One Day in Stavanger ...

On the day in Stavanger when we didn't do the Pulpit Rock hike we used our one-day bus pass to journey out to the International School of Stavanger (pix of library below). The school is located in a semi-rural area some distance from the center of town. After sending an e-mail to the head of school (who was out of town on vacation), Nancy was expected and a very friendly receptionist took us on a tour. After visiting the school, I thought I was following the directions we were given at the school; however, I ended-up taking us on a long walk down the wrong road. We then took a bus back to town and then later returned to the same area by bus to see "The Three Swords" -- a monument erected to commemorate the political unity of Norway. - rw

The Climb up Pulpit Rock ...

With two full days in Stavanger we devoted one day to taking a ferry and bus to a point-of-departure for the 3.8 km hike to the top of Pulpit Rock. The picture above shows the two of us at a point short of the summit (Ron climbed all the way; Nancy decided to stop short of the goal due to a dicey place in the trail.). The picture below shows how people love to show-off by getting close to the edge of the 1500' vertical drop into the fjord.When I got on top the rock it was really windy so I didn't stay long. However, I did find a guy who only spoke Spanish to take a very wind-blown picture of me to demonstrate that I made it! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to communicate effectively that I wanted a good picture of the fjord, with me pictured off to the side! The trail from the parking lot to the top was "rugged" to say the least. As the picture shows, much of the trail looked like a non-trail -- a boulder field instead. On top of that there were steep places where Nancy and I used "all-fours" to get down. I'm not sure my Spanish is perfect, but I'd call it un paseo horrible. Afterwards, however, some Norwegians explained to us that in Norway the preference is to leave things "natural," rather than construct a nicely graded trail like you might find in the High Sierras or the Cascades. We were both really tired when we got back to Stavanger (bus/ferry), but we were sure happy about the great weather for the hike! - rw

Stavanger Highlights

We had our final three days in Norway in Stavanger. The first evening was a fine one to explore the city center. The cathedral dates from medieval times. We explored Old Town and enjoyed the spring flowers in front of many of the historic houses.

Exploring in Alesund

Ron and I explored Alesund and found a very unused path up to a school. There were good views from the hilltop. - Nancy

More on Geirangerfjord ...

We left Geiranger on the ferry shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Monday, June 18th and had even better views of the fabulous Geirangerfjord as we took the 20 mi. journey to Hellesylt in cloudy, but not rainy weather. The waterfall at the left (one of dozens of spectacular ones en route) reminded me a lot of Yosemite Falls. For most all of the journey we sat on the upper deck of the ferry in order to get the best views. On arriving in Hellesylt we had about a 45 minute wait for the regular bus to Alesund. Prior to arriving, however, it was pointed out that the waterfall pictured below is called The Seven Sisters (Count 'em & see if you can see 7 different streams!) with accompanying mythology that informs us that the huge waterfall across the canyon (not pictured) had proposed marriage many times but had always been refused. - rw

The Fjord at Geiranger

When we took the cruise ship out of Alesund for Geiranger on Saturday the forecast for Sunday was rain! It's great, however, that forecasts don't always pan-out. From the picture above one can easily tell that the weather once again was gorgeous. The section of the fjord from Geiranger to Hellesylt (which we'll travel again Monday by ferry) is widely known as the most spectacular fjord in all of Norway -- and is a U.N. World Heritage Site. So, with beautiful weather on Sunday we walked the 2 km. to town after breakfast and took the Hop-on-Hop-off bus to two different viewpoints high above the city. Then we hopped-off at mid-point downhill and took a 2 km. hike through some beautiful farm-and-forest country. [Monday morning wasn't raining, so we walked to town, took the ferry down the fjord, and the bus to Alesund.] - rw

To Alesund and beyond ...

The Norwegian Airlines flight from Bergen to Alesund via Oslo was amazing! We flew over miles and miles of glaciers and snow-capped peaks. Equally amazing was the weather in Alesund -- chilly, but bright and sunny. The Clarion Hotel where we stayed looked out on a channel that was home for a host of yachts. Not far away was the Alesund shopping center and the dock where we left on Saturday morning on a Hurtigruten cruise ship for the journey up the fjord to Geiranger, and the Geiranger Fjord which is so spectacular that it was named a U.N. World Heritage Site. The waterfalls pictured below are just one example of how amazing both sides of the channel were.On arrival in Geiranger we decided to set out on foot to reach the Grande Fjord Hotel -- a distance of 2 km. We definitely are not suffering in this hotel. Note the view in the photo below. We will be here for two nights and have a full day, Sunday, to explore the area. However, the forecast is not encouraging (rain & drizzle), but we're hopeful that the weather will be decent enough to ride on the Hop-on-Hope-off Bus and take a hike as well. - rw