Navigation: Previous Day | Home | Next Day
Bergen - Stavanger - Oslo Day 5 - 16-June

Sun in Bergen
The weather keeps improving in Bergen, it doesn't rain and the sun comes out quite frequently. Today I will be traveling the longest part of the whole journey. First from Bergen to Stavanger, then from Stavanger to Oslo and after a 1 hour stop in Oslo I will be heading to Trondheim where I will arrive tomorrow in the afternoon. That's more than 24 hours later, and around 1500km. But first there is some time to spend in Bergen as my boat will only leave at 12:00.

I still have the Bergen Card active (until 11:30) so I decide to visit the old royal castle, well basically it just consists of some old buildings with a wall around it and some cannons, but it's still very old, the wall are thick and the stairs are narrow, steep and high. Oslo hasn't been the capital of Norway all the time, it used to be occupied by the Swedes and Bergen was a very important city in former days. It's quite logical that the king resided there in the middle ages. There is an interesting museum and you can climb the old tower building and see the kings hall. For both buildings (the tower and the hall) you need to pay entrance, so I got 2 free visits in one.

Håkons Hall, the residential palace in the middle ages.

Taking the boat

Travel details: Bergen-Stavanger Boat ride with Flaggruten Departure:12:00 - Arrival:16:00 Distance: 175km

Checking in for the boat to Stavanger, it's quite official and you need to state your name and destination before boarding. The boat leaves strictly on time and makes a nice route, there are no fjords but a lot of isles with bare rock.


The coastline is scattered with islands.


A small settlement facing the Atlantic Ocean

Stavanger, Old and Oil
4 Hours later the boat arrives in Stavanger, I have 6 hours to explore the city before the night train will take me back to Oslo. All ticket offices are closed at the station and I didn't make a reservation for the train to Trondheim yet. They say trains get pretty full in Norway and that you need to book on time, so I hope I will manage to get a place in Oslo. Stavanger itself is really beautiful, in this city are a lot of consulates, that's not so strange because a large part of the population here is foreign. Stavanger is an Oil capital and thus a very rich city, that attracts a lot of British and American Businessmen and there are quite some modern buildings in Stavanger. Travel Guides are a bit negative about the city because of the "oil" image but it is a very pleasant city with a very pleasant old town centre.

Oil and Stavanger are connected to each other. No wonder they have an Oil Museum as well. In the background some fisherman houses. Stavanger used to be a big fishing place.

The town centre consists of cobblestone streets and little white wooden houses. This is what you expect from a Norwegian village, and the city centre is crowded with these houses, and all are in good condition as well. It's nice to have a walk around, but 6 hours is a bit long, especially because many shops in the city centre are closing. A cafe is a fun option but incredibly expensive as well (50 NOK for a drink). The supermarkets however are still open until 22:00 and shortly after that time the train will leave to Oslo. Also the intercafe and the tourist info were still open and coincidentally I meet 3 japanese people whom I met in Bergen the day before. The country may be quite big, it's still small enough for these sudden meetings.


Gamle Stavanger, just as a lot of other parts of Stavanger you see these kind of houses and cobblestone streets.

Going back to Oslo

Travel details: Stavanger - Oslo S Train - Nighttrain (Nattog) Departure:22:45 - Arrival:7:26 Distance: 606km

The nighttrain is pretty old and shakes heavily. It's not full and naturally I manage to lock myself out as soon as I leave the cabin to look for the bistro wagon. I share my 3-bed compartment with a norwegian boy traveling to Oslo. The sun is setting a bit earlier here but at midnight there is still some light. Time to go to sleep.