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Cunard Queen Elizabeth 2019
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Stavanger - 18 October

Stavanger is a thriving industrial town and the centre for oil exploration and the necessary technologies. Our first visit to Stavanger was on the QE2 in 2004, as part of a cruise to the Land of the Midnight Sun. . We repeated that cruise on the QE2 in 2008 and then visited Stavanger again 6 weeks later on the QE2 cruise to Iceland. These three cruises have summer pictures of the town.

The Queen Elizabeth berthed in the area of Gamle Stavanger, with its narrow streets, old fashioned lampposts, and 173 18th century wooden houses. There were no other cruise ships and we were berthed near the Stavanger Port Authority and next to two historic boats : the MS Sandnes launched in 1950 and the MS Rogaland launched in 1929. Souvenir shops and the Maritime Museum and the Fish Market were within easy walking distance. Tourist sites are in the area around these old historic buildings, the 12th century cathedral and the small lake which are all close to the dock.

Original plans were to book a fjord cruise from Stavanger to Preikestolen, if the weather was good. We had previously booked the trip on our visit on the QE2 in 2008 but then found it was a special ship festival and preferred to stay in town and visit all the historic craft. The 3 hour fjord cruise with Rodne costs 550 kr each, departs at 1100 for 3 hours along the Hogsfjord to Forsand and then along the Lysefjord to the Hanging Falls (Hengjanefossen), passing below the famous Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen). It is 604 metres above sealevel so the weather needs to be good to see it clearly. In the summer there are 9 hour trips which include the hike to the top of the rock. The forecast for late morning was for rain so we decided to explore the town instead.

Leaving the Rodne booking office, our walk took us past the Oil museum which was not yet open,the Ferry terminal and St Petri church in Nytorget. The red brick church was built in 1866 by the architect Fritz von der Lippe and has a striking green tower. Further along, on the corner, there was a supermarket where we found blocks of the brown gudbrandsdalsost cheese. Our purchase was by Tine, who have been making this type of cheese since 1863. The supermarket was close to a park, the City Park, and we were already back within sight of the cathedral on the edge of the Breiavatnet lake. It is a small lake and was a pleasant stroll around the edge, passing the Mission church of St Swithin, the railway station and the bus station. By now it was 1100 and the cathedral doors opened. It is Norway's oldest cathedral, founded in 1125, and substantially extended over the years. There is a lot of repair and construction work taking place currently which makes it difficult to take photographs outside. Inside there were screens and ropes to prevent access to the choir where windows were under repair. The cathedral is famous for the work of the Scottish craftsman Andrew Lawrenceson Smith who carved the beautiful wooden pulpit and some epitaphs in the 17th century. The onset of a shower confirmed it had been a good decision to explore the town, not go out by boat.

When it rains we look for museums. The Maritime Museum in Stavanger is one of our favourites and the entrance ticket, 70 kr for seniors and even cheaper for students, is very good value because it is also valid for the other museums in Stavanger on the same day. The museums are all associated with the University hence the common approach. Unfortunately the Canning Museum by the ship was closed but the Stavanger Museum just beyond the train station was open. The Maritime Museum is in a row of joined buildings dating from 1770 to 1840 in Gamle Stavanger, close to the Queen Elizabeth. Its displays show the development of Stavanger from herring fishing and canning to the modern industries which support the oil business. On the ground floor there are models of ships, equipment for diving, and one tethered mine typical of those laid along the Norwegian coast during WWII. Upstairs there are a number of historic rooms some of which are authentic and others are reconstructions. They include the offices of the Monsen shipping company, Merchants apartments, the General store, and the Sail Loft in the attic.

The Stavanger Museum of Natural History was founded in 1877 and the present substantial building up a slight hill and next to the Theatre dates from 1893. The Museum is a focus for zoological and ornithopological research with many stuffed birds and has national expertise in bird-ringing. It also maintains donations from norwegian collectors. including skeletons of whales and stuffed mammals. On our visit we saw the permanent display explaining how children are conceived and born, a new exhibit of singing animals skulls with human faces, a room full of a selection of the museums stored furniture, and a series of tableau showing life in Stavanger. There was also a tableau highlighting the work of Anders L. Smith (1620-1694) who did the carving in Stavanger cathedral.

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Content revised: 30th November, 2019