Stavanger, European Capital of Culture

  Stavanger, Norway
Saturday, June 28, 2008

I am in Stavanger, Norway's fourth biggest city with about 150,000 inhabitants. To get here, I took Kystbussen or the WestCoast Express Bus from near my brother's place. The bus runs between Bergen and Stavanger every hour through some of the most spectacular scenery of Norway along the coast and across the outer reaches of the Hardangerfjord.

The bus connects with  Ryanair flights from both Bergen and Stavanger and links up with Airport bus in Haugesund.

The ride took me immediately under the fjord through the the longest under-water tunnel in Norway - the 8.9km long Bømlafjord tunnel under the fjord. It is 260.4m under sea level at its deepest.

As we emerged on the other side we passed Valen, the home of the modern atonal composer Fartein Valen, who is buried there and where a museum dedicated to him also stands.

The road then passes close by Tysvær church where there is a statue built of Gleng Peerson, one of the country fathers who organised a large-scale Norwegian emigration to America in the 1800s.

Nearby is Kårstø which is the main terminal for the gas pipeline from the Statfjord oil field in the North Sea. The pipeline continues to Emden in Germany.

At Arsvågen the bus drives on a ferry, which is run on LPG gas, and the passengers get out for a 22-minute ferry ride across Boknafjorden to Mortavika, crossing old Viking sea lanes. This is followed by a short ride before crossing under the fjord again in the Mastrafjord tunnel, 4.4km long and 133m below sea level at its deepest.

Utstein...Norway's only survivint abbey

Exiting the tunnel, the bus enters Mosterøy, an area rich in history - Utstein Kloser Norway's last surviving abbey which is still in use as a cultural centre for concerts, weddings and conferences, can be found here.

After crossing yet another under-fjord tunnel - 5.9km long and 223m under sea level at its deepest - we arrived at Randaberg, at the outskirs of Stavanger. Nearby at Vistehola, a 6000-year old settlement from the stone age.

Utstein...rich in history

I was met in Stavanger by my relatives who lives near Sola - which has Norway's only sandy beach. From my window I can see Hafsfjord - where  the first king of a united Norway, Harald Hårfagre (Harald Fairhair), is said to have defeated the last uprising of his enemies around 900 AD.

Stavanger, Norway's 4th biggest town of about 120,000 residents, is surprisingly cosmopolitan for its size, being the home for people from 150 different countries. It is best known as the oil capital of the Norway, but in earlier times it was the centre of Norway's then booming herring and canning industry.

Summer is a particularly busy time in Norway, when every community becomes a hive of cultural activity encouraged by the long days of never-ending daylight to show off works created during the long winter months.

Even the smallest and most remote community have something on offer, from a photo exhibition in a converted light house right out at the edge of the North Sea, to "søppelkunst" - artworks made from rubbish - at one of the art museums in Bergen, Norway's next biggest city.

This year, Stavanger has been selected as the European Capital of Culture and a wide ranging and varied program of art and culture has been planned, including art exhibitions, poetry readings, ballet and all types of other performing arts throughout the year.

The program also includes three days of culinary art, regarded as an integral part of culture alongside other forms of art, which will include a Food for the Future conference, Buffet food exhibition and the Bocuse d'Or Europe individual chefs championships.

In all 20 European nations will compete over two days using local salmon and lamb as raw ingredients for their dishes.