Stavanger

Norway

Charming seaside town with an old town of white clad restored houses (Europe’s best-preserved wooden house settlement) and a nearby street filled with colorful houses and a lively harbor. Gateway to beautiful nature - Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), the Lysefjord, Kjerag, Dalsnuten, Flørli, Flor & Fjære. NOTE: It is also a stop on the big cruise ship schedules and you definently see an increase in the crowds wondering around when there is a ship in port. We didn't visit the Norwegian Petroleum Museum but would have if we weren't so jet lagged as there was time for it. As well as the Sverd i Fjell (Swords in Rock).

2.5 days (perfect amount of time)

Day 1: Arrival
Day 2: Pulpit Rock Hike
Day 3: Lysefjord Cruise

Hotel: Home Again Apartments Nygata 16 - Great location in the old town. Two room apartment. Large living area/kitchen with amazing natural light. Bedroom and bathroom cozy. Lots of low sloping ceilings so watch your head. Bonus - big TV with streaming services and a laundry machine and drying rack.

Favorite restaurant or bar: Trattoria Italo (aka Olive Trattoria)

Day 1: Arrival

We flew SAS from Seattle to Copenhagen to Stavanger. Everything went smoothly including us getting our EES (new Entry Exit System with biometrics for EU/ Schengen)

Small easy to navigate airport. Walked out of airport (57 degrees felt colder due to the wind) to the bus sign 5 to catch the Flybussen FB40 to Stavanger central . The bus runs every 30 minutes and was $23 per person. It was too crowded so we weren’t able to get on…

… so ended up crossing the street and catching an Uber as it was basically the same price for both of us. Short 30 minute drive into town

Walked around our area (Gamle Stavanger = Old Town) - shopping for an extra layer for Larry. Few choices that were surprisingly not too unreasonable. Found a grocery store and were able to stock up for our breakfast over the next 3 mornings.

Our area (Gamle) is as cute as could be .. cobbled streets, big flower baskets, artful banners, white clad buildings ....

… transitioning to area (Øvre Holmegate) with colored buildings. Lots of stores, restaurants and outdoor spaces for a drink.

Had dinner at Lai by Noodle Noodle. Nice ambiance and very friendly staff. Have a small a la carte menu. Mostly different tasting menu options. We went with MaPo Tofu and chicken Kaarge. The food was good but nothing truly special. Had my first Norway unremarkable glass of wine for $17. By far the cheapest on the menu. It was a nice rose.

Hotel: Home Again Apartments Nygata 16

Great location!! On a very cute walking street with lots of shops and restaurants nearby.

Two room apartment. Large living area/kitchen with amazing natural light

Bedroom and bathroom cozy. Lots of low sloping ceilings so watch your head.

Day 2: Pulpit Rock hike

After a restless sleep we headed over to the Radisson Blu Atlantic Hotel to catch our Express bus to the Pulpit Rock trail head. Bus showed up on time. We bought our tickets (from Go Fjords) 1 month in advance as we were concerned it would sell out but there definitely were many open seats. Bus was clean and comfortable.

The bus ride was about 40 minutes. You go through the longest under sea tunnel in the world (14.4 kilometers). Drove through small towns with lots of greenery, well maintained houses with glimpses of the sea and various mountains. Definitely starting to see a smattering of new construction.

Pulpit rock hike

5 miles, 1,570 ft elevation gain, round trip - 4 hours

The hike up started as a steep gravel trail and quickly transitioned to rock stairs, big rock slabs and an occasional wooden walkway.

Lots of people speaking all different languages, at different physical fitness levels, kids and dogs. I was pleasantly surprised there were actually some flat sections. Our training at home paid off as we were well prepared. Warm enough to sweat from the exertion, but mixed in clouds and winds made it feel quite variable.

Towards the top we walked by a couple of small lakes. Too cold for anyone to swim

The view at the top was amazing! And we were so worried about the weather but it ended up being just a little cloudy no rain. Well worth the effort to experience looking out at the Lysefjord fjord.

As well as looking at Pulpit Rock and then standing on it. Pulpit Rock supported filming of one of the Mission Impossible:6 scenes with Tom Cruise rock climbing the face.

Got a new very pretty view on the way back down

Arrived at the bottom at 1:45pm and the 2pm bus had room so we were able to hop on and get back to town at 3pm rather than 4pm.

2:45pm we arrived back into town and it started to rain.

Dinner: Trattoria Italo (aka Olive Trattoria). Friendly server. Food was quite good - salad mista, salmon and pasta, pasta and shrimp. We would eat there again. We did not leave hungry.

Day 3: Lysefjord Cruise

We arrived 10 minutes early rather than the suggested 20 minutes earlier and we were the last ones to board what looked to be an endless line of people.

We were worried we wouldn’t find anywhere to sit. Turned out there was still plenty of seating downstairs which had big clear windows and a small outside deck in the front initially with hardly anyone on it. You could still go upstairs to take pictures but seating was full. So if you want a seat outside definitely come early (e.g., 30-40 minutes before departure). It was nice go to different areas of the boat. NOTE: If you want to lock in a seat, the left (port) side would be best.