Stavanger, Norway

The Motor City of Norway


The Porto Fund
Colorful historic houses of Vagen, the port of Stavanger.
Vagabjorn
Host of the Viking Museum, in historic Viking costume.
Kielland Shadow
Silhouette of the statue of Alexander L. Kielland one of the most renowned Norwegian writers.
Friends in Geoparken
Friends pass by a decorative Geoparken container.
The Old Control Tower
The Valbergtarnet observation tower, formerly used to control maritime traffic entering and leaving the port.
Ascent to Gamle Stavanger-Norway
Passersby ascend from Vagen towards Gamle Stavanger, Old Stavanger.
Museum of Petroleum
Corner of the Petroleum Museum.
Sverd i Fjell I
View of Sverd i Fjell, a monument commemorating King Harald I's victory at the Battle of Hafrsfjord and enabling him to unite all of Norway under his power.
Museum of Petroleum II
Section of the hyper-technological Stavanger Petroleum Museum.
shallow and cold bath
Friends bathe in the shallow, frigid sea of ​​Mollebukta, off Stavanger.
Sverd i Fjell II
Boyfriends are photographed at the memorial to the Battle of Hafrsfjord.
The abundance of offshore oil and natural gas and the headquarters of the companies in charge of exploiting them have promoted Stavanger from the Norwegian energy capital preserve. Even so, this city didn't conform. With a prolific historical legacy, at the gates of a majestic fjord, cosmopolitan Stavanger has long propelled the Land of the Midnight Sun.

The midnight sun is one. Mid-afternoon is another.

Norwegians and foreigners installed on the far side of Vagen port, on the esplanades of the Skagenkaien seafront, absorb the difference in the faces and arms. They convert it into vitamin D and the ever-precious serotonin, as long as the weather permits.

There are few ports that we remember with such an intimate relationship with the cities to which they belong. Vagen's hugs Stavanger so tightly he almost smacks her. The V with which it tightens reveals itself so deep that it almost joins Breiavatnet, the heart-shaped urban lake a few meters to the south.

Vagen, Stavanger, Norway

Historic and colorful houses of Vagen, the port of Stavanger.

As we unveiled them today, these estuary funds appear to be more recreational than commercial. Appearances deceive.

A Legacy of the Profitable Conservation Industry

During the 2002th and XNUMXth centuries, the secular wooden buildings and roofs in A served as warehouses and other structures to support fishing and trade in goods and, from the mid-XNUMXth century onwards, over fifty fish canning companies that disputed the city, until, in XNUMX, the last one was closed.

Even without the vastness of the Vagen de Bergen, the emergence of Stavanger as an unavoidable city of business and leisure, at a certain point, inhabited and frequented by wealthy people, facilitated the conversion of this row of houses, in a colorful succession – much brighter than the buildings from Bergen – from restaurants and bars.

Only the asphalt of the Skagenkaien separated the elegant buildings from the inlet and from the launches and other vessels moored right there. Some of the customers, owners or passengers of the boats, had the luxury of crossing the lane, to and fro, in a convenient and pleasant alternation between socializing with family and friends and one or another to do on board.

On certain nautical ephemeris, docks and moorings become overcrowded. The most exemplary event to date has been the Tall Ships Races of 2018 but, truth be told, it doesn't take that much.

Ramp at S-Stavanger-Norway

Passersby ascend from Vagen towards Gamle Stavanger, Old Stavanger.

Valbergtarnet and Gamle Stavanger: the City of Other Times

To the east of the Skagenkaien, Stavanger climbs the “highlands” of the Valbergtarnet, an observation tower erected between 1850 and 1853 and permanently inhabited by lookouts charged with alerting the inhabitants in case of fire. These days, the tower houses a museum.

Above all, it serves as a viewpoint over the surrounding urban scene. A few meters to the east, we enter Gamle Stavanger, the oldest district in the city and, according to its tourist authorities, the largest (173) group of historic wooden houses in Europe.

Valbergtarnet Tower, Stavanger, Norway

The Valbergtarnet observation tower, formerly used to control maritime traffic entering and leaving the port.

From 1800, with the emergence of the canning industry, hundreds of fishermen and other workers from the surroundings flocked to Stavanger. Some literally arrived with their houses on their backs. Made mostly of wood, the homes were easy to dismantle and transport on multiple trips in rowboats.

