Stavanger

This past weekend, I had one of the most incredible experiences of my entire life. After literally hours upon hours of 10 people sitting around trying to decipher Norwegian websites, train & ferry schedules & maps, 7 Americans, an Australian & a Turk walked into a bar... Just kidding. We booked our flights to Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway (which is not saying a whole lot). How could any of us come to Norway without seeing fjords? I promised too many people I would investigate & report back on what one actually is to come back to America without having seen one.

We decided to go about seeing the fjords via Stavanger. As it was cheaper and only took 1 hour (as compared to 6-8 by train) to fly, we flew there on Friday morning bright and early. And it was actually bright, because it is already broad daylight at 5 am. Since I'm reallllly smart, I couldn't figure out how to change the time zone on my phone so was subtracting 6 hours every time I needed to set my alarm, and on this particular instance, I added instead of subtracting 6 hours & set my alarm for 10:20 AM instead of 10:20 PM. As a result, my dream was interrupted at 5:14 am by Lucas (the aforementioned Australian) banging on my door, the second person to have done so. At 5:14 I was in my bed; SIX MINUTES later, I was ON the bus. What a GREAT way to start the trip. Luckily, it was uphill from there. Literally. But that's another blog entry.


We traveled with only what we could carry on our backs, which made the trip much easier. Upon arriving in Stavanger, we made a beeline for the Tourist Information center. Since we'd eaten breakfast before 5:30 am, we were ravenous & ready for lunch by 10:30 am. Unfortunately, nothing opened until 11, so we were "those people" who were standing outside salivating waiting for the restaurant to open after we'd finally agreed on a place that was not terribly expensive & had an appealing menu. We ate at a restaurant, which I imagine becomes a pub at night, called Phineas Fogg. Not only did it have possibly the best cheeseburger I have ever eaten, but it also had character! There was a whole dining area decorated to look like a study, with books on the walls & everything! Overall, it was definitely a satisfying experience.

Even though it was raining on & off, we spent the rest of the day wandering around the city. There wasn't exactly a whole lot to do, but I chose to enjoy myself anyway. Hey, it's a new city that I'll probably never see again, so I might as well take advantage of it! Stavanger is an oil hot spot, and it's right on the water, which meant the harbor was full of boats serving as souvenir shops, swans & jellyfish. I got a little carried away taking pictures of the swans & jellyfish, but I'm not sorry. I like animals.

 We weren't sure if they were mating or if the poisonous orange one was slowly & painfully killing the

purple one. :(

 They were everywhere!

  
It's certainly not the most exciting city in the world, but it definitely has a lot of character! I just enjoyed admiring the aesthetics & taking pictures. To use my mom's favorite word, it was quaint.

 A whole graffiti park!

 Some of it was strange. ^

It's our dictation. You wouldn't understand (unless you are Sal).
 

 Oil stuff

 That's the store's name!

 The more modern area of Stavanger

By the time 4:00 rolled around, we were done wandering & ready to head to our hostel. It took logical thinking skills, many Kroners & quite awhile to get there, but we made it! Once we found the main office of the hostel, it was a bit of a hike to the actual rooms. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the rooms, although it was almost eerily quiet. I don't think I've ever been in such a silent & deserted yet civilized city. Upon our arrival, we used ingredients from the grocery store & the coffee stirrers that I picked up from a random ice cream parlor to make about 20 PB&Js, some for dinner & some for our hiking trip on Saturday. After playing a few rounds of Presidents & Assholes and Bullshit (surprisingly wholesome card games), we CRASHED. Or in Deniz's case, didn't make it to the card games & crashed at 6 pm. The rest of us made it until about 9. I'm not sure if it was the AAA earplugs & sleep masks or the fact that I hadn't slept the night before & spent the whole day walking around the city with my backpack, but I slept like a rock. Can't remember the last time I did that. Stay tuned for a recap of Saturday, our hiking adventure to the cliff of Preikestolen right on the fjords!