A MEMORABLE NORWEGIAN SOJOURN ( SECTIONS 3,4 & 5 )- THE TRIPS TO STAVANGER, PRIEKESTOLEN AND BERGEN

       ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: 
                I acknowledge my gratitude and  thanks  to Google, Wikipedia , the various blog spots,  magazine articles and travel guides for the inputs provided by them all the four countries of Scandinavia- Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland . The information provided by them has vastly helped me to connect to connect my photographs with the history linked to these places.

               Though I visited all the four Scandinavian Countries almost 5 years back, in October 2010, I could sit down with determination only in 2015 to compile this blog.  Better late than never!  Five years could be a  period long enough for many of the old landmarks to yield place to newer ones. So in that sense my blog may already have become outdated in some places . It could require an updating with new photographs. If it does, then I shall certainly do the needful-- --provided I happen to revisit these countries (by the Grace of God, certainly !)   Travel often makes you acknowledge humbly the role of the 'Invisible Hand'. This  term extends beyond just the economic forces that  many economists are often inclined to refer to !

          Through this blog post, I thank my various friends and relatives   for their overwhelming  warmth and hospitality during all the occasions when they hosted me at their homes . I also thank them for by sparing their valuable time for me and escorting me around in new places, helping me to accomplish  sight seeing in otherwise remote and difficult places. I also thank my various co-travellers from different parts of the world for their enjoyable company,wit, humour and camaraderie during our journeys together. They made each of my  sojourns very memorable ,without an exception.

      I request viewers to please excuse me for the poor photography. Scandinavia was the first time when I handled a compact digital camera for an  intensive use. I was not familiar with the subtle nuances of photography in changing conditions of light and weather. Also our  sightseeing bus did not stop at many a place to enable us to take better shots under static conditions (without the interference from rain-splattered or dusty windows).

           Sadly,  time, tide and sightseeing buses / trains wait for none!

                                                                       

    A MEMORABLE NORWEGIAN SOJOURN  ( SECTIONS 3,4 & 5 )- 
        THE TRIPS TO  STAVANGER,  PRIEKESTOLEN AND BERGEN

                                                                 Section 3:

STAVANGER- a dreamy eyed city inspired by a colourful past and a prosperous present !

Having got sufficiently acclimatized to Norway, it was now time for us to move out to Stavanger, the oil city of Norway. Located 595 kilometres southwest of Alesund , Stavanger lies in the county of Rogaland, Norway. The flight from Alesund took an hour and a half, inclusive of a brief halt at Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. With a population of 122,000, Stavanger is the  fourth largest  city in Norway, after Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim.The airport of Stavanger at Sula seemed strikingly different with its cheerful and colourful interiors.

The bright interiors of Sula airport at Stavanger

As in Alesund, here too we were lucky that our hotel room had a million dollar view overlooking a water body It was located bang opposite Lake Breiavatnet, ever active with its springing fountains, water birds and the swaying trees along its perimeter.  Fortunately, the weather mandarins who had predicted a rainy weather for Stavanger on our arrival were proved wrong though it was fairly windy. I wasted no time in making the best use of clear weather. A brisk walk around the lake invigorated me sufficiently and gave me a peep into the history of the bustling and beautiful city. The two other lakes, Mosvatnet and Stokkavatnet ,  are hosts to the most popular recreational areas of Stavanger

                                                          

                    Lake Breiavatnet at Stavanger

          Another view of Lake Breiavatnet

Lake Breiavatnet at Stavanger at night (as it appears from the 13^th floor of Hotel Radisson Blu Atlantic).

 Alongside the pathway near the lake is a monument dedicated to the enterprising spirit of expatriate Norwegians. On 4^th July 1825, 52 Norwegians sailed westwards from Stavanger in the cargo ship “Restauratioen’.  It marked the start of the second westward exodus from Norway, the first one having been in the Viking Era. In the 100 years that followed about 800,000 Norwegians emigrated from Norway mainly for North America and to a lesser extent to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  America. The Norwegian immigrants in U.S.A. brought a solidly rooted tradition of collaboration from their local communities. They played a major role in the economic development of their adopted lands.  If we are to compare emigration vis-a-vis the total population of the country, Ireland was the only country that experienced greater emigration than Norway. More people of Norwegian ancestry now live outside Norway than in the country itself (the population of Norway being barely 4.5 million.).

