Our ship sailed back out the fjords last night into the North Sea and then to a peninsula where Stavanger, the 4th largest city in Norway, is located. Once docked, we are off the ship early to take a ferry boat to cruise up the Hogsfjord to the Lysefjord where we will see Pulpit Rock. We have amazing sunny weather – still a bit chilly – 48! We are told June 1st is considered the first day of summer.

Again, beautiful islands and rock cliffs on either side of these fjords. A very enjoyable cruise watching the scenic shorelines go by. The tour guide talks to us about how the people live in this region.

Lots of summer homes along the shore. People stay here from May – September, commuting back to their jobs in the city during the week. Some of this land has been in families from generations dating back to the late 1600’s. This tour guide has lots of amusing stories about the people, including herself, and general information about the industry of Stavanger. This is the main oil export location, the wealthiest city because of this industry. They also are known for exporting salmon, ‘the best known Norwegian.’ The largest salmon customer is Japan.

We pass once again waterfalls, some goats, the smallest and weirdest location for a post box, fish farms and mussel farms, and even make a stop to pick up some homemade waffles as our snack. Apparently, this waffle stop is a destination for many of the locals too.

Finally, we see the Pulpit Rock. A famous place that you can hike up to. This was made even more famous because it was in the Mission Impossible: Fallout movie with Tom Cruise. A memorable scene was on top of Pulpit Rock. The funny part is that the scene is suppose to be taking place in the Film somewhere in India, not Norway! The view of Pulpit Rick up from the ferry boat in the water is unimpressive. We know it is really a huge rock but it appears so small!

Back onshore, we take a short walk through the Old Town of Stavanger. The buildings are protected and are being preserved as National historic buildings. These homes and shops date back to the 1700’sand 1800’s. The streets are all cobblestone. Very quaint.

Have to head back to the ship by noon so the ship can sail on to Oslo. Norway is spectacularly beautiful!