We Finish Norway with Visits to Eidfjord and Stavanger

Following the Sun

Passing through the fjord

During the night our ship passed through the Norwegian Sea and into the expansive waters of the Hardangerfjord which lead to the smaller Eidfjorden. Situated on this waterway is the charming mountain hamlet of Eidfjord (AID fee ord), the gateway to the Haradangervidda, Europe’s largest mountain plateau. With only around 1,000 residents, Eidfjord is small in population, but is a popular tourist destination and a major cruise ship port of call. At last evening’s port talk, the cruise director informed us that our ship would be meeting her sister ship, the Viking Sun, in Eidfjord. That would be a real Viking invasion with approximately 2,000 cruise passengers descending upon this tranquil village. The downside was that the schedules of all the shore excursions were changed so the vendors could accommodate everyone and not be overwhelmed.

Approaching the only bridge

Nearby attractions include the Måbødalen valley, the Vøringsfossen waterfall (597 ft.), the Sima Power Plant, and a visitor’s center and museum for the Hardangervidda National Park. Our included excursion would be two hours later and interfere with one of our favorite cruise activities—high tea.

Going under the bridge

We had met a couple from Wales at dinner last night, and were looking forward to high tea and Brexit talks (geez emotions run high!) with them. The highlight of our excursion was a visit to the Hardangervidda visitor’s center and museum, so we searched for information about this venue and found it to be oriented towards children’s learning. This sealed the deal.

More fjord beauty

We decided to take the tender (the Sun got the only pier spot) to shore and just walk about the village, then return to the ship for an easy afternoon and high tea.
We boarded our tender mid-morning for the short, five-minute ride to shore. It took us another 5 minutes to walk through what seemed to be a business district.

Eidfjord

Capt. Larry could see that our shore time would not last for 30 minutes, even with encouraging Jane to explore the shops! We found a walkway that led to a bridge over a stream. There we found an interesting sign. It stated that while all Norwegians can freely fish in salt water, they can only fish in freshwater streams, rivers, and lakes if they have the permission of the landowner or have purchased a fishing permit from a landowner.

Jane, tender, kayakers

So it must be that the landowner owns freshwater bodies that border his property, unlike in the U.S. where these natural bodies are publicly owned. We continued over the bridge and onto a walking trail that ran along the stream and some fairly full campgrounds. We stopped at the Eidfjord visitor’s center and read some information about the area, then walked about 20 yards to the tender dock.

The Sea is under attack!

Returning to the ship, we had a quiet, restful afternoon. We met a couple from Arizona who did the tour to the park’s visitor’s center, and they assured us that we had a better afternoon no matter what we did.We left Eidfjord during dinner and would arrive at our last Norwegian port of call, Stavanger, the next morning.

The Sea and the Sun

We awoke to find the ship tied to the Stavanger cruise terminal pier. It was raining and a cool 55°. And it was windy. Not ideal conditions for our walking-tour shore excursion. We would need umbrellas, scarves, and gloves, and an answer to the question: “Why are we going to do this?”.

Viking explorers heading out

We would later find out that the question should be: “Why wouldn’t we want to do this?”.

Stavanger was founded in the 12^th century with the opening of the Stavanger Cathedral in 1125. Historically the city has experienced economic booms and recessions in its shipping, shipbuilding, and fish (i.e. sardines) canning industries. And the cobbled streets of Old Town lend added charm to that area. With a population of 237,000, Stavanger is Norway’s third largest city and one of its oldest.

"Men Only" barber shop

With the discovery of North Sea oil in 1969, Stavanger experienced a new economic boom when it was selected as the on-shore center for the Norwegian oil industry. Despite its hectic oil-related growth, the city’s residents have stubbornly preserved its historical heritage. One street is lined with Europe’s largest concentration of wooden buildings that date to the 17^th and 18^th century, and are protected from current developers by a conservancy.

On Painted Street

We had a quick breakfast and got ready to meet our group and tour guide. Conditions had not improved and may have gotten worse. Our group started out and we headed for the Painted Street. Several years ago this street had a number of businesses that were spiraling downward, because of the decaying conditions of the buildings.

More brightly painted buildings

The owners got together and decided to repaint all of the buildings in bright, loud colors and collectively try to improve the appearance of the entire street. The idea worked and customers were again attracted to the street, and business rebounded. Our guide also pointed out that around the city are street art displays some of which are not conspicuously displayed.

Inconspicuous street art

He pointed to a carving of a man attached to the corner of the building in front of us that was 10 feet off the ground. We next worked our way to Gamale Stavanger, a street that has the highest concentration of wooden buildings in Europe. Almost 250 are represented here and all are painted white. Throughout the history of this area the threat of fire was always a concern taken seriously. Perhaps the most interesting item on this tour was a visit to the Petroleum Museum.

House in Gamale Stavanger area

This museum chronicles the discovery, drilling, and production of North Sea oil on the Norwegian continental shelf.

We not only saw the equipment that was used, some of which was designed and developed in Stavanger, but learned about the evolution of drilling and production techniques.

Drilling bits in Oil Museum

The museum also housed a diving museum that detailed to the risks and dangers divers faced as they worked on the rigs. It was a unique and interesting visit.

Stavanger Cathedral

Our next stop was the Stavanger Cathedral. We were not able to go inside the church, because a restoration project that was started in 2015 necessitated its closure. We were able to see the only remaining original tower and take pictures of this magnificent structure.

Original cathedral tower

Finally, we were guided back to the cruise terminal area for a stroll through Old Town, the first part of the city to be settled next to the wharfs. The houses in Old Town are also white, but each one has a different colored front door. With its cobblestone streets and beautifully kept homes and gardens, we found Old Town to be very quaint and charming.

We felt sorry for our guide because his group had started with 25, but this number had dwindled to 3 by the time we reached Old Town.

Old Town

He said that he was used to losing a few, and suggested that the weather might have had something to do with desertions. He was a great guide; full of information and easy-mannered with his wit and jokes.

Old sardine canning factory, now museum

Back on the ship we had lunch, rested until the next port talk, saw a Broadway show rendition, ate dinner with some new tablemates, and turned in ready to arrive in Denmark tomorrow. Norway was fun!