Before the dawn of oil exploration, Stavanger was the Capital of Canned Sardines, to be more scientific about Sprats (sprattus sprattus) canned, a species of the herring family then considered one of the tastiest and whose fishing and canning, in pepper sauce or jalapeno, from tomatoes and in olive oil, came to guarantee the livelihood of about half of the city's population.

Gamle's restoration turned out to be reliable except for the color. At the origin, these houses were almost all painted red or yellow, not by a fashion statement of the time or social affirmation. White paint was by far the most expensive.

Even employed, humble families could not afford to buy the Norwegian color of sumptuousness.

Gamle Stavanger's Salvation on the Tangent

In the aftermath of World War II, Gamle's homes had fallen into disrepair. They formed a devalued and ill-regarded zone. An overly radical plan stipulated that they should be razed to the ground, replaced by modern concrete structures.

This plan was only aborted due to the determined opposition of Einar Hedén, the city's architect, who managed to convince the Stavanger Council to save and enhance its historic core.

In recent years, Stavanger has given in to other cans. As we walk through its streets and alleys, we come across murals painted by graffiti artists with a mind full of surreal images and full of talent to illustrate them.

Geoparken, Stavanger, Norway

Friends pass by a decorative Geoparken container.

In one of them, the Ovre Holmegate, the murals are replaced by mere color. For some time now, this street, somewhat removed from the Skagenkaien promenade and too similar to the others, received few visitors for the ambitions of business owners.

Dissatisfied, they agreed to paint each of the buildings in distinct, showy colors. The idea made the street one of the most frequented, the most fashionable place for cafes and bars (in addition to an antique shop) in Stavanger.

An Incredible Deposit of Information and History about Black Gold

We walked along it on our way to the city's east coast, looking for the museum dedicated to Stavanger's much more recent and prosperous era, that of Oil and Natural Gas.

Museum of Petroleum, Stavanger, Norway

Staircase of the Petroleum Museum.

Nearby, we are distracted by the pranks of children and teenagers who share the Geoparken, an amusement park made of a container also with graffiti and an irregular surface suitable for bicycle and skateboard stunts.

Ahead, a futuristic complex of buildings inspired by storage tanks and oil extraction towers just might be what we were looking for. We entered. We circle.

Most of the time intrigued, among the panoply of illustrations, models and models, some explaining the different types of crude, others, the evolution of platforms that allow it to extract prominently into the North Sea offshore.

Museum of Petroleum, Stavanger, Norway

Section of the hyper-technological Stavanger Petroleum Museum.

The Fossil Wealth the North Sea Gives Norway

It was in this icy and wild sea that, 1969, the US company Phillips Petroleum Company (later part of ConocoPhillips) discovered the Ekofisk, the first of several oil and gas fields that would make Norway a major producer and exporter. of both raw materials.

And in one of the richest countries in the world, if the Gross Domestic Product is taken into account per capita.  Stavanger benefited from this discovery like no other Norwegian city.

In 1972, the Norwegian government passed a law in the Stortinget parliament that established the creation of a state-owned company that would enable Norway's direct participation in North Sea oil exploration. Thus was founded StatOil, later renamed Equinor.

Stavanger was selected to host Equinor's headquarters. By symbiosis, several other companies, agencies and institutions linked to oil prospecting settled there. At the center of a multimillion-dollar industrial branch, Stavanger's economy was quick to assume its current dynamism and power.

As mentioned in the entry of this article, in the light of what happened in the oil countries of the Middle East for decades on end, the city could have been satisfied with the great luck that it has been awarded. Instead, it opted to explore another Norwegian lode, tourism. In Stavanger, it is not only at the Petroleum Museum that the two intersect.

Alexander L. Kielland: The Famed Writer, Edil and the Voraz of Stavanger

In another late afternoon, we leave the vertex of Vagen pointing to the park-garden Byparquen that surrounds the lake of Breavatnet. Along the way, demonic seagulls share the roof of two snack trailers and fly over them, keeping an eye out for any offer or distraction from customers.

Alexander L. Kielland Statue, Stavanger, Norway

Silhouette of the statue of Alexander L. Kielland one of the most renowned Norwegian writers.

We identified the sunny Stavanger Cathedral and, in front, already completely in the shade, the statue of Alexander L. Kielland, former mayor of Stavanger, considered one of the four great Norwegian writers, an inveterate realist.

So faithful to realism that many readers believe that he stopped writing (too soon) because he became disillusioned with the neo-romantic path that Norwegian literature was taking at the end of the XNUMXth century. This, years before he died of obesity aggravated by an intractable passion for food.

