Stavanger - the Petroleum Museum and Pulpit Rock

The pedestrian streets and colorful houses make another
section of downtown Stavanger very attractive for shopping
and dining.

Scott and I made separate plans for our day in Stavanger. He joined Walt & Honoree on one of the official excursions to Pulpit Rock. This was an 8 hour trip out of town to hike up to this iconic view. It was a very difficult hike with over 2.000 ft of elevation - I decided to pass and see the city instead. We both had a terrific time.

I managed to see the Cathedral, most of downtown, the Norwegian Canning Museum and the Petroleum Museum. It was all very interesting and fun. There was even time for a little shopping. Stavanger is a very attractive and accessible city. Despite the bright sunshine, it was cool - as you can see from the way people are dressed

Lots of people sat outside to have a drink or eat even in the
cool weather. 

 In the morning I took in the Cathedral, "Old Stavanger" and the Canning Museum. After lunch back on the boat I headed out again for the shopping district and the Petroleum Museum.
Opened in 1999, the Petroleum Museum from the sea looks like a small oil platform. It covers 5,000 square meters so there is a lot to see! The Museum focuses on offshore petroleum activity especially in the North Sea through films, photographs and lots of actual equipment. I followed the technological development from the beginning of the Norwegian oil industry in the mid 1960's  to today. Happily they also covered how this has effected people both in Norway and in developing countries as well as environmental costs. 

That's the Norwegian flag on the right and some unusually
pruned trees on the left.

There were great views from the Museum of the harbor. This
was the first time we saw groups of sailboats.

I believe there was at least one of every kind of machine
associated with petroleum drilling and underwater exploration.

And you could experience them yourself in many cases.
Not underwater unfortunately.

A view of the first floor from the stairs up to the second. I
enjoyed the films as they featured the people who worked
in the industry instead of the machines. It is a very dangerous
industry to work in - and that has a big cost for both the
workers and their families.

A huge new platform was being built right in the harbor

There were many statues through downtown. This one was
supposed to be a Viking man. I didn't think buttons were
invented back then!

I loved these beautiful costumes and admired the hand done
embroidery. Several women in the rear of the store were
hard at work creating them.

And I would have loved to buy some of these fabulous wool
felt boots. But they and the costumes cost hundreds of dollars.
Well worth it I'm sure, but too rich for me.

Another street reminded me of England with the half timbered
houses

And now for my other half. These are photos Scott took
on his hike up to Pulpit Rock. You can see the steep
rocky trail with lots of people. 

Walt and Honoree took lots of photos too.

The weather wasn't great but luckily the fog didn't roll in
until they were headed down from the summit. 

Pretty spectacular scenery!

I don't know if you can see the people in the center of this shot - it gives you more perspective.

The red jacket helps here.

Good view of the fjord. They took buses and boats to
reach the start of the hike.

Craig Smith also did the hike. He and his wife Lisa were our
table companions for dinner each night.

This is the famous photo you usually see of Pulpit Rock - Honoree took it.

And this one from the top. It was well worth the tough climb!