31/10 – Stavanger Sunshine and Halifax Holiday?

A couple of weeks ago, during one of the first nightshifts at work, a colleague and I somehow came to talk about Canada, and Nova Scotia in particular. He’d spent some days in Halifax at some stage and had apparently quite enjoyed it. Once he got started, my colleague wouldn’t stop talking about the daily lobster dishes, the good beer and music at the bars and nightclubs and the friendly Canadians there.

A while later, seafood crazy me was all hooked by the idea of getting fresh cooked lobster straight from the fishermen in the harbour to make your own lobster lunch sandwich right there on the dock. And for prices you would only dream about in Scandinavia. Some surfing later, Halifax turned into a possible destination for a couple of winter weeks at some stage in the beginning of the New Year. Just need to sort out minor details such as time off from work and if I’ll be able to get fresh lobster there in February for sure, 100% or I’m not going.

However, before Halifax, Stavanger was on the itinerary. Oilrig – Esbjerg – Billund – Amsterdam – Stavanger, quickest routing there was. Guess a kayak or optimist dingy straight from the rig to Stavanger would have been just as speedy.

So, what would Stavanger have to offer? I arrived with a totally blank sheet and no expectations, had a look at the map and headed for the old town, a safe bet in most cities. Cosy indeed and worth a stroll. Then I went along the pubs and restaurants at the waterfront and across to the small cobblestone shopping streets. Cosy again and here I found a new potential favourite, and strong competitor to both Icebreaker and Bintang for the top of my list – Moods of Norway. Good start of the day in Stavanger, and it was going to get better.

As I was walking along one of the main streets, enjoying the sunny autumn day with my mind on Halifax, I came down to the water again, and suddenly there was no need for Canada anymore. Along the dock, three fishing boats had just come in and were about to line up the white Styrofoam boxes and their home made signs and banners. And what were they selling? Lobster of course! Fresh and cooked ones, massive shrimps, nice crabs and even more lobster. The only thing missing was the Canadian price. Think Denmark will feel like a cheap place to buy food for the first time ever when I make it back there after the Norway stop.

Once I’d passed the fishing boats, I couldn’t help to get a bit tempted to visit the Norsk Oljemuseum – The Norwegian Petroleum Museum – when walking past. But since I was supposed to have a couple of days off, and think as little as possible about work, I left it for another time. The museum is in a quite modern building at the waterfront, with Christmas trees and hole opener assemblies decorating the place together with platform caissons and pipelines. The oilfield part of me thinks it looks kind of neat, other parts of me think it’s sad to disturb the view with old industrial leftovers. Anyways, the playground is pretty clever though and the bouncing area made from buoys is one of the more inventive recycling ideas I’ve ever seen. Just wish I was young enough to join the kids for a bounce, perhaps I could have sneaked past after the pub later on?

The conclusion after a couple of days in Stavanger was easy, I definitely want to come back. Like that is a rare conclusion for a place I’ve been visiting…not really. Perhaps, I could come back for a week of kayaking in the fjords, hiking in the mountains and other outdoor activities, followed by a weekend of beer drinking and partying. Or a month or so of just hanging out, enjoying the scenery and atmosphere and eventually get around to have that lobster sandwich. It’s a nice town, this Norwegian oilfield Mecca, and it feels like I would fit in here. Even my GoreTex shoes, hoodie and new Haglöfs jacket fit here. Feels a bit like Luleå actually, and will for sure be added to the places, which makes me wonder what I’m doing in Copenhagen. I’m sure I’ll have the answer to that question in a few hours when I’m back home though. If not, I’ll deal with that then.

Oh, almost forgot, if you ever fly in to Stavanger, make sure not to jump straight into the taxi or bus when leaving the terminal building. Take a right and walk towards the white walls surrounding the small grass hills (I know, it sounds strange, but you’ll know what I mean when you see it). Then, take a look at the brilliant aviation “picture” in one of the white walls. Sometimes I’m very easy to impress.