Two friends grabbing a bite to eat, before the evening/partying continues....

I put my jogging shoes on this morning, and had a walk along the fjord....

If you enlarge this photo, you can see that some creative souls have painted a city on the sides of the brick.

It seems like Swine flu is hitting Norway quite dramatically .....

The health authorities are giving out lots of information, and high risk groups are now getting vaccinated.

This picture  was taken at the tax-office yesterday, and the text is written in Norwegian, English and Polish.

I was passing H&M and it just struck me that perhaps the whole of Europe have the same window decorations this autumn? One day i will treat myself to something new and nice.....

It is colorful and SUNNY today.

Quite nice, actually!:-)

The landscape along the fjords is varied. It can be just the fjords and mountains, but as in todays photo you can see trees and small wooden holiday cottages. Some have been in families for years and some are brand new. In any case they are wonderful places to take a quiet and relaxing break from the city.

View from the Fridays fjord trip.

After I left the group of sporty women from Ski, a place outside Oslo, (yesterdays photo), I had a wonderful 3 hour trip with one of the boats from http://www.roedne.no

It was quite an International group of people who enjoyed the fjord trip and to see the famous mountain “Prekestolen”/ the Pulpit.

This is Maria from Madrid, who had seen a short film about Norway and the fjords..... She wanted to see it for herself, so on the spare of the moment she bought tickets and travelled here!! The day before she had been up to the top of “Prekestolen”

THE WINNER OF THE CD IS ROB (FROM BARCELONA)

Congratulations!

Sporty women who I guided to shopping etc. this morning.
I hope that this team (Ski,-piker 35) did well in their handball game
at 15:30 today.
The winner of the CD will be announced tomorrow.

IMPORTANT:
I cannot use Internet from home until next week. For the time being I
am updating this blog via an iPhone.

Probably neccessary changes but it never seems to end here in Stavanger.

Some of the small narrow streets in the centre of Stavanger, have a surface that is not always good for a brisk walk on high heals!:-)

This street has quite a steep slope. At least they have thought about when it is slippery and made a center section that makes it easier to walk on.

This side of the Cathedral is facing yesterdays photo from the park.

Just to remind you. The CD competition (on the right -->) closes 24.10.2009 (GMT) when the winner will be announced. So, there is still time to send in your entries :)

Afternoon in the park.

"Breast Cancer" is a terrible illness, and this month there is a campaign on, with information and things to buy to support the research.

At Arneageren, just outside the Culture House, these pink bras were easy to spot!

Quite a unique and creative way to advertise the campaign.

Do you have a similar campaign where you are living?

Parking in Stavanger can be difficult, annoying and also expensive.

But not paying for your parking can be worse....

Here is one ticket, and the car owner has to pay 500,-

or even more than 700 Norwegian kroner!!

I understand that people doing this kind of job, have a job to do.

BUT where has the politeness and the service gone? I have seen SOME of them being so rude to people, even to shop owners who were delivering big boxes in to their own shops. No mercy.

I was right, they are payed well, and do get a very good bonus for each ticket they print out...

One more thing, make sure you get your ticket from the right machine..... There are many different zones with different machines. Pick the wrong machine for the zone that you park in and it can be very expensive.....

Yesterday evening I went with a friend to the annual local "Fashion awards show". It was an evening full of women who many probably had something to do with the fashion industry or just were out to take a look....

The award to "This years fashion shop" went to the shop SODA. Congratulations!

It was quite a variety of styles and colors, and even amazing outfits from FRETEX (part of the Salvation Army), a branch that sells used clothes/shoes etc. The shops represented at the show were from either Stavanger or the nearby city Sandnes.

An evening shot of the Victoria hotel which is quite central in Stavanger and has a view out onto the harbor.

http://www.victoria-hotel.no/

I have to admit that I do NOT have much patience for waiting.
In this office there was absolutely no one .....   I thought they had all gone for an early lunch.
While waiting, at least I saw something new, - and quite artistic, that caught my eye!

