With a general plan of “Eh, I’m sure we’ll find something if we just wander around a bit” in full swing in Stavanger we emerged from the very enjoyable Maritime Museum close to the waterfront area not far from where our cruise ship was docked and consulted the phone’s map to see what else of interest there might be in any given direction so as to reduce the aimlessness of our general ambling to a minimum. Okay, fine, we’d done some cultural things so we were looking to see where there might be some open bars. What can I say? We’re creatures of habit and we know what we like to do.
Across from the fairly narrow harbour of Stavanger there looked to be waterfront cafés, restaurants, and shops, and so we headed that way. It would also give us a nice view back towards Britannia at the cruise dock and that’s the sort of thing you’ve got to take photos of when you’re cruising or other fans of cruising will shun you. I like a good shunning as much as the next person, but sometimes it’s nice to oblige.
There was another interesting-looking ship alongside at Stavanger and this turned out to be MS Rogaland.
Rogaland was built in 1929 and served as a coastal liner between Norwegian ports with cargo holds, including cold storage and the capability to transport live fish. In 1944 Rogaland was alongside in Bergen unloading cargo when another vessel, Voorbode, taking explosives from Oslo for the Germans ran into difficulties and came in for repairs. It was close enough to Rogaland that when the German-requisitioned trawler suddenly exploded the ensuing wave knocked Rogaland to the bottom of the harbour and cracked her hull. She was subsequently raised, repaired, and used for other purposes through the decades until 1989 when historical ship enthusiasts bought her with the intention of restoring her to her 1929 glory. That goal was eventually scaled back to return her to her 1964 state instead and that’s more-or-less what you’ll see today.
Back to our walk around Stavanger; we soon came across Fargegaten, and you’ll know you’ve reached it too when Willy Wonka passes by you with shades on, muttering how it’s all a bit too bright and colourful for his liking. Ignore Willy Wonka. Fargegaten is beautiful. Every building – most wooden-fronted – is slightly different from its neighbour in style, and often painted in the most contrasting hues from the colour palette. The result is a vibrant explosion that could probably cut through the gloom of a rainy day, but luckily for us it was nice and sunny.
It won’t take you long to look around Fargegaten in Stavanger unless you stop in any of the businesses eager for your tourist money, and we might have done the same ourselves except it was impossible to miss the street art all around and we are very fond of street art. We ended up following roads – “Is that another one down there?” we’d ask each other – and soon strolled away from the busier area catering to visitors both from Norway and the cruise ship. Stencil work was most prominent from what we saw, some of it not quite obvious as to intention but plenty that proclaimed their messages loud and clear. Some good stuff here.
Before we finally hit a watering hole to reward ourselves for a good day’s exploration and cultural immersion we made a quick detour to take a look at the Valberg Tower. Built between 1850 and 1853, Valberg served as a watchtower for the city and at the time was the highest point in it with the duties of those stationed there including warning the people of Stavanger if there was a fire. The slope leading up to the base of the tower was just angled awkwardly enough to slightly turn my wife’s already-dodgy ankle so we decided not to go inside in case it was possible to climb even higher, because we’d both inevitably have done it and most likely one of us – I’m not saying who – would get injured worse.
We finished our time ashore in Stavanger with a couple of drinks in Bar Bache. Norwegian ale is not the greatest (well, there are exceptions – Ægir in Flåm being an obvious one that we’d visited in 2015 and would be visiting again later during this cruise) but the point for us is not just to spend locally but to experience locally too if we can, even if you have to suffer slightly. The bar itself was small with an old-fashioned English pub feel to it which was nice as well.
In the next post in this 2023 Norwegian cruise aboard Britannia travelogue series I’ll cover the views from our balcony as we depart Stavanger and head off to the next port of call.