Stavanger is known as the gateway to the oil industry and supposedly the most expensive city with the highest per capita income. Stavanger was once the capital of the fishing and canning industry and has been able to reinvent itself.A remnant of the old days is the old town whose houses are still showcased by the locals living there. It was fun exploring in the clear skies unlike all the rain in Bergen's old town.Stavanger is shaped like a U-shape with the harbou...

After arriving in Stavanger I didn't really know what to expect as this isn't much of a tourist town. Aside from the shining clear skies to my surprise there was a visiting exhibition NATO fleet in harbour.You were allowed to board all ships and walk on their top decks only. There was also a submarine but no entrance was allowed. The last time I'd visited naval ships like this was in Yeosu, South Korea.Participating countries were Germany, France, Latvia, and Nor...

This morning I would be taking the 4hr bus from Bergen to Stavanger and hoping to shake off this dreaded rain by moving to a new city. I had already bought the ticket online beforehand for 440K ($88).Stavanger is not on the tourist route and not many people go there but I figured why not see another coastal town. I know of it as the ferries from the UK come here and originally I had planned to fly here from the UK on Ryannair before heading up to Bergen when I wa...

The highlight for today was the 5 hour Sognefjord Cruise all the way to Bergen. Unfortunately I had the worst possible weather as the rain wasn't clearing.As it was low season and the last weekend for this route I was able to get the three corner seats all to myself for a good clear view.Rather than being a 'tourist cruise' this is actually a local ferry stopping and picking/dropping off passengers at all the local towns. While it does make the cruise last longer...

Today was one of the most exciting days I had long been planning for. A popular day trip from Bergen is the 'Norway Nutshell' train and fjord cruise. There are various options and I had chosen the longer Sognefjord Cruise which sails 5 hours thru the fjords all the way to Bergen.I had paid $240 for the 12 hour long day trip which was the going rate for these trips but well worth it when you see the stunning valley photos of those that have gone. Unfortunately a m...