Let's go to Stavanger!

So on Friday morning we headed to Stavanger. We took the bus to the south. On the way, the bus takes two ferries, which makes the whole journey of 5 hours very pleasant. On the ferries, you have to get off the bus, you can move freely, drink a super expensive coffee or go to the toilet. The first ferry crossing takes 45 minutes and leads to the island of Stord. The water shone green, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. Once again, we were really lucky with the weather. The whole trip to Stavanger is definitely worth seeing. At the beginning, you can still see in the distance the snow-covered mountains, which eventually disappear completely, instead the landscape becomes flatter and greener. The archipelago, which is scattered in the glittering water off the coast, is particularly beautiful. But you also notice that Norway is an absolute tunnel nation. It is not uncommon for us to drive through kilometers-long tunnels under fjords on the weekends. We always wondered why they prefer to build tunnels instead of bridges. When we arrived in Rennesøy from the second ferry, I had an Ireland déjà vu. The meadows were super green, sheep grazed peacefully on them, and the pastures were separated from each other by long stone walls. Only the style of the houses didn't quite fit.

Stavanger is the oil city of Norway, so everything there is not cheap. But where is Norway cheap? We arrived safely in the center of Stavanger and quickly found Pia's hostel. I actually lived somewhere else. ;) No, joke, of course I was allowed to breathe in the typical hostel smell and enjoy the functional furnished room. After storing our things, we went to explore Stavanger's city center. It is overall much smaller than Bergen's, but Stavanger is also only half the size. There is of course the stroll and showcase district with colorful houses and many small shops. But what struck us was that it smelled of alcohol quite often. Drinking alcohol in public is not allowed in Norway, but many workers from the oil platforms spend their hard-earned money when they are back. In the end, we sat down on a park bench by the central pond after the walk and simply watched the passing people. The style of the people, but also their mentality, is completely different from Bergen. You see many more people from different population groups, which makes the cityscape more diverse. They also ride bikes in Stavanger, which pleased us because hardly anyone rides in Bergen and everyone zooms around with e-scooters. At some point, we went shopping and back to the hostel. The kitchen in the hostel was in the basement and was mostly used by people who are probably long-staying guests. All in all, I have seen better hostel kitchens. But it was enough for a weekend. After dinner, we went to bed early because we had a lot to do the next day.