The monument dedicated to the enterprising spirit of expatriate Norwegians. It commemorated 100 years of emigration ever since the cargo ship “Restauratioen’ sailed from Stavanger with the first batch of emigrants to U.S.A  on 4^th July 1825

       

           The numerous buildings around Lake Breiavatnet, both modern and historical, have interesting features that tell us of the character of the city. A walk around the lake is indeed soothing to the eyes with the sights of pond ducks, gulls, swans and other water birds at peace with themselves in its waters. But, sadly, I have never been an avid birdwatcher to sit on the bench and observe the intricate details about them. Buildings, especially churches, fascinate me because of their varying architecture and I make a detour to Stavanger Domkirken (Stavanger Cathedral) situated in the city centre, right next to lake Breiavatnet .

 Stavanger Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in  Norway , dates from 1125 which is also the year Stavanger counts as its year of foundation. The original church was built in the Anglo- Norman style. This is the only cathedral in Norway from medieval times that has been preserved in its original design (almost unchanged since the 14^th Century) and has been in continuous use since its inception.

Domkirken (Stavanger Cathedral) situated in the city centre, right next to Lake Breiavatnet

 Crossing the Cathedral Square ( Domkirklassen), we  strolled up to the Valberg Tower (Valbergtarnet). Built in 1853 as a watch tower it is 26. 5 meters tall and was once one of the highest structures in the city. It lay in the middle of the city overlooking over the centre of the town. The octagonal tower was designed by the Norwegian architect Christian Grosch, who also designed the Norwegian Royal Palace and the old toll house in Stavanger. Several fires have haunted the town of Stavanger up through the ages. In 1860 after the tower was built - 210 houses burned down leaving more than 2000 people homeless. Today the tower is used as a private art gallery presenting contemporary art by local and national artists. Nearby one can see many of the old waterfront houses.

Valberg Tower, once one of the highest structures in the city. The tower was the permanent lodging of the watchmen in Stavanger. Among their duties was to sound the warning bells to alert the people in town when there was a fire.

Scenes from Skagenkaten. The Valberg Tower can be seen at a distance. Old Waterfront Houses ( Out of the original 250 such buildings built towards the end of the 18^th Century and beginning of the 19^th Century, about 60 still remain as on date. Once used as storehouses and also for salting herrings, they have now been converted into offices and restaurants.

We then hopped across to Old Stavanger (Gamle Stavanger) nearby. It is located right next to the city centre and has a collection of 173 wooden structures that were built at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the 19th century. They are still in use as houses, art galleries and studios. Stavanger has received several awards for its efforts to preserve the intrinsic character of Old Stavanger. This was one of the three pilot projects carried out in Norway during the United Nations Architectural Heritage Year in 1975.

 The Old Stavanger locality is not the only repository of wooden houses. There are 8,000 wooden houses in   Stavanger dating before World War 2 and they all speak evocatively of the character of the city. It therefore comes as no surprise that Stavanger and its region, along with Liverpool, United Kingdom was selected as a European Capital of Culture for 2008

On our return to our hotel via Ovre Kleingate, our

 attention was drawn to the statue of Christian 

Bjelland tucked in the greenery along the steps 

leading to a row of white wooden houses.

 Bjelland is a name that most people would 

associate with Stavanger since he was the founder

 of the eponymous company which was Norway’s

largest canned goods producer. The prosperity

 brought by the canning industry s detailed in the 

Norwegian Canning Museum at Ovre Strandgata, 

not far away from the statue of Christian Bjelland

Near Ovre Klievgata, the statue of Christian Bjelland, the man who pioneered the canning industry in Norway. He was the founder of Christian Bjelland & Co A/S, Norway's largest canned goods producer and amongst the largest in Scandinavia. One of the great industrialists of his time, in 1907 he was made a Knight, 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav for his contribution to building Norwegian industry. The steps lead to a row of white wooden houses which extend further into the Gamle Stavanger located nearby.

 In the modern day history of Norway Stavanger brought prosperity to Norway again with the discovery of oil in the nearby North Sea. Prospecting for oil in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea began in 1966. The first strike was made during the Christmas weekend of 1969 (in the Ekofisk oilfield) by the Phillip Petroleum Company. At that time other oil companies had given up hope and this was also the last hole that Phillips had intended to drill. It turned out that the strike was the biggest in the world and Norway thus became an oil nation. It was truly a Christmas bonanza! After much discussion, Stavanger was chosen to be the on-shore center for the oil industry on the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, and a period of hectic growth followed.