Early morning. To the right is part of the Oil Museum and in the background you see the bridge where cars and busses are on their way to and from Hundvaag, a nearby suburb of the city.

Today, friends of the "Stavanger Botanical Garden" had a sale with lots of healthy homemade stuff!

Yummy....

(See yesterdays post about the competition, and the form to fill in your answers on the right.)

Saturday turned out to be a bright and sunny day! ;-)

I have been in to the centre of the city, where I had a nice lunch with a friend.

We had not booked a table for lunch, and tried 3 popular places before we found a table at a nice place to enjoy our healthy food and nice wine.

It is a very long time since I have seen soooo many people everywhere in Stavanger!

It might have to do with the "Haustmarked" / "Autumn market" where there were lots of different activities in the park, (todays photo.) and a popular place to taste and buy marmalades, honey etc. and there were also special offers in many of the shops.

Inspired by Mo (A glimse of London), I decided that it was time for a little COMPETITION. Thanks to some sponsorship from ECM/Grappa Musikkforlag, I am able to offer a Jan Garbarek Jazz CD to the lucky winner. The competition closes 24.10.2009 and the winner will be announced on Stavanger Daily Photo and also contacted by email. To enter, fill out the competition form on the right -->

http://www.ecmrecords.com

http://www.grappa.no

Early this morning I drove into the centre, parked the car, and took  a little walk around with my camera. 

It was +3C and I could feel the cold ...... No rain and the blue sky was a big plus!

What a colorful and happy face..... (I asked his mother if I was allowed to take a photo and put it out on the site. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask about his name. Sorry about that.)

I met them in the park near the Cathedral, where the organization “Byen” (”the City”) run the annual “Autumn Market”.

Pony riding, some animals to take a look at, homemade food and various articles for sale.

Hopefully lots of people will come and take a look over the next few days!;-)

Anyway, the morning started with rain showers, hale and thunder, than a bit of sunshine and more rain..... I seriously have to put on warmer clothes!!

http://www.rkm.no/engelsk/eng_index.htm is the webpage to the ROGALAND MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS.

The photo shows the entrance and inside; the reception, shop and cafeteria.

A nice place close to the little lake, Mosvannet.

This is Norwegian “Skoleboller”, or in English “ School Buns” filled with custard and topped with coconut and a confectioner’s sugar glaze.

It is a type of pastry you can get at any bakery, and many grocery stores as well as some ferry kiosks and cafés. Kids make them at school and parents who take the time, make them at home.

They are very popular, especially for school kids......

Yesterday when I was out photographing traffic and rain, I met these two young students,

SALMAN (who has started studying computer science) and ASAD (who is in his 2nd. year with construction engineering). They are both from Punjab in Pakistan, but did not know each other until they met here where they are University students, and living at the same student home. Good luck with your studies,- and I also hope you have a really good time here in Stavanger!

Sunday afternoon...

We have had soooo much rain the last couple of days, that there are many places where the roads have been a little flooded,  making it difficult to drive. Or perhaps a free car wash?

This evening I have been to http://www.sandnesbrygge.no

It is the last day of the Humour Festival, and tonights show was called

“Fedre på Felgen”. It was FUN, but also very different to the other two shows I have put out on the blog. And I think that is one of the things I like, the range of different styles.

Tonight there were mainly “aduls” in the audience. When I left I thought “cosy” was the most correct word to describe the evening.

(There are multiple events happening throughout the region, some occurring at the same time.)

Last year everyone in Stavanger could get A FREE BOOK, and that was a big success.

So the library together with the Culturhouse, the trade union and a big business organization  have this year printed the book ”Fortuna” by our famous writer Alexander L. Kielland ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kielland )

Some got it by post, but most people picked it up from the library as this young woman is doing.

I think it is a great idea! Perhaps something to do in your city too??

More FUN and more LAUGHTER!:-)

We had a great time at “Cementen”, see http://www.cementen.no

It is amazing what these stand-up comedians manage to come up with!!

The show was called “Usett & Uhørt” Directly translated; “ Unseen and Unheard ”