This morning finds us docking at Sandnes, next to two giant canes which remind me of Starwars characters. Yet another clear blue sky day! (How lucky are we??)
Our excursion this afternoon took us around the Stavanger area, including drives along the coast where one will see beautiful white sand beaches! We saw lots of new road construction projects. Off the two lanes, the roads in the area are narrow with lots of round-a-abouts. Everything looks prosperous!
Our guide, a young lady from Croatia, was excellent. She explained that oil had been discovered off the coast of Norway in the 1960s. Since then, Norway had become "rich". Oil money has been stashed away for their future. There is over a Trillion dollars in the oil fund which is used for infrastructure, education, free health care, etc.
One of our stops was at a monument, featuring three large swords stuck in the rock, commemorating the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872 in which Harald Fairhair became the first King of Norway. (Fairhair's story is interesting - a legend, probably). Another stop was at a telecom tower called Ullandhaugh Tarnet which afforded great views of the city.
We saw many examples of new roofing tiles in residential homes. They look shiney! We were told they are made of ceramic with a special coating to allow snow to slide off.
From our ship was can see an interesting apartment/condo complex on the far hill. We wonder how that works? Out in the country it reminds me of "home" (New York, that is), rolling green hills with windrows of freshly cut hay.
Great dinner in the Dining Room tonight - Salmon and Weiner Schnitzel. More dancers on the World Stage tonight.
Tomorrow we explore Kristiansand.
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