Since 1880, Kielland had suffered from shortness of breath and serious heart problems. Finally, in 1906, the various ailments he suffered from ended up victimizing him. The dramas surrounding Alexander L. Kielland were far from ending up with his death.

In recognition of the work that the writer left to the city, Norway and the world, the Stavanger Drilling Company decided to name a semi-submersible drilling rig in his honor.

The Horrific Drama of the Kielland Platform

In the early rainy and foggy night of March 27, 1980, the platform was hit by winds in the order of 74km/h and waves of up to 12 meters. Around 18:30 pm, the workers on board felt a snap, followed by a tremor.

Moments later, the platform tilted about 30º. Of the six cables that stabilized it, only one resisted. The slope increased. Just three minutes after the shake, the last cable gave way and the platform heeled. One hundred and thirty workers were at the mess and at the cinema. The rest, in their rooms and work stations.

Of the 212 people on board, 123 perished. These numbers made the incident the deadliest disaster in Norwegian seas since World War II.

An oil and human catastrophe which, we dare to say, having taken place in the corresponding era, could have inspired in Kielland – in addition to being a writer, a wealthy boss but a defender of the working class – a whole complex and profound approach to Norwegian society.

The next day, the short trip we take from the coastal center of Stavanger to the seafront in the Hafrsjord district will give us some delicious notes.

Sverd i Fjell: A Homage to the Norwegian Union

It's a holiday. The weather had returned to frigidity, something windy more to be expected in those parts. Insufficient cold to deter some teenagers from bathing in the almost shallow sea of ​​Mollebukta that forced them to walk more than a hundred meters until the water passed their knees.

A group of friends decide to walk further and climb to a playful platform that allowed them to have fun diving. Two sisters as white as possible decided to extend their program to the family's Dalmatian. Despite countless pulls and pulls on the leash, the dog was even forced into a long and tortuous baptism.

Girlfriends bathe, Mollebukta, Stavanger, Norway

Friends bathe in the shallow, frigid sea of ​​Mollebukta, off Stavanger.

On land, on a lawn dotted with trees, several families and friends picnicked and socialized. Those who, like us, arrived there for the first time, arrived with other purposes.

Hafrsfjord was the scene of a battle of the same name which, in the year 872, allowed the victorious King Harald I to unite all of Norway under his power.

To commemorate the battle, in 1983, the sculptor Fritz Roed drove three ten-metre long bronze swords into a rocky headland. The highest (because placed higher) represents Haroldo. The other two, below, the defeated kings.

Photography in Sverd i Fjell, Stavanger, Norway

Boyfriends are photographed at the memorial to the Battle of Hafrsfjord.

The monument preserves strong symbolism for the Norwegians and the perspective that everyone yearns for lasting peace, in such a way that the swords were driven into the rock so that this peace would not be disturbed.

About the sunset, Sverd i Fjell, that's how the work is called, it shows itself, strongly photogenic, gilded by the sunset, reflected and somewhat distorted in the water below.

In a sometimes hopeless shift mode, we share it with lovers, groups of friends, visitors and lonely walkers.

We photographed the moments and movements that, among all those fortuitous models, most captivated us. When the pitch sets and chills us for good, we take refuge in the pacified, welcoming and sophisticated core of Stavanger.

Magma Geopark, Norway

A Somehow Lunar Norway

If we went back to the geological ends of time, we would find southwestern Norway filled with huge mountains and a burning magma that successive glaciers would shape. Scientists have found that the mineral that predominates there is more common on the Moon than on Earth. Several of the scenarios we explore in the region's vast Magma Geopark seem to be taken from our great natural satellite.
Nesbyen to Flam, Norway

Flam Railway: Sublime Norway from the First to the Last Station

By road and aboard the Flam Railway, on one of the steepest railway routes in the world, we reach Flam and the entrance to the Sognefjord, the largest, deepest and most revered of the Scandinavian fjords. From the starting point to the last station, this monumental Norway that we have unveiled is confirmed.
Flam a Balestrand, Norway

Where the Mountains Give In to the Fjords

The final station of the Flam Railway marks the end of the dizzying railway descent from the highlands of Hallingskarvet to the plains of Flam. In this town too small for its fame, we leave the train and sail down the Aurland fjord towards the prodigious Balestrand.
Oslo, Norway

