Lysefjord means “light fjord” and is named for the towering granite cliffs which line its shores. Carved by ice age glaciers, the water in places is as deep as the mountains are high. We headed out early from Stavanger on a 3 hour cruise in Lysefjord. I must admit I was wondering if we had made the right choice, since we have spent most of the last few days in fjords, but I am very glad we didn’t back out. The landscape was quite different and very dramatic, the sky was blue (again) and we had a delightful morning. The fact that we stopped for traditional Norwegian waffles had nothing to do with our enjoyment of the outing.

My hair tells how windy it was!

We passed lots of Norwegian summer houses

There’s a farm nearby, the farmer puts his goats to pasture for the summer on this steep slope.

There’s a farm nearby, the farmer puts his goats to pasture for the summer on this steep slope.

Note the boat. This is the same as our boat, and gives a good impression of the scale of these granite cliffs, and how close we were to them.

Lysefjord is most famous for Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock, a remarkably rectangular rocky outcrop high atop the cliff. 604 metres (1,982 ft) high to be precise. It is possible to hike to it, but that’s a little too high for my liking! We passed Hengjane, a lovely waterfall fed by melting snows. We got so close we were getting splashed, and were able to collect some fresh Norwegian water to drink.

Look closely & you can see a couple of people on the edge of the rock. Their size gives an indication of their height.

With only an hour left to see Stavanger we obviously couldn’t venture very far. We popped in to the cathedral of St Swithun, which dates from 1125. A “new” chancel was built in the gothic style in the 13th century, and a very elaborate pulpit was added in 1658. We had a wander through Gamle Stavanger (old Stavanger), where winding cobbled streets are lined with pretty white weatherboard cottages dating from the 17th & 8th centuries. Pretty.

The Romanesque interior

One of 5 “epitaphs” , carved and painted in 1676

A very colourful pulpit, carved by the same man who created the epitaphs, a Scotsman named Andrew Smith

Sampson looking strained holding up the pulpit while staring down a lion.

The stairs leading to the pulpit.

The original windows have been removed for restoration. These paper designs were created by students from a local art college.

Lamps installed in the 1920s designed by Emanuel Vigeland.

And unintended selfie.

As seen from the ship as we departed.

We sailed at 1:30 so we have a quiet afternoon on board – first “down time” we’ve had since leaving home. Shall we go for a swim, take a nap, have afternoon tea, head to the gym (haha), go shopping? … so many choices! Tonight we are having dinner at The Chef’s Table -one of the specialty restaurants on board, which offers a 5 course tasting menu with a different theme every few days. Tonight’s theme is “Xiang”. I will of course provide a full report.