Stavanger: Day 1 & 2

Stavanger: Day 1 & 2

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Stavanger is like something out of a dream. The city sits right on the edge of the fjord between the mountains and the sea. The winds bring a hint of the salty sea and I adore all of the little fishing boats. We are staying with Katy's family and they have packed a full itinerary for us during our stay.

Our first adventure was a hike up a mountain called Dalsnuten. Dalsnuten is an amazing overlook where you can see all of Stavanger and the surrounding towns. The hike is short but pretty strenuous. We were climbing up rocks for about 20 minutes at the end of the hike. The scenery was stunning. The whole mountain is covered in lush greenery. At one point there was a dense forest of aspen trees. In the middle of the protected forest is this random farm. There were some sheep grazing inside this rock wall. During some portions of the hike I felt like I was on the Lord of the Rings movie set. At the top of mountain the winds were so strong! I was worried we were going to be blown right off!

It rained most of the hike so I actually didn't bring my camera (a major oversight on my part) so I'm just going to steal some from the internet. I was worried the rain was going to make our miserable, but I actually think it made it better. Everything has this soft quality about it because the mist made it hazy. Our hosts said this weather is typical for Stavanger so I feel like I got the true Norwegian experience.

Later that night Katy's other cousin took us fishing. I didn't think fishing was going to be my thing, but I actually loved it! I have been fishing several times prior to this but have never caught anything. We went to this rocky jetty on the edge of the fjord and started casting our lines. After a quick lesson on the 'wrong' side of the jetty, I graduated to the real thing. The jetty was extremely rocky so we had to be sure to cast out over the rocks. As you reeled in you also had to try to avoid all the seaweed and the jellyfish. I hooked a couple of fish but lost them among the rocks as I tried to reel them in. Maybe this was a blessing though; I would have have no idea what to do with a fish once I caught it. We fished until the sun 'went down' at around 10:30. I loved just standing on the jetty. Again, it was extremely windy but I loved the salt air and the chill.

This morning was fairly relaxed. Katy and I took a bike ride around Stavanger. We were trying to find the bike trail that rides right along side the sea, but we never actually found it. Instead we stumbled upon the oldest cemetery in the city. This is one of those hidden gems I have been waiting to find. They cemetery was so peaceful and beautifully kept. We strolled along the gravel paths and picked out some of the names we liked. My favorites were Olette, Oline, Hedvig, Hermine, and Ingerid. 

I'll post those pictures later!