Mumbai --> Stockholm (via Amsterdam) --> Gothenburg --> Bergen --> Stavanger --> Bergen
--> Stockholm --> Mumbai (via Paris)
The City of Stavanger
That's all for this summer.
We're finally on our way to the last destination on our itinerary - Stavanger. As mentioned in my previous post, we decided to skip the train and try something different for our journey from Bergen to Stavanger. We took the ferry.
Fjordline - a spectacular way to travel between Norway, Denmark & Sweden.
The Fjordline's eco-friendly ships, the MS Bergensfjord and the MS Stavangerfjord, travel daily form Bergen to Stavanger. The super comfortable & enjoyable voyage lasts for seven hours. On our way to Stavanger, we found ourselves a table on the upper deck from where we could enjoy the exceptionally beautiful view.
On board, there are restaurants that cater to all tastes. In the Fjord lounge, you can enjoy music & sip on your poison of choice as you take in the view. Since the ships sail in inshore waters for the entire voyage, we were never far from natural landscapes & landmarks. We passed little coastal towns, sailed under the Askoy and Sotra bridges and stood watching Bergen as it disappeared at the horizon as we slowly made our way to Stavanger.
While we, like many others, sat enjoying a delicious pizza and chilled beer, there were some who spent the entire time lying on deck, making the most of the bright sunshine.
There's always the option of taking the coastal bus to Stavanger (5 hour journey). Tickets for both, the bus and the ship can be booked online. Once on board, I picked up a 'route plan' that was made available to all passengers, and I was highly amused when I saw it :-)
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| Hee hee! |
The City of Stavanger
01 - 03 June, 2018
Getting around
Getting to the City Center from the port takes you a good 30 minutes by bus. Do note, bus tickets are not available on board the bus. We had to download some app and pay online. Both, Sweden & Norway are largely cash-free countries. Best to carry your cash-card wherever you go.
Once we got to the City Center (stop right outside the bus terminal & train station), we had to walk a few minutes to get to the accommodation we had pre-booked for our stay in Stavanger.
Accommodation
Although, at first, I was a little irked for having to walk uphill to get to our Airbnb accommodation, once I got there and saw the room, all tiredness and irritation flew out the burgundy-curtained window. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14468751
Ours was an attic room, with a large bathroom and two super comfortable beds. The place was clean and the host had, very thoughtfully, provides for water, coffee/tea and an escape ladder, in case of an emergency. What I liked best was that there were many interesting books lined neatly on a shelf in the corner. Sadly, none of them were in English, but I did recognize them by the titles. There were also a few board games kept to one side.
Only when we stepped out did we realized that the house is less than 5 minutes away from all that's important to see & do in this lovely city that is a fascinating mix of the old and the new. Even the path leading to our airbnb was beautiful.
Exploring Stavanger
Since we were right in the middle of the City Center, we did not see the need to buy a travel card or use the local transport. Since we had planned for a Fjord cruise, we walked down towards Vagen from where began our Fjord Cruise to Lysefjord & Preikestolen.
The Rodne fjord cruise company also provides the option of a cruise and a hike to Preikestolen (the famous Pulpit Rock), but we didn't have the time for that. More importantly, I was not physically prepared for a two hour trek up a mountain.
The cruise itself was very enjoyable and we were happy to hear the cruise guide speaking in English as he described the many sights around us like Vagabond's Cave and the exhilarating Lysefjord that ranks among the world's most beautiful fjords.
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| Vagabond's Cave |
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| Gateway to LyseFjord |
We also saw and learnt much about Pulpit Rock that stood high above us. Luckily, my camera permits me to get a closer look. There were people on Pulpit Rock...and one was actually sitting with his legs dangling over the edge! I would never have the courage to do that!
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| ooooh! So scary! |
For the best part of the cruise that lasts for about 3 hours, we stood on the sundeck which is a good place to enjoy the cool breeze and the spectacular view the Fjords have to offer. On our way back, though, we chose to sit in the boat's sheltered cabin with its many panoramic windows and enjoyed a nice breakfast purchased from the kiosk onboard.
Back at Vagen, we walked around admiring the architecture and the many restaurants that graced the area. It was quite a crowded Sunday around Strandkaien.
The Plaza was abuzz with activity and sounds of chatter, laughter and music. There were also a few stalls selling souvenirs and traditional crafts & jewelry. Walking around in the pretty and quaint shopping area, we stopped awhile to enjoy the really loud and vibrant music being belted out by a local rock band as part of the Stavanger Music Festival.
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| The people of Sweden & Norway love their trolls |
After stopping to buy a few souvenirs, we began our walk back to where we were staying. Another good thing about the location we chose is that our path cuts through the extremely beautiful Old Town or Gamle Stavanger. This Old Town is said to have 173 small, white, wooden houses from the turn of the 18C. In fact, Stavanger has received many awards for preserving this piece of history as well as they have. Gamle Stavanger is a popular living area and residents take great pride in keeping their houses picture-perfect at all times.
For me, walking through Gamle Stavanger was like walking through fairyland or one of those magical wonderlands that you find atop the Faraway Tree.
Eating at Stavanger
Well, there are plenty of great options for eating out at Stavanger, but we tried just one. It was Sushi San and it's right outside the train station. It serves really great sushi :-)
Home again, home again!
Having come to end of our vacation, we retraced our journey back to Stockholm from where we boarded a flight back to Mumbai, via CDG, Paris. (I'm choosing to ignore the first terrible accommodation at Stockholm) We're now back in Mumbai, a little richer for having traveled and experienced a small slice of the great world beyond ours.
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| Leaving from Stockholm |
Pics by Misha.
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