The annual bonanza of Dutch public holidays kicks off in May and Ascension gives us Dutchies the chance to ascend to some better weather and glimpses of the sun. So it was a somewhat strange decision this year for us to head north to a part of the world that can surely compete with the Netherlands’ inclement weather…to the maritime city of Stavanger on the west coast of Norway.

Oh so typical that day one had us leaving a beautifully sunny day in NL and arriving into the grey clouds and rain of Norway! But, as the saying goes “there is never bad weather, just bad clothing” so we were well prepared with our rain gear and fleeces!

If you are into the great outdoors, then Stavanger is the perfect base from which to visit some of Norway’s most beautiful (and popular) places and a trip here is going to be comprised of awesome hikes, world class waterfalls, beautiful vistas, tasty food and maritime adventure.

• The oil capital of Norway
• Food glorious food
• Hiking – Preikestolen, Trolpikken
• Waterfalls (and hiking) – Manfossen, Espelandsfossen
• Sailing the islands (and hiking)

The oil capital of Norway 🏠

Probably not the first thing that will get you on a plane to travel all the way here (although essential to getting that plane up in the air!), but Stavanger is a curious mix of centennial old town, quaint little harbours and billions of dollars of industrial investment that followed the discovery of oil back in the late sixties. That in turn brought one of the highest standards of living in the world, incredible infrastructure (consider the network of road tunnels that connect the various islands and fjords of the area), protected nature and restaurants that can compete with London or New York (including on price!!).

If you have a rainy afternoon (which we did) then a trip to the Petroleum Museum is well worth it, giving the history of Norwegian oil exploration and production as it is, the sheer size and scale of what it takes to power the world but also the impacts it has both on this fishing town and abroad.

If it is still a bit grey outside, head for a bit of colour (and cocktails) along Fargegaten, here the numerous bars are painted in a rainbow of colours, that will brighten the dark clouds above. Cocktails are pricey, but relative to the eye watering price of beer they become the economical choice and are very creative (try Pjolter & Punsj), if you can start your drinking a bit earlier in the day then you can benefit from a bit of happy hour (typically 6-7pm).

The Harbour area is another splash of colour that houses the busiest local bars where the kids hang out with the oldies to party through the long days of summer.

Try to save your visit to the old town of Gamle (just by the harbour) to some blue skies to maximise the pretty tweeness of this part of town. A nice little stroll along the cobblestoned ways, bordered by the wooden homes makes for a very nice walk. But do spare a thought for the residents that live here and try to refrain from peeping into their windows like it is a museum!

A word of warning to those of you that may be hunting the Aurora Borealis…Scandinavia is normally THE destination to get a glimpse of the natural nighttime show, however Stavanger’s maritime climate often means clouds will obscure things. On our visit a particularly strong solar storm meant that the lights were being seen all the way down in NL…but for us, just a hint of purple peeking through the cloudy skies!

But what the skies lack in colour at night are more than made up by the creative street artwork that you will see across the city.

Food glorious food! 🏠

Take the finest Scandinavian ingredients, creative recipes and inject the wealth of petro-dollars and you will have some very fine food during your stay. For us it started almost as soon as we woke up, as our hotel – Thon Maritime – was billed as having the best breakfast in town. In fact it could almost compete with the grand buffet breakfasts of the Philippines…almost! Reserve at least an hour in your morning to enjoy – Smørbrød (open sarnies), cured meats, smoked salmon, pickled herring, and a variety of cheeses and of course brunost cheese (the sweet brown type) that you shave onto your plate!

If you are blessed with a sunny, warm day, then brunch, or lunch should be at Matmagasinet, next door to the King’s palace and overlooking a nice green garden, an out door spot here is great for a relaxed mid day bite to eat.

Night-time brings the best of the meals and you’ll be spoilt for choice. If you can plan months in advance then you may grab a spot at one of the many Michelin starred restos, but fear not, as even those not so forward thinking can still get a great meal. We enjoyed the Matbaren Bistro by Renaa, little sister to Renaa’s 3 star restaurant on the other side of the city. You’ll enjoy….

For traditional seafood, head to the Fisketorget, an old fish market at the heart of the harbour that has amazing fish soup and predictably fresh seafood.

