At Sea & Stavanger, Norway

            Sunday, 30 Aug 2015 – We slept until noon today, thus enjoying 12 hours of sleep but missing breakfast!  At 12:45 PM we went to lunch and looked for a few “breakfast-type” items to eat.

            As we walked by the swimming pools, we checked the water temperature and found it to be very cold; also, the two large pools were both filled with shouting kids.  (Only a small pool at the rear of the ship is for adults only.)  Anyway, we stopped by the ship’s library and checked out a few books, and spent the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing.

            This was formal night.  In the Coral Dining room we shared a table with Maureen and Keith, of Vancouver, Washington (near Portland, Oregon), and Al & Elaine of Santa Barbara, California.  (Elaine is Al’s youngest daughter, Al explained.)  Although we mostly discussed cruises and grandkids, we learned that Maureen and Keith winter in Arizona, near the California border in Blythe.

            After dinner, we enjoyed complimentary champagne at the “Captain’s Welcome Aboard Party & Champagne Waterfall.”  After that, we danced for 15 minutes to Jumari, a guitarist and vocal entertainer.  Although his performance wasn’t advertised as dance music, other couples were already dancing, so we joined in.  (He also had his own electronic accompaniment, but it was good.)

Monday, 31 Aug 2015 – Since we had an excursion in Stavanger, Norway today, we awoke to our alarm at 6:45 AM, went for a quick breakfast, and made our way to our tour meet-up point in the Princess Theater by 8:15 AM.  At 8:50 our bus departed the pier.  Our driver (Yenta) took us on a short drive through the city, while our tour guide (Helen) told us about the sights.

After a short drive through the city, we soon were amidst the picturesque farmlands and tiny Ullandhaug, with an Iron Age farm.  At this instant, we seemed to be transported into the 4th or 5th centuries A.D., when inhabitants used iron implements and weapons.  We walked about 50 meters very carefully through a sheep pasture (trying not to step in any manure!) to a restored longhouse.  On the original site, archeologists had found stone walls and round stone fire pits, and the rest of the crude building had been reconstructed.  From the outside, it was very low, with a sod roof (and grass or hay growing from it).  At the door, we were greeted by the “Lady of the House,” who showed us the key that she carried.  This key granted her the supreme authority over the house, inhabitants, duties, etc.; no one, not even the chieftain, could take her key or try to use his authority over her.  As punishment for anyone who tried, she could forbid that person from sleeping in the house for days at a time!  When the Lady of the House died, the key would be buried with her.

As the taller of those in our group stooped to enter, we walked into the longhouse.  Inside, at first we could barely see, though after several minutes our eyes became accustomed to the dark.  The walls were stone, and the roof was peat and bark (under the sod).  Animals were kept in the house on the north end (to break the cold wind).  To light a fire, the “Lady” showed how flint and iron were used; in this longhouse were three round fireplaces surrounded by stones.  The Lady also demonstrated ancient techniques for making wool thread and grinding grain.

Not far away, we made a photo stop at the Ullandhaug viewpoint, which offered panoramic views of the Jæren countryside and Ryfylke Mountains to the east and Hafrsfjord to the west.  



King Harald's Monument

This was the site of King Harald’s monument, which was destroyed by the Germans during WWII and would have cost too much to reconstruct.  In 872, King Harald Fair Hair united Norway after the battle of Hafrsfjord.

At dinner in the Coral Dining Room, we shared a table with Bill, of New Hampshire; his grandson, Blake, from Massachusetts; Bill’s brother and his wife; and another couple of Nashville, Tennessee.  After dinner, we danced to Jurmari for about 20 minutes before returning to our cabin.  Before retiring, we set our alarm for 2:15 AM.  The woman from Nashville at our table thought the Aurora Borealis might be visible at that time.  (This topic had been discussed on CruiseCritic.com several months ago, but Sally wasn’t sure if her name was on the wake-up list or not, or even if this was the correct night.)