Having done a lot of hiking for the last two weeks and staying in quiet villages, Hans and I thought it was time to have some city visit. And so we did; we went to the charming city of STAVANGER. 

HOW TO GET THERE

***Oslo to Stavanger

•  By train : a scenic trip which takes almost 8 hours. Ticket costs from 250 NOK – 945 NOK per person. See Minipris Tickets (Norwegians) for more information.
• By car : there are two possibilities you can follow to drive the almost 500 kms distance : either take the toll road via E18  which is also faster (about 9 hours) or the inland road via E134.
• By bus : It is a long 10-hour drive and almost cost the same as with the train. See Nor-Way Bussekpress  for more information.

***Tau to Stavanger

Norled ferry : There is a ferry that departs every half hour in Tau which costs 37 NOK per person. The transfer takes about 45 minutes. Also possible for vehicle transfer.

Coming from Jørpeland, we took the last option, with the ferry. We parked D’Traveller at the guarded parking by the harbour for 40 NOK per day.

Campsite : Parking, Tau Harbour
Kvednanesvegen
4120 Tau
Coordinates : N: 59.06360 E : 5.90735

Leaving the ferry terminal in Tau where we also stayed for one night

THE CITY OF STAVANGER

The city of Stavanger is part of the region Vestlandnet. Many tourist brochures sell this city as the starting point of Fjord’s experience, maybe because from here is Lysefjord, the first fjord coming from south, very much accessible. Hans and I had a day trip in this city. We took the Norled ferry from Tau harbour which brought us in less than 40 minutes in Stavanger. The fare was 49 NOK pp. What funny was, on our return trip, I joked at the ticket man that we need 1.5 tickets instead of 2. We then received two tickets, one for child, and one for adult, which was 24 NOK cheaper than normal!

From the harbour in Stavanger is just a few minutes walk to the Tourist Center. We asked for a map there and some useful tips, which at the end were not so needed as we have tumbled upon the sights easily by walking around the city. The city center is not so big; in fact, it didn’t feel like a city at all. Except maybe for the presence of some big shopping centers, restaurants and fastfoods like Burger King and McDonald’s, and the many giant cruise ships anchored at the harbour, Stavanger felt safe, compact and clean! Opposite the Tourist office was the Stavanger Cathedral, which has a very nice façade, but unfortunately it was closed for renovation.

Stavanger Domkirke, Norway’s oldest cathedral

We then took a walk along the old center of Stavanger, the Gamle Stavanger. It stood out because of the immaculately-lined white houses on both sides of the streets, between Øvre Strandgate and Nedre Strandgate. They were said to be houses of seemen and workers before. Nowadays they are well-kept and maintained by their present owners. Each house has small garden and wooden fences around it. The streets are cobbled stones, not a sight of rubbish is to be seen!

Charming white wooden houses lined up the streets of Gamle Stavanger

White houses, adorned with both potted and clinging plants.

Getting lost in Stavanger’s winding streets

Finding our way in the winding streets of Gamle down to the harbour, we strolled along the harbour, having the views of some small yachts and big cruiseships before us. The MS Rogaland is also anchored here, with a small note about its existence. Waling through, re reached another surprise part of the city, by Nedre Holmegate and Øvre Holmegate. The houses and shops on these streets are all painted with bright colors of red, orange, green, purple, blue and yellow! It is a really cute and adorable area!

Colorful shops in Ovre Homelgate

Mirror, mirror on the wall… spotted in Stavanger

It was almost 13.00 and we were feeling a bit hungry. Luckily we came upon at McDonald’s and they had a promo for the day, McFeast, a big beef burger, for only 25 NOK. We ordered 2 and had our quick lunch. Later on the day, we had our coffee at Burger king. During our walks, we saw some of the prominent buildings in Stavanger like the Norse Oil Museum, the FireTower, the Norwegian Canning Museum, Maritime Museum, and Kunsthall Rogaland,among others. But we did not enter any of them, as we were really cautious of spending too much in Norway. We did a little of window shopping and visited a couple of second-hand shops. And even there, the prices were still too high for me! In that aspect, I miss Holland 

The center of Stavanger

It was almost 4 pm, when we thought we have seen almost everything. We then took the ferry back to Tau. We were in Tau again before 5 pm. Hans tried his luck at fishing. And yes! He caught 2 big fishes! What a good way to end this day! We left Tau and drove 31 kms further to a remote village of Nes, which was the begin point of our hike for the next day. After a day in the city, we couldn’t wait to be in the middle of the nature again!

Have you been to Stavanger already? Please don’t hesitate to share your experiences here…