A Overcapitalized Capital

One of Norway's problems has been deciding how to invest the billions of euros from its record-breaking sovereign wealth fund. But even immoderate resources don't save Oslo from its social inconsistencies.
Valdez, Alaska

On the Black Gold Route

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker caused a massive environmental disaster. The vessel stopped plying the seas, but the victim city that gave it its name continues on the path of crude oil from the Arctic Ocean.
Lion, Elephants, PN Hwange, Zimbabwe
Safari
PN Hwange, Zimbabwe

The Legacy of the Late Cecil Lion

On July 1, 2015, Walter Palmer, a dentist and trophy hunter from Minnesota killed Cecil, Zimbabwe's most famous lion. The slaughter generated a viral wave of outrage. As we saw in PN Hwange, nearly two years later, Cecil's descendants thrive.
Young people walk the main street in Chame, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 1th - Pokhara a ChameNepal

Finally, on the way

After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.
The Little-Big Senglea II
Architecture & Design
Senglea, Malta

An Overcrowded Malta

At the turn of the 8.000th century, Senglea housed 0.2 inhabitants in 2 km3.000, a European record, today, it has “only” XNUMX neighborhood Christians. It is the smallest, most overcrowded and genuine of the Maltese cities.
Tibetan heights, altitude sickness, mountain prevent to treat, travel
Adventure

Altitude Sickness: the Grievances of Getting Mountain Sick

When traveling, it happens that we find ourselves confronted with the lack of time to explore a place as unmissable as it is high. Medicine and previous experiences with Altitude Evil dictate that we should not risk ascending in a hurry.
good buddhist advice
Ceremonies and Festivities
Chiang Mai, Thailand

300 Wats of Spiritual and Cultural Energy

Thais call every Buddhist temple wat and their northern capital has them in obvious abundance. Delivered to successive events held between shrines, Chiang Mai is never quite disconnected.
view, Saint Pierre, Martinique, French Antilles
Cities
Saint-Pierre, Martinique

The City that Arose from the Ashes

In 1900, the economic capital of the Antilles was envied for its Parisian sophistication, until the Pelée volcano charred and buried it. More than a century later, Saint-Pierre is still regenerating.
Obese resident of Tupola Tapaau, a small island in Western Samoa.
Meal
Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

For centuries, the natives of the Polynesian islands subsisted on land and sea. Until the intrusion of colonial powers and the subsequent introduction of fatty pieces of meat, fast food and sugary drinks have spawned a plague of diabetes and obesity. Today, while much of Tonga's national GDP, Western Samoa and neighbors is wasted on these “western poisons”, fishermen barely manage to sell their fish.
Djerbahood, Erriadh, Djerba, Mirror
Culture
Erriadh, Djerba, Tunisia

A Village Made Fleeting Art Gallery

In 2014, an ancient Djerbian settlement hosted 250 murals by 150 artists from 34 countries. The lime walls, the intense sun and the sand-laden winds of the Sahara erode the works of art. Erriadh's metamorphosis into Djerbahood is renewed and continues to dazzle.
Sport
Competitions

Man: an Ever Tested Species

It's in our genes. For the pleasure of participating, for titles, honor or money, competitions give meaning to the world. Some are more eccentric than others.
Traveling
Boat Trips

For Those Becoming Internet Sick

Hop on and let yourself go on unmissable boat trips like the Philippine archipelago of Bacuit and the frozen sea of ​​the Finnish Gulf of Bothnia.
Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, Mme Moline popinée
Ethnic
LifouLoyalty Islands

The Greatest of the Loyalties

Lifou is the island in the middle of the three that make up the semi-francophone archipelago off New Caledonia. In time, the Kanak natives will decide if they want their paradise independent of the distant metropolis.
Rainbow in the Grand Canyon, an example of prodigious photographic light
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 1)

And Light was made on Earth. Know how to use it.