         The city is commonly referred to as the Petroleum Capital of Norway. That oil has played a vital role in the economy of Stavanger is evident in the Norwegian Petroleum Museum in the city. Apart from telling how oil and gas are formed, found and produced, this museum also provides an insight into the technical innovations and the influence of the petroleum resources on the Norwegian society. Related to the subject of petroleum is the Geoparken, a city park that that tests new forms of recycling both in terms of ideas and materials & objects for Petroleum Industry. The  tax revenues from the oil and gas industry on the Norwegian Continental Shelf  is roughly around 16% of the revenues of the revenue of Norway. In general, the Rogaland County has a rich and versatile industrial cluster.

As is the case with many European cities, Stavanger has a lot to offer by way of museums. The Stavanger Museum is also located in Old Stavanger, commemorating the city's past glory as the herring capital of Norway. The Museum of Archaeology is one of five archaeological museums in Norway. The Glassblowers’ Workshop ( Glassblaseri) is also among the  unique offerings of the city for a tourist.  However, informative these museums and art galleries maybe, we had to resist the temptation of getting holed up in a museum. It would have deprived us of the exciting fare of natural beauty that this Rogaland region in Norway had to offer.

                                                                        Section 4:  

                   Priekestolen- A heavenly experience amidst the dizzying heights of the Priest’s Pulpit Rock

    Anxious as we were to get a feel of the Rogaland countryside around the fjords of Ryfylke, we could not overstay at Stavanger for the second day. The city could at best be a stopover for us to go to the famous Priekestolen or the Priest’s Pulpit Rock (the old local name being Hyvlatonna).. The Gulf Stream contributes to a mild climate all over Rogaland allowing the sheep to graze outdoors all year. This region is often called Norway’s bread basket
.
Pulpit Rock, an overhanging mountain plateau, is a 604 metre (1982 feet) vertical drop down into the Lysefjorden. At this cliff,  the 42 km long Lysfjorden fjord turns into the direction of the Geiranger fjord. Throughout its entire course of 42 kms , the rocky wall falls vertically over 1000metres. This massive cliff lies opposite the Kjerag plateau, in  Forsand municipality of Ryfylke  region. The top of the almost flat cliff measures approximately 25 by 25 metres (82 by 82 feet) square and is a famous tourist attraction in Norway because of its unique topology. 
               To reach there, we took a ferry from the Fiskepiren wharf at Stavanger to Tau. Thereafter, we drove to Priekestokytta Lodge. Then we began the 3.8 Kilometer trek to the Pulpit Rock. The trail  from the Preikestolen Fjellstue (mountain lodge) takes you through a variety of mountain landscapes. The trek took us more than two hours. The walk is not recommended in winter and spring when there is snow and ice and the track may be slippery.  The best season is from April to October. 

         En route, an Indian tourist greeted us. He was Deepak, an engineer based at Stavanger, originally hailing from Visakhapatnam ( Vizag), my own hometown ! It gives you a very reassuring feeling when you bump into a compatriot from your own roots in a totally alien surrounding 7000 Kilometers away from home ! 
              Sadly, our group had to stop short 50 metres short of Pulpit Rock because unusually heavy winds on that day made the last maneuvering along the treacherously narrow path very risky. Discretion being the better part of valour, we heeded the sagacious advice given by Deepak, who had reached the spot before us to forewarn us. 
               Had I been alone, I would have still risked it to the last point of the trek. My girth could have resisted the fierce winds! But the lightweight ladies with us could have invited the risk of being blown across Lysfjord !! This morbid apprehension made  me suddenly feel like a gallant knight protective of his hosts. I had to be content with less picturesque photographs short of land’s end at the summit.  So near yet so far!

An equally exhilarating climb would have been the visit to Kjeragbolten. This place is an almost spherical rock wedged in the cliff approximately 1000 meters above the fjord. The straight fall down to the fjord makes Kjerag a very popular location for base jumping. As the crow flies, Kierag is only a few kilometres from Priekestolen, lying on the opposite side of the fjord the road route. But it has to be approached by a totally different and longer road route. It is not always possible to have the best of both worlds when one has limited time on hand!

