Hi

This year there are two capitals of culture in Europe: Liverpool (in the UK) and Stavanger (in Norway). Here is a story from the BBC about "the other" capital of Europe: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7178551.stm

Welcome to Stavanger 2008

Hi Gard,

Strangely enough I read that piece myself only this morning. I thought it was a bit annoyingly British in tone (e.g. fancy anyone using wood for building ). Also, although it's perfectly legitimate to compare Liverpool with Stavanger, I felt the journalist portrayed Liverpool as conforming to City of Culture norms whereas Stavanger was characterised as an oddball choice.

Do you know of other good online sources of information for your city?

Hi

Well, the official page of the Stavanger 2008 is http://www.stavanger2008.no/ . I guess the main page for the area is http://www.regionstavanger.com/ . And Greater Stavanger tries to attract people here. As the major mention in the article the unemployment rate in Stavanger is 1 % now so we are having trouble finding people. My wife Nikki was in a promotion brochure for the Greater Stavanger region by the way. Check out this PDF brochure. See page 22 (Green, green grass of home) :-)

Hi

I attended the opening in Stavanger yesterday. There were parades, shows, fireworks etc. The only problem yesterday was that it was a bit on the cold side...my feet were frozen after being outside for several hours at 0 degrees Celsius.

They also had a bit on TV about it later on and it turns out that Ian Wright (you know...the guy from the Globe trekker/Pilot Guides) have been in town to make some stories about the projects that are going on here. Stavanger is not a big town so it would have been great if I ran into him He is one of my favourite travelers from these TV shows.

Looks like the opening was an exciting event, Gard!

I saw the Liverpool celebration the other night on BBC World News. They didn't mention Stavanger ...

quote:

Originally posted by gardkarlsen:
the unemployment rate in Stavanger is 1 % now so we are having trouble finding people.

Do your hotels require staff to be fluent in Norwegian before even arriving??

And take a gander at page 26 of the pdf brochure Gard gave the link to...my heart skipped a beat or three (or was it my stomach clenching and my brain saying ohmyf&*^*^??).

Hi

I'm not sure about the language thing. All Norwegians do speak English but it is of course useful to learn Norwegian :-)

And when it comes to page 26...it is the Pulpit Rock or Preikestolen as we call it here. I have been there a number of times and you can check out more info and pictures here http://gardkarlsen.com/preikestolen.htm

:::THUMP:::: which is the sound of my heart dropping to my toes! I would LOVE to stand or sit there -- although I've have to be tied to a pole that's nailed into the rock Absolutely incredibly beautiful photo! Is it as amazing as it looks on the precipe? Like you could think you're in the most peaceful of places, and where your lungs could just fill up with amazingly clean air?

I could learn! Got any friends in the business Gard??

I discovered Gard's Pulpit Rock blog a couple of years ago and the place has been on our Must Do list ever since. (If this 60 year old bones can make the trek.) Even thought that we would give Gard a buzz also.

Maybe this summer, but more than likely next.

Hi

Yes, Preikestolen is beautiful but it is not often that you get a chance to be there alone. The picture was taken one early morning in May and we took the 7 AM ferry to get there first :-) But yes, the view is beautiful. It is "only" about 4 km to walk each way (2.5 miles). But you also have to take into account that you will be climbing 300 meters along the way (about 1000 feet). So a few people that I have taken up there have struggled a bit but most of them have managed to get up there...even if they have some sore joints and muscles the next day. But sure...get in touch if you are coming to Stavanger and need to get some guiding to Preikestolen.

Another nice place is Kjerag. This is me on a rock 1000 meter above the fjord

Gard, I have a question. I read that Stavanger is the fourth largest city in Norway. If Oslo is number 1 and I am assuming Bergen is number two, and Stavanger is number four, then what city is number 3 (and is there an IKEA sofa named after it - I believe I used to own a Stavanger)

Also what is the correct pronunciation of Stavanger? We Americans would normally say STAV-en-ger with a soft g, but my German husband says sta-VAN-ger with a hard g.

Hi

The third largest city is Trondheim in mid-Norway. About the IKEA sofa...I have no idea. I don't study their catalogues

I'm not very good at writing "phonetically" so I'm not sure how to describe it....but in general it seems like Germans pronounce it better than Americans...after all German and Norwegian are related languages :-)

I want to go to Norway now!

Beebee, I am SO with you on that one! I'm only days from my diploma in European Hospitality Management, and only about a month or so from the diploma in Hotel Management ... maybe I should be taking a class in Norwegian?? I'm sure there are hotels up there that are hiring!

I figure if I survived eight Chicago winters at temps ranging from -23 to -78 with wind chill factor (F, not C!), then I can survive Norway

(and I'm wondering if Gard photoshopped himself into that last picture though it's still an awesome photo either way!)

Maria - wow, you are making great progress with your certificate programs! Congratulations.

And I hope you are right, and Gard photoshopped his way onto that rock. If not - he obviously has a death wish!

Judy

quote:

Originally posted by MariaV:
Beebee, I am SO with you on that one! I'm only days from my diploma in European Hospitality Management, and only about a month or so from the diploma in Hotel Management ... maybe I should be taking a class in Norwegian?? I'm sure there are hotels up there that are hiring!

Maria, I really think it would be relatively easy for you to get a job in the hotel industry in Norway. It has become increasingly normal for people who don't speak Norwegian to work in the service industry, health sector, and of course IT and oil. In Oslo there are now many restaurants with waiters who don't speak Norwegian (they can be from a number of countries, Poland, the Baltic countries, the US and Australia come to mind) and also in hotels.

So if you are interested I would definitely contact some places. Pay is generally good, but cost of living is high as well. The best thing is if you can work out a deal with the hotel where housing is part of the package or at least somewhat discounted. (Gard would of course know more about the housing market in Stavanger than I do.)

When I was in Oslo last year there were many non-Norwegian speakers in my company. Some were learning a lot of Norwegian, some where not. Norwegian actually has a lot in common with English and since you already know other foreign languages, I think you would be able to learn it well.

Good luck! Let me know if I can help with anything!

Hi

No, I don't have a death wish...and no, I did not manipulate the picture in any way. The rock is pretty solid and pretty big so standing on it is not a problem. It just looks more spectacular than it really is from that angle :-). But there are lots of amazing spots around Lyse fjord. Here is another one from the same area. This is my brother and me on the rock know as Kjeragbolten:

Hi

Here is another article about Stavanger: http://www.list.co.uk/article/6130-travel-stavanger/