Part 4: Stavanger, Norway
Hotel: Radisson Blu Royal, 80 EUR/night incl. breakfast

Sorry for the bit of delay posting the rest of this trip report - but good grief what did I underestimate my recent travels! In the last one-and-a-half months I was not only travelling this epic trip (which I finished by now), but also had trips in between to Malta and Turkey for work, never mind being occupied renovating a newly acquired apartment as well! So let's get back to where I left the trip report: a cold February day in Stavanger!

I arrived in the early morning from Oslo by overnight train and went straight to my hotel for the night, the Radisson Blu Royal, which was an easy 10 minute walk from the railway station. Having no status whatsoever at any hotel chain (I normally prefer smaller non-chain hotels), all I hoped for was a friendly welcome and early check-in being available. In the worst case, my plan was to leave my luggage and head to the Clarion Hotel for breakfast, as train travellers in sleeper class get a 50% discount for breakfast and/or shower facilities at a select number of hotels in Norwegian cities, with the Clarion Hotel being the designated hotel in Stavanger.

It turned out not be needed at all! The girls at the reception where absolutely warm, hospitable and courteous. They not only gave me a room for early check-in, but also allowed me to use the breakfast buffet this morning for free. That's pretty damn impressive - and much appreciated - as I only paid a discounted weekend tariff. With Stavanger clearly being foremost a business city because of the offshore oil industry (although it has its touristic sights as well in and out the city!), weekday rates are typically double the weekend rate what I saw online. What is at least 150 EUR/night for a weekday, was only 80 EUR/night incl. breakfast during the weekend. The room itself was perfectly acceptable and the bed very comfy. As also the breakfast turned out to be good, I would definitely stay here again.




A standard room at the Radisson Blu Royal in Stavanger

I had a quick one-hour-long nap and a shower and headed to the breakfast room, which was located in the atrium. The spread was certainly not huge, but the quality was very good: the bread, croissants and other pastries were flaky and freshly baked, there were enough cold cuts, fresh fruits and warm options to choose from, and there was some good salmon available as well! For review purposes (err.. or were it the beers from the day before?) I tried as much as I could

Fun fact: the Radisson Blu Royal is also the place where the KLM crew stays overnight! Although I couldn't totally get their rotation, as the pilots and FAs I saw at breakfast the day after where not on the early morning flight to AMS.


The atrium of the Radisson Blu Royal


Part of the breakfast spread


Some pastries to start


Make your own salmon and cottage cheese sandwich


I figured I'd better really fill up for breakfast given how expensive dining out is in Norway!

After the meal, it was time for a swim to burn the calories. The pool area is located in the basement and looks actually pretty nice in the blue lights. There were even some nice sofas to relax on. There was a Jacuzzi - and it being Scandinavia a Sauna too!




The pool area of the Radisson Blu Royal

After relaxing in the sauna and pool, and taking a refreshing shower, it was time to head into the city. The city centre of Stavanger is basically centered around an U-shaped harbour, with at one side the old town centre, at the other side the commercial centre with most of the restaurants, shops and pubs, and at the bottom of the U some office buildings, a huge park and most of the hotels. I started with exploring the old town centre, which is famous for it's beautiful whitewashed wooden houses.


Walking towards the bottom of the harbour






Some ships in the harbour of Stavanger


Rare for Norway: the sun came out! And stayed there for most of the day on a nice half-cloudy day




Walking up the hill towards the old town




Great harbour/sea vistas from some of the streets in the old town

Besides a shipping museum (which I didn't enter so I can't comment on it) there is not much to actually see in the old town. But it's just a gorgeous few streets to take a stroll, to make some photographs and to enjoy the old-style Norwegian vibe.




The shipping museum in the old town













After a while, I was getting cold from all the walking (temperatures were hovering just above 0 degrees Celsius and there was a cold wind). Luckily, I just happened to walk by a cozy little cafe (Brostein Kafe) which was just about to open for the day. At around 12-14 EUR a coffee and a piece of cake ain't cheap in Norway (unless you go to a 7-eleven style shop for takeaway), but it's well worth it.






Coffee and cake at Brostein Kafe

Afterwards, I headed back to the bottom of the harbour, which had a big park that looked inviting for a stroll.


Walking out of the old town


A church at the park entrance









The park also had some quirky statues of ducks, crocodiles and the like.







After circling the park, it was time to head into the commercial centre which was alive with people window shopping or just taking a stroll. There were plenty of cafes and restaurants too, all seemingly full with people.







One street in particular seemed to be inviting as it was very colourful and full of pubs. I stopped at one called Boker og Borst (which means "Books and Booze" in Norwegian) as it somehow felt like exactly the place for me :-) again a great selection of craft beers (both Norwegian and great international ones) - just a shame it'd cost me yet another kidney and an evening of dish washing to pay the bill.







After a beer or two, I headed back to the hotel for another swimming-and-sauna session. When asking a Norwegian friends about restaurant recommendations given the expensive prices, he gave me the advice to ditch modern continental cuisine and anything Norwegian as these often tend to be more pricey. Much cheaper are ethnic restaurants, and this is where Norwegians apparently most often go for a meal out. I found some Thai and Indian options, but suddenly I realised that I might be able to find something even more exotic. I know for a fact that Ethiopian actually flies from Oslo to Addis and that Norway has quite some Ethiopian and Eritrean migrants. I like Ethiopian cuisine a lot, but the last time I ate it has been years ago! A quick Google and I indeed found an Ethiopian restaurant in the centre of Stavanger with good ratings (Gadja Etiopisk Restaurant). The place only had a few tables, but lucky enough there was one unreserved and empty for me when I arrived.




Ethiopian food at Gadja

For those who never had Ethiopian food before: it is served on a sort of flatbread that has an uniquely spongy texture. You don't use utensils as you use the bread to pick up the toppings and bring it to your mouth. The dish I ordered had a mixture of different meat and vegetable stews on top of it, all nice and spicy. While not the best Ethiopian food I ever ate, it was a good meal and service was very good. The meal plus the pint of beer set me back around 35 EUR.

After the enjoyable meal, I had a small walk back through the centre to help digestion and to make some pictures of Stavanger at night.



In short: Stavanger was a very pleasant surprise. Not only did I enjoy my hotel, mostly thanks to it's awesome service and lovely reception staff, but the whole city had a very pleasant vibe. The fresh sea air, the beautiful wooden buildings, the sea vistas, lots of nice cafes and pubs to stop for a drink.. I only chose Stavanger because it seemed to be the best starting point for my trip and not because it sounded like the most interesting destination of all - but I was absolutely wrong on this. It definitely was a great day and I would not mind visiting the city again one day (it's also a perfect jump-off point for the famous Preikestolen rock - for which I unfortunately did not have time).

Next up: Stavanger Airport and the North Sea Lounge