Missing the bus
Trip Start
Jan 25, 2007
1
5
13
Trip End
Feb 18, 2007
Stavanger,
Norway
Saturday, February 3, 2007
The journey to Stavanger from Bergen requires time over water, no matter what. We choose to take a bus. On the first fjord crossing, we get off the bus and relax in the upper room of the ferry, playing cards, etc. On the 2nd crossing, we weren't so fortunate.
I had been beginning to doze off on the bus, so I figured the ferry would be a good time to sleep. I was with Thomas and Andreas and they would be able to tell me when to get up. However, the ferry was brand spanking new, and so quiet that you couldn't tell when the engines were running really
1 - Middle of nowhere
. So my decision to lay in a quiet spot away from the other passengers turned out to be a bad decision when Thomas and Andreas (I'd call them T&A - but thats a whole 'nother reference that I don't want to get confused with...okay A&T is good) don't notice that we docked and everyone got off the ferry. So A&T finally realize whats going on and by then our bus is long gone into the near-Stavanger twilight. Ya, we missed our bus.We find out that we are kinda screwed because nothing leaves that port area except for the incoming traffic, so we start hiking. We are hoping one of A&T's friends will come out and pick us up, but we are still about 50km from the city. Every 20 minutes or so, a line of cars comes from the port and we stick out our thumbs to get a ride...no success. I guess nobody is really cool with picking up three guys in their mid-twenties in the middle of nowhere. Pssshh...what could go wrong there?? Well, getting my mind set that we will stumble into the city after midnight, we press on. Finally, some middle-aged woman driving alone decides that she is going to help and picks us up after some 45 minutes of walking. She drives us down the way a ways where we can pick up a local bus to the city. Celebration time!
I finally get to the party sometime after 8PM
2 - Hitch-hiking
. Not much to say about that...its just like any other party. You dance, mingle, have a few drinks...yep. Oh, I can say that I didn't take many pictures because the viewfinder on my camera broke the last night in Bergen. I failed to mention that before, and it SUCKS to try to look through the stupid little hole and take your pictures the old-fashioned way without knowing how they turn out immediately. Its like 1990 or something all over again. That definitely takes away your urge to break out your camera...I'll have to get over this feeling soon since I won't bother trying to fix the camera until I get home.I was going to stay in Stavanger for the day, but since the others all sleep in, I figure I'd just get out of the city. The stuff I really want to see is outside the city, accessible by hiking, and this just isn't the season for that. But I really want to come back someday and hike to the Kjeragbolten boulder. Just look it up and you'll see why. I get another scenic train ride out, but fail to take pictures of the beautiful scenery (see camera comment above). Ya, I'm a bad tourist this trip.
