Stavanger, Norway

HAL Zuiderdam 12-Day Fjords and Highlands Cruise Day 4

May 20, 2017 - Stavanger, Norway 7:00~4:00

Weather: Clear sunny skies, light breeze (7/45F)

Zuiderdam arrived Stavanger at 6:40 this morning and it was docked right in town. We planned on exiting the ship at 8:30 but decided that 9:00 would be better when most things would be opened by then. 

An unusual picture of the harbor taken when we were at the Lido having breakfast.

A made to order omelette at the omelette station with shrimps, avocado, asparagus, mushrooms, etc., all the ingredients I like.

Same spot with the brighter sunlight.

Inner harbor

Right behind the Zuiderdam

Tour groups leaving port early

from the ship

Stavanger, Norway

Stavanger is the fourth largest city in Norway in the southwestern part of the country. This is a very compact city with all the main attractions near the cruise port. The ship docked right in the center of town making everything an easy walk away.

Cruise port right next to the wooden houses of Old Stavanger.

A very pretty area.

Colorful wall of the port terminal.

As soon as we walked out of the port gate, we made a right turn towards Old Stavanger to see the wooden houses.

 a little uphill with cobblestone streets

serene

clean and well-kept

narrow streets

Norwegian Canning Museum. Unfortunately it was closed when we got there, probably too early.

Just a very pretty surrounding.

Not definitely sure, but I think this is a parking garage.

Some sculptures we saw as we walked down to the city center.

Down to the city park

some tall buildings in the city center

The plaza right outside of the Stavanger Cathedral.

Cathedral

It's huge, almost like a castle.

This was the only church that we did not enter on this trip. They charge an entrance fee, I think it was 30NOK per person. I don't believe in charging people to enter a church.

A produce stand in the plaza.

Then we walked to the main shopping area in town, right next to the Cathedral.

with lots of stores along the many streets

In the center stands a very different looking, modern structure that housed the library, the cultural center, and the cinema.

We followed the map and found our way towards the Petroleum Museum on the other side of the hill.

Crossed this street and we reached the Petroleum Museum.

Norwegian Petroleum Museum

Stavanger holds an important role in the oil industry in Norway so the Norwegian Petroleum Museum is a major attraction in town. 

After looking around the gift shop, most of us decided we really didn't want to go inside the museum.

Then we hiked back up the hill to the Valberg Tower and Guards Museum. This was a watch tower that acted like a fire station. The cannons up there was not for wars but to alert people if there was a fire. Very interesting. The views up there was incredible. You can see for miles from there.

Cannons for fire warnings.

view

and we could see our ship!

From the top of the hill going back down to the shopping district. ChC wanted to find something local and he managed to find a bakery that was selling something called the "Cookie Man". The cookie shaped like a person and we were told that it's Norwegian Christmas cookies for kids. We bought a pack of four palm-size cookie men for 55NOK, they tasted like a kind of old fashion pastry that we had when we were kids (光酥餅). Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it. 

Inside the cultural center/library.

Angry Whopper?!

We checked out the vendors at the plaza (Torget) near the harbor but found nothing of interest.

from the plaza looking down at our ship

restaurants and cafes along the waterfront

We also went inside the fish market right at the harbor but things were quite expensive there also.

We only spent about three hours in town. By the time we were back on the ship and up to Lido for lunch, it was around 12 noon. We felt that we have seen everything worth seeing in town. 

Formal Night

This was the first formal night on this cruise and there was a Captain's Toast at the Vista Lounge at 7:45. It was the cutest thing to see the Captain and his son on stage. The Captain (Wouter Van Hoogdalem) looked very young and he was definitely visible everywhere. A couple of times we saw him and his family in the Lido and he was at the gangway when we were getting on the tenders a couple of times. 

We love escargot!

Jumbo shrimp cocktail

Rack of Lamb

Duck Breast

Chocolate Souffle

Back in our cabin at 10pm and it was still light outside.

A paper flower made with dinner napkin by the assistant waiter tonight. Well done!

We need to get up early tomorrow for the sailing in of the fjord to Flam and we need to get to the train station for the train tickets as soon as the ship dock.