Hiking 🏠

Preikestolen

The landscape around Stavanger is truly world class, for beauty, exercise and the great outdoors, and you will be spoilt for choice within a radius of 1-2 hours. Starting with the most iconic hike in the whole of Norway…to Preikestolen (The Pulpit Rock). Just a 40 minute drive, under the fjord, or by numerous bus services that run from Stavanger it is very easy to get to!

Preikestolen, so called as it resembles the pulpit of a church, rises up over 600 metres over the Lysefjord. With a wonderful hike up rocky staircases, through boggy forests, marshlands, craggy lakes and precarious walkways you will get both a workout and a fest for the eyes.

The end point is going to give amazing views along the fjord and depending on the time of the year you may still see snow capped mountains ringing the area.

Don’t be fooled by the ease of access to this hike, nor the seemingly short distance (3.8km), come prepared – good hiking boots, water, layers and waterproofs as the weather can change quick and the terrain, whilst not difficult can be a bit tricky if you are not prepared. We saw quite a few white trainers going up and muddied / bloodied bodies coming down, so take care!!

Adding to the complexity of the hike will be the crowds, during summer up to 6000 people a day can be on the trail, with kids, with the grandparents and as we were with dogs! So all in all plan for at least 4-5 hours to go there and back. There are no amenities on the hike so stock up / shed excesses at the car park and treat yourself to a well earned coffee and cake when you arrive back down.

Trollpikken

Given we are in Norway and a lot of mythology revolves around trolls, you will find many a place that is dedicated to a piece of their anatomy, and just over an hour south of Stavanger you’ll be able to visit the Troll’s pride and joy…Trollpikken.

A lovely little hike within the Magma Geopark, you’ll pass curious sheep, babbling brooks, gurgling waterfalls and mirror still lakes before clambering around on his Trollhood. The trick to getting right on top of this perturbance is to look for a little cave just under the rock where you can shimmy up the gap and onto the ledge.

The guides for this route indicate just a couple of kilometers each way, but again, come prepared with good gear and remember that a Norwegian kilometer seems to be much longer than a ‘normal’ kilometer and this will still take a couple of hours to hike there and back from the car park.

Waterfalls 🏠

Plenty of countries around the world brag about their waterfalls, create a big tourist fanfare along with big entry prices to see them. Norway literally washes away all this competition with spectacular falls lining the sheer sides of the fjords and only has the entry costs of a strenuous hike in order to visit.

Manafossen, an hour and a half eastwards from Stavanger is one such incredible waterfall to visit, it is not spectacularly high, but they way it shoots out of a cliff face makes it so impressive. To get there from the car park clamber up the stone steps, through a winding and steep forest trail and then pull yourself up the rail and chains that run along a steep flat rock face.

There are multiple viewing areas jutting out opposite the falls where you can get all perspectives and hopefully, if sunny, all angles of the rainbow that will spread through the canyon.

If you want a bit more of a hike, you can continue around the canyon to almost stand on top of the falls, a bit of an unmarked path around, but well worth it as you will probably have this spot all to yourselves to wave at everyone else on the other side.

Espelandsfossen is a roadside waterfall that, in all honesty we failed to get up close to (as we were in a bit of a rush), but it is nonetheless impressive to see and coming this way is a must to be able to drive through the stunning Gloppedalsura Magma Geopark and Europe’s largest moraine field, followed by stunning lakeside drives as you descend back down to sea level.

Sailing the Islands 🏠

The coast of Stavanger is dotted with a thousand little islands, that, if you have a boat you can moor up at and enjoy the facilities that are often provided for maritime visitors – picnic spots, barbeques and toilets. Fortunately for us Lyssa’s friends (Delia, Ragnar & Family) kindly gave us a bit of a tour out to Lindoy, one such little piece of idyllic Norway.

With easy access to the harbour for boats, you’ll get to see Stavanger from the water.

And then get a chance to explore the little island paradise, meet the locals (sheep) and then enjoy a superb picnic of local delicacies of fish soup, prawns and cakes!

Don’t worry if you don’t have access to your own boat, you can also pick up a public ferry that will drop you off on demand to one of the islands, but make sure you know how to notify that you want picking up again (it involves hanging a buoy from a mast as a call sign!). Or just hitch a ride!

And with that our springtime jaunt to this most beautiful part of outdoors Europe comes to a close, still so much more to do and see, but that’ll be for the next trip, for now, enjoy!