The theme of light in photography is inexhaustible. In this article, we give you some basic notions about your behavior, to start with, just and only in terms of geolocation, the time of day and the time of year.
Bagu, Kingdom of Pegu, Syriao
History
berry, Myanmar

A Journey to Bago. And to the Portuguese Kingdom of Pegu

Determined and opportunistic, two Portuguese adventurers became kings of Pegu's kingdom. His dynasty only lasted from 1600 to 1613. It has gone down in history.
Zanzibar, African islands, spices, Tanzania, dhow
Islands
Zanzibar, Tanzania

The African Spice Islands

Vasco da Gama opened the Indian Ocean to the Portuguese empire. In the XNUMXth century, the Zanzibar archipelago became the largest producer of cloves and the available spices diversified, as did the people who disputed them.
coast, fjord, Seydisfjordur, Iceland
Winter White
Seydisfjordur, Iceland

From the Art of Fishing to the Fishing of Art

When shipowners from Reykjavik bought the Seydisfjordur fishing fleet, the village had to adapt. Today, it captures Dieter Roth's art disciples and other bohemian and creative souls.
Kukenam reward
Literature
Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Time Travel to the Lost World of Mount Roraima

Persist on top of Mte. Roraima extraterrestrial scenarios that have withstood millions of years of erosion. Conan Doyle created, in "The Lost World", a fiction inspired by the place but never set foot on it.
Tombolo and Punta Catedral, Manuel António National Park, Costa Rica
Nature
PN Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

Costa Rica's Little-Big National Park

The reasons for the under 28 are well known national parks Costa Ricans have become the most popular. The fauna and flora of PN Manuel António proliferate in a tiny and eccentric patch of jungle. As if that wasn't enough, it is limited to four of the best typical beaches.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Totem, Sitka, Alaska Travel Once Russia
Natural Parks
sitka, Alaska

Sitka: Journey through a once Russian Alaska

In 1867, Tsar Alexander II had to sell Russian Alaska to the United States. In the small town of Sitka, we find the Russian legacy but also the Tlingit natives who fought them.
Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, Travel Korea, Color Maneuvers
UNESCO World Heritage
Alone, South Korea

A Glimpse of Medieval Korea

Gyeongbokgung Palace stands guarded by guardians in silken robes. Together they form a symbol of South Korean identity. Without waiting for it, we ended up finding ourselves in the imperial era of these Asian places.
Heroes Acre Monument, Zimbabwe
Characters
Harare, Zimbabwewe

The Last Rales of Surreal Mugabué

In 2015, Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe said the 91-year-old president would rule until the age of 100 in a special wheelchair. Shortly thereafter, it began to insinuate itself into his succession. But in recent days, the generals have finally precipitated the removal of Robert Mugabe, who has replaced him with former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Beaches
Gizo, Solomon Islands

A Saeraghi Young Singers Gala

In Gizo, the damage caused by the tsunami that hit the Solomon Islands is still very visible. On the coast of Saeraghi, children's bathing happiness contrasts with their heritage of desolation.
Hikers on the Ice Lake Trail, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Religion
Annapurna Circuit: 7th - Braga - Ice Lake, Nepal

Annapurna Circuit – The Painful Acclimatization of the Ice Lake

On the way up to the Ghyaru village, we had a first and unexpected show of how ecstatic the Annapurna Circuit can be tasted. Nine kilometers later, in Braga, due to the need to acclimatize, we climbed from 3.470m from Braga to 4.600m from Lake Kicho Tal. We only felt some expected tiredness and the increase in the wonder of the Annapurna Mountains.
On Rails
On Rails

Train Travel: The World Best on Rails

No way to travel is as repetitive and enriching as going on rails. Climb aboard these disparate carriages and trains and enjoy the best scenery in the world on Rails.
Creel, Chihuahua, Carlos Venzor, collector, museum
Society
Chihuahua a Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico

On Creel's Way

With Chihuahua behind, we point to the southwest and to even higher lands in the north of Mexico. Next to Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, we visited a Mennonite elder. Around Creel, we lived for the first time with the Rarámuri indigenous community of the Serra de Tarahumara.
Saksun, Faroe Islands, Streymoy, warning
Daily life
Saksun, StreymoyFaroe Islands

The Faroese Village That Doesn't Want to be Disneyland

Saksun is one of several stunning small villages in the Faroe Islands that more and more outsiders visit. It is distinguished by the aversion to tourists of its main rural owner, author of repeated antipathies and attacks against the invaders of his land.
Maria Jacarés, Pantanal Brazil
Wildlife
Miranda, Brazil

Maria dos Jacarés: the Pantanal shelters such Creatures

Eurides Fátima de Barros was born in the interior of the Miranda region. 38 years ago, he settled in a small business on the side of BR262 that crosses the Pantanal and gained an affinity with the alligators that lived on his doorstep. Disgusted that once upon a time the creatures were being slaughtered there, she began to take care of them. Now known as Maria dos Jacarés, she named each of the animals after a soccer player or coach. It also makes sure they recognize your calls.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.
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