The view of Lysefjord, 50 metres short of the famous Pulpit Rock. With gales intensifying at the peak we were advised not to take the risk of walking along the narrow, vertiginous path to the peak ( without any support on the fjord side of the path).

A few months later when I  watched the Telugu film " Rangam", I could get a feeling of 'deja vu' and  an intimate connection with this place. A song sequence was shot in the dizzying and dangerous heights of Priekestolen ( Pulpit's Rock). I am sure the film crew would have taken enough precautions to  prevent people from getting swept away by menacingly strong winds at the summit.

                                                                               Section 5:
 Cruising along the South Western Coast- The ferry ride from   Alesund to Bergen by the Coastal Steamer Hurtigruten.

We took the night ferry from Alesund to Bergen to have a first hand experience of the Norwegian coastline. Alesund is situated 236 km north northeast of Bergen. We left Alesund at midnight and reached Bergen at 14.30 hrs. En route we passed by many islets and skerries, with a forlorn cottage or two or a lighthouse to give a semblance of habitation or activity. The October winds were fortunately tolerable for me and I could manage to spend sufficient part of the journey on the open decks, though in intermittent spells.

Scenes from the Western coast of Norway  between Alesund and Bergen

 The approach to the city of Bergen  as seen from the ferry M.V. Hurtigruten

Bergen is the second largest city in  Norway with a population of 260,600 located in the county of Hordaland on the south-western coast of Norway. It has become Norway's largest - and one of Europe's largest - cruise shps ports of call by virtue of being the gateway city to the world famous fjords of Norway.  Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, Bergen remained one of the largest cities in Scandinavia. It was Norway's biggest city until the 1830s after which the capital city of Oslo displaced Bergen from its pedestal.

   Bergen is an old Hanseatic City, the Hanseatic League having been an economic alliance of trading  cities and their guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe in the later middle Ages. The Hanseates established one of the most important trading offices in Bergen around 1360. The unique Hanseatic houses with their original wooden architecture comprise Bergen's old quayside, Bryggen. They are now a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Having only limited daylight hours on hand, we decided to justice to our visit by taking a ride in the Floibanen Funicular , the only cable railway and one of Norway’s most popular attraction which runs up the mountain of Floyen. The mountains that surround Bergen have given rise to this funicular, a railway on a steep slope that transports passengers in special coaches through a moving cable. It was officially opened in 1918. The seven minute journey by the Floibanen funicular is in itself a remarkable experience. The two funicular carriages are equipped with glass ceilings and panorama windows. It starts from a highly accessible point close to the Wharf and Fish Market and takes you to Mount Floyen, 320 metres above sea level.  Reaching the top we could get a clear view of the city below. We strolled around the park and shopped in the souvenir shop. As seems to be the phenomenon all over the world, a considerable portion of the symbols associated with Norwegian heritage, folklore and fauna seem to have been made in China !

Possibly the cable car to Ulriken, the highest of the seven mountains that surround Bergen) at 643 metres , could have afforded a better view than Mount Floyen  but we did not have any time on hand. With dusk setting in fast and with an early morning train to catch, we made the best use of time by window shopping in Torgallmenningen, the main square of Bergen to acquaint ourselves with traditional Norwegian products. 

As has been the case with many Norwegian towns, Bergen had been ravaged by fires in the past. Today, the area of   Bryggen is regularly flooded at extreme tide, and it is feared that with rising sea levels, floods will become a major problem in Bergen. It has therefore been suggested by ‘ Stiftelsen Bryggen’, the foundation responsible for preserving the UNESCO site, that a sea wall be built outside the harbour to protect the city. Thereby, it could be raised and lowered as demanded by the tides,

The Hanseatic buildings of Bryggen . The tenement buildings, consisting of one or two long rows, divided into several rooms with a common passageway. They were combined houses cum storerooms 2-3 storeys high

                      Inside the Floibanen Funicular Railway

Views of Bergen from the terminus of the funicular at the top of Floyen Mountain (height – 320 metres)

                The statue of an irresistibly ugly troll around which several Nordic myths have been built.

The traditional dresses of Norway, the Bunads , on display along with the handicrafts in a shop at Bergen.

           Torgallmenningen, the main square of Bergen at night

 Inside the  Bergen Railway Terminus.  NSB (Norges Statsbaner) is the branch of Norwegian Railway that controls passenger trains services.