A Weekend in Stavanger

After two years of virtually no travel, 2022 opened the floodgates once again. In passing dinner conversation one night after a particularly dizzying spin class, Dawn and I flirted with the notion of booking a weekend away. Words became plans became a May weekend away in Norway's fourth largest city, Stavanger.

We arrived late on Friday night after the the emptiest flight I've ever taken. Not complaining--I had three whole rows to myself. Our hotel was right by the lake in the middle of the city and we pulled the curtains back the next morning to a view. 

Stavanger made its money in sardines, canning, shipping and oil, in that order. It's home to both a Canning Museum and a Printing Museum housed under the same roof; although you may think you have better things to do, they're actually pretty wonderful. Explore canned fish across the ages AND learn about how those cans got printed. There's not even a fishy smell for miles and the museum is in the middle of Old Stavanger, a settlement of 173 heritage wooden houses and narrow cobbled streets. 

From there, it's a short walk to the pub-lined harbour where an ugly view is hard to find. 

A stroll around the lake and a wander around the shops later, we found ourselves at the delicious Restaurant SOL, Stavanger's very impressive answer to fine dining. Three chef friends opened the place and it was doing a roaring trade. We opted for two courses of local sourced produce and fish with wine to accompany the multitude of tastes. 

Solastranden Beach

After a decadent lunch we hopped on the airport shuttle to Stavanger's closest beach which took us back past the airport and not too far from the city itself. The weather played nice and we were greeted with sunshine and the occasional bracing sea breeze. Hearty Scandinavian families walked, rode bikes and built sand castles on the shore making the most of the increasing daylight hours. 

We found a hotel bar just off the beach to enjoy a glass of prosecco before making our way back into town for a hotel rest and pick-a-mix stop. It turns out Norwegians love their weekend sugar just as much as their Swedish neighbours. 

Daylight continued to linger and as we headed home from dinner (a first time delicious Ethiopian food experience at Gadja in town) a few hours later at 10:30pm, it gave us perspective of how miserably dark winters would be. I'm not sure the spring into summer long days would be enough to get me through. 

Fjord Tour 

On Sunday morning, we made for the port to hop on a 3hr cruise of Lysefjorden and Preikestolen (also known as Pulpit Rock), Stavanger's most stunning natural beauty. Most people come to the city to hike the famous rock but Dawn made it clear there would be 'no mad walks up big hills. I know you, Jen.' And so we queued to buy tickets for Stavanger's number one attraction, by boat. Fate almost intervened when the cruise ships docked and the ship was nearly sold out. My advice: book tickets online in advance and avoid the drama. 

We opted for the outdoor top deck views and although temperatures weren't arctic, we were grateful for our hats, scarves and layers. 

The scenery was incredible. Every which way we turned, it was impossible to be disappointed. The water danced, reflected, shone in ways I did not know was possible. The air tasted just like you image oxygenated, pollution-free fresh air would--it made a stark contrast to any day in even blue-sky London. The entire journey was absolute magic. 

Debarking and making for the airport after a weekend of fresh air and blue skies felt like a bit of a let down. And clearly a weekend is not enough to really dive into Norway's beauty. So I'll keep it on my list of places to return to--next time I'll take that hike up the big hill.