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| Rural Norway right next to our ship |
Friday was our last stop in wonderful Norway. The city of Stavanger was an excellent choice. It is hard judging a country after 4 stops in 4 different cruise ports - but life as a critic must go on. :-) All 4 places were very nice under their own merit - but Stavanger has many interesting points. Bearing in mind - we have not seen Oslo or Bergen.
First off - the weather. Because it sits on the southern tip of the country - like Miami in Florida - and juts out into the relatively warm North Atlantic - they seldom get days below 32 degrees. This dramatically alters their growing season. Summers are also milder because of the winds and currents. It is 71 degrees during our visit and partly sunny. Most of the other places we visited were obscured by clouds - some had mild rain like you expect in Seattle. It is called a Marine West Coast climate.
Money changes everything. Since 1969 - and the oil boom - Stravanger is the Norway oil capital. They discovered oil in the North Sea and all the countries in the basin - divided up the rights between themselves. This same oil boom sunk the coal industry in Britain in 1985. In Norway it has created a haven for workers - the unemployment rate is 1.5%. It also created a housing boom.
Norway is a socialist country. Their taxes are high and the services the government provides are higher. Fishing is still a stable industry for labor and also their diet. Tourism is high too.
Our Queen Mary 2 pulled right into port around 8am - and we stayed until 5 pm. We visited a museum - walked around in town - enjoyed the shopping - although prices were high. Some magazines say it is the most expensive place in the world to live. They have their own money - the Kroner - which is worth a dime. So it is easy to figure out what things costs. By this time in our trip - we are to the stage of whipping out the Visa card - and worrying about it later. Example - I had an waffle with ice cream for $14. I will check next time. We shared it.
One of the highlights of the trip is a small village right next to our dock. The small wooden homes remind you of tourist cottages - but they are permanent homes built in the 1700s - in an exclusive village - exactly in the center of town. They are all painted white - even as I walked around taking pictures before we pulled out - lots of owners were outside touching up the paint. They are very proud of this Disney-esque community. I could easily live there and walk to all the places in town - or take the bus. Summers would be fun - winters not so sure.
Norwegians - I always dreamed of it being a place of statuesque blond - super models. There are a few of them - but generally blue eyed blondes can be frumpy and stoggy too.
On the docks there were plenty of stands selling wool goods - beautiful sweaters - some hitting $500. Lulu loved shopping the thrift stores seeing the same sweaters for $40. Since we are traveling with only 5 carry-on bags - she has behaved very well. One of her bags is just full of stuff for the Paris kids. Ironically - most of the sweaters boasted tags - "Merino Wool" - we visited that town in Australia 2 years ago!
Next - I will write the Day 12 story about the ship. The Queen Mary 2 - is a story onto itself.
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| Our first view is this lovely white village |
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| Arriving in the Queen Mary 2 is like arriving in a Rolls Royce |
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| I like these pre-built tiny house on the dock |
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| The Cathedral was getting a major facelift |
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| We hiked up this watchtower and little museum |
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| These ice dams on the roof prevent ice melt seeping into the house |
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| Kids at the museum |
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| It is against the law to kill animals! |
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| Their answer to public toilets |
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| Electric cars in dealer |
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| I loved this white village |
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| These are 1700 wooden homes |
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| Friday night supper with the Bell of the Ball. Like the smart kid in the dumb section. |
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