Wednesday was another full day for us - we didn't have to start the day quite so early as we had on Tuesday (one must keep train times, you know) and that was really lovely! We were traveling on to another city in Norway on this day, cruising away from Bergen and toward Stavanger - but before we left Bergen, we made a stop at the Fantoft Stavkirke.
The Fantoft Stavekirke (stave church) was built in 1170 and moved to it's current location in 1883 - so this is a church that's over 800 years old... sort of. The original Fantoft Stave Church was burnt down in 1992 by a group of Norwegian death metal punks (seriously - they were punks) and was re-built to the exact modifications of the original church. This is why you see the fence around the entire church itself, as a way of protecting the property.
Stave churches are all believed to have been constructed during the time that the Vikings were prominent in Norway and many were thought to have been built on top of sacred Norse ceremonial sites. So many stave churches have very detailed imagery - frequently including dragons - which leads many people to believe that the Christian buildings were built with nods to the former roots of Norse paganism... which is... interesting? Historians also agree that it means that Christianity came to Norway much earlier than originally believed.
I took tons of pictures while we were at this stave church because I wasn't sure if it was the only one we'd be allowed to go in. We did have to pay a small ticket fee to enter (80.00 Norwegian Kroner - equivalent to $8) but I thought it was money well spent to be able to take in such an amazing bit of craftsmanship and history! The details on the outside were impressive - but once inside the church, the carvings within the building were astounding.
See? So many pictures! I loved the warm wood tones - everything was so simple but so stunning at the same time; the carvings were elaborate but the church still felt ... not elaborate? Everything about it was captivating and striking - at least, I thought so!
I overheard a tour guide say that outside on one of the walls of the church was stone taken from the Via Delarosa and so I had to go on a hunt to find it! If you are not familiar, the Via Delarosa translates to "way of the cross" and is the road Jesus carried the cross down en route to his crucifixion. I was a little fascinated/confused by why it was listed under a little sign that said "wishing stone" but hey - to each their own, I suppose.
After about forty-five minutes spent exploring every nook and cranny of the Fantoft Stave Church, we piled back into the car and it was on the road again - making our way from Bergen to Stavanger! This drive was about 3.5 hours and involved not one but two ferry crossings, which always make the drives a little more unique!
The first ferry crossing was the longer of the two and lasted about forty-five minutes; plenty of time to stretch the legs, grab a drink from the onboard cafe, explore the decks and take in the sights before climbing back in the car. Along our drive, we stopped at something that struck me as similar to a shopping mall... but much smaller? It had diverse shops, including a grocery store, apothecary, book shop, clothing shops, a garden shop and a health shop - it was interesting. I got a kick out of finding Bridgerton written in Norse!
The second ferry ride was a little shorter - but still gave me ample time to peruse the Norwegian candies for sale in the giant onboard market and cafe! While we cruised across the fjord, I looked up Norwegian candy and read all about it - Non Stop is what you get when an M&M and a Skittle have a baby, ha-ha! The Japp, Lion, Kvikk Lunsk and others are chocolate bars and the Dunder Mix & Dunder Salt? Well friends - that would be licorice drops and salted licorice drops. A hearty no thank you to both!
Once we arrived at our AirBnB in Stavanger - we called an Uber and took the most awkward Uber ride in existence. We were aiming for Gamle Stavanger, or Old Town Stavanger - which are white houses built along the side of the harbor, spanning up the hillside. The homes have been preserved and while they are now mostly private homes, they make for a lovely little tourist spot and a gorgeous spot to walk and get views of the city! Our Uber driver seemed to have never actually been to/in Stavanger and what should have been a 3-4 minute drive turned into almost 10 minutes going in circles before we finally just said "you can let us off here - this will be great". I cringe just thinking about it!
We wandered up the (very) steep hillside and walked all along the cobbled streets taking in the old wooden buildings, all done in white! They are so idyllic and once you're up the hill, you can see down to the harbor really well. I found another cat and pestered it in it's hiding place in the bushes until it looked at me for a picture, ha-ha! Supposedly there are no bad pictures in Old Town Stavanger - and I'd have to agree, it's a pretty lovely spot!
The harbor seemed to be the hub of everything in Stavanger - but because we were there in what's called Shoulder Season - which is right before the off season/winter, a lot of the shops were already closed or closing at 5:30, so we didn't have a ton of time to poke around in shops! I loved seeing the colorful buildings though; Norway is truly such a colorful place! Once we'd walked along the harbor, we sought out a place to have dinner!
We ate at a seafood spot recommended by a family friend; the restaurant was small but lovely and while this non-seafood eater was worried I wouldn't find anything, they had a parmesan risotto dish that was delicious! My hubby got a big bowl of mussels and my Dad enjoyed the catch of the day... I don't have a picture of my Mom and her fish soup! Once we finished up dinner, we did discover a couple shops open and did a little shopping - I thankfully bought a short-sleeve t-shirt that came in very handy on Thursday when we hiked!
The last stop of the night was a beautiful church and a quick step into the super market for some hiking snacks before we headed back to our AirBnB to grab some sleep! Ryan and I had a big day planned on Thursday! We didn't get to see a LOT of Stavanger, but what we did see was lovely and I think it's a pretty cool city!
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Stops and Stays Along the Way
- Fantoft Stave Church, Bergen
- A Guide to Norwegian Candy (if you'd like to read for yourself)
- Gamle Stavanger
- Fisktorget Restaurant (Fish Market Restaurant), Stavanger
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