Standing in front of Broken Links sculpture - WWII Memorial on West Coast of Stavanger

We’ve been in Norway almost 6 weeks and a colleague from Ithaca asked for the view from here.

Stavanger is beautifully situated between two fjords and adjacent to the North Sea. There’s a very small lake in the center of town, and 3 others (more than 20 km. total perimeter) between the city center and the North Sea to the west. Southwest of the city lie incredibly beautiful sandy beaches. As most of you know I love the water so all this makes me very happy. The weather has been lovely all summer and most of the fall. Generally Stavanger is rainier, foggier and wetter than Ithaca, so we’ve lucked out.

Larry is enjoying his research into the changes in land elevation and