in tune with Greek foods, and I don’t speak Norwegian, it was very difficult to pick something to eat. I settled for salad thinking it was the safest thing….wrong. Their idea of a salad was a mixture of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and olives. No lettuce. I ate it anyway and figured I could always eat later. After dinner I headed back to Kristine’s house. She wasn’t home until 11pm so in the mean time I sat out on the deck talking to her parents. They were very sweet and talking with them gave them an opportunity to practice their English before heading to Canada later this summer.

Sunday morning Kristine again had to work. I slept in and caught up on a bit of sleep. Later that afternoon we had a barbeque with her parents. We had some pork, potatoes, and salad. I tried flavored butter on my potatoes and really enjoy the Mediterranean tasting one. After eating, Kristine and I headed to Sverd i fjell (Swords in the rock at møllebukta) this monument represented the gathering of Norway into one Kingdom. The larger of the three swords stands for the winning king Harald Hårfagre and the smaller two for the defeated kings.

There was a cute beach near by and we decided to sit by the water for a bit. Kristine had been taking photos of me all afternoon and jokingly suggested that I walk out on these rocks in the ocean for a picture. I laughed, but then considered the idea. I took off my shoes, rolled up my pants, and headed out. The water wasn’t too cold and the rocks weren’t slippery. It was fun and yielded good pictures. In some I even look like I am walking on water.

After my “photoshoot” we headed back to Kristine’s to go hiking with her family. We went to Mastravarden a small hike on Mosterøy, a nearby hill. It was usually a good spot to watch the sunset, but as luck would have it, it was cloudy again. We hiked through fields of cows and sheep, and when we reached the top we had a 360 degree view of the city and the ocean. We relaxed the rest of that night, watching a movie, and headed to bed early for our hike to Preikestolen the next day. I have made a separate entry for the hike.

I headed home Monday evening after the hike. The cloudy skies let loose to rain. Looks like Norway has finally started to show its true rainy colors. Today sitting in my office it is pouring outside. Guess I better get used to rainy Bergen, I’ve been spoiled with the sun.

Ha det, Allison

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