Viking Vela In Search of the Northern Lights and British Isles Explorer Cruise Day 27/32 – Stavanger, Norway - Definitely not the Shetlands
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| The old town in Stavanger |
We were sailing when we awoke, due to our planned noon arrival in Stavanger rather than in the Shetlands to see the ponies. We took advantage and slept in a bit. After breakfast, we participated in the final Baggo for this journey. It was an officers vs guests competition today, and it went completely off the rails, thanks to Cruise Director Kate and her infectious silliness. We were tossing behind our backs, carrying bags between our knees, and tossing them from the top of the stairs into a bucket held by Kate or Vocalist Libby.
The officers pummeled the guests, but it was all incredibly silly and fun. Of course, the guests were all given mimosas.
We went from the Atrium to the Explorers Bar to watch the scenic sailing into Stavanger.
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| The Saipem 7000, one of the world's largest semi-submersible crane vessels, is used for laying underwater pipelines |
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| Already catching a view of some of Stavanger's street art |
Arlona was having a PTSD episode here, as Stavanger was where she was identified as Covid-positive on the Viking Homelands extension to our world cruise in 2022. Ignoring that, we powered through the day and port.
We split a burger and onion rings at the Pool Grill before leaving on Viking's included tour, Stavanger walking tour & oil museum. We docked right in town, much like we will tomorrow, in Bergen. These ports are more like being on a river cruise where you dock in the city. It's nice to not have to take a bus.
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| Villa Blidensol in the Gamle Stavanger (Old Stavanger) area, dating back to the early 18th century |
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| The district features over 170 preserved white wooden houses from the 18th and 19th centuries |
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| Amazing architecture, especially when you look at Arlona |
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| Norwegian Canning Museum |
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| Murals, sculptures, and art, in general, can be found all over Stavanger |
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| Our guide asked if anyone knew what was mounted on the upper window |
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| This was called a gossip window - it was essentially a convex mirror that let the person inside watch what was happening on the street below |
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| More art |
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| Sjøfartsmonumentet (Maritime Monument), but locals call it "Regå" or "The Shrimp" due to its shape |
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| The "Path of Peace" in the harbor area features bronze casts of the bare feet of Nobel Peace laureates |
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| One of the 23 figures from Antony Gormley's "Broken Column" sculpture installation |
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| We found another one - they are all 1.95m tall and are mounted and buried, so the tops of their heads are also 1.95m apart |
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| Stavanger Cathedral, in continuous use for 901 years, since 1125 |
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| Alexander Kielland Monument - our guide said the seagulls like standing on his head |
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| Almost on cue |
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| We walked through the quaint, narrow streets |
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| Valberg Tower (Valbergtårnet) |
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| It was constructed in 1863 and used as a fire watch tower |
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| Øvre Holmegate, commonly known as Fargegaten (The Colourful Street) |
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| It featured tons of shops, bars, and eateries |
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| The place was hopping |
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| Our final stop was the Norwegian Petroleum Museum |
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| An adjacent playground made from recycled oil equipment |
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| Drill bit |
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| A seabed welding habitat, also known as a dry workshop |
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| Viking was also there, handing out locally produced apple juice |
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| We saw many decommissioned items from the Norwegian oil industry |
Our guide told the story about the initial attempt to find oil. The companies had paid Norway for the rights to drill 23 wells. The first 32 produced nothing. They didn't have high hopes for the 33rd. When they unexpectedly hit oil, they captured it in whatever they could find to prove to the shore team they had struck oil. This Log Cabin maple syrup jar was one of the original containers.
She also showed us the real-time counter that tracks the value of the oil fund maintained by the Norwegian government. It is funded by payments to Norway by the oil companies and is invested to produce long-term wealth for Norway. As of today, it stood at NOK 20.5 trillion (yes, with a "t"). That equates to US$2.5 trillion. Wow/
Arlona and I wandered around town, doing a little window shopping.
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| Norwegians love their trolls |
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| Admiral Cornelius Cruys |
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| St. Petri Church, 1866 |
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| The Watchman of Stavanger |
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| Admiral Thore Horve |
We finished our walk back at the Vela and got ready for drinks at the Explorers Bar before tonight's surf and turf extravaganza in the World Café.
The World Café featured a surf and turf dinner tonight, with salmon, lobster, ribs, and more delicious fare.
A main feature was a freshly baked chocolate soufflé.
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| Individual soufflés went into the oven, and freshly finished ones were served |
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| Adding the sauce |
The entire meal was fabulous - one of the best for the entire journey.
We went to Torshavn for tonight's Name That Tune, with Assistant Cruise Director Lewis running the show. We had 15 questions, two points per question, one for the artist and one for the title. We scored 29/30, only missing the artist for Under the Boardwalk - we said Sam Cooke - it was The Drifters. We tied with another team and had a tiebreaker. We correctly identified the title and artist - I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton, winning bragging rights and mimosas.
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| The winners - Garry, Eric, Jennifer, Jody, Deborah, Arlona |
We returned to the Explorers Bar with the team and enjoyed more conversation and drinks before calling it a night.
Tomorrow, we will dock in Bergen, Norway. This is the final port of this journey for us. We don't have anything booked. We plan to take a walk and clear Norwegian Immigration in the morning, and pack in the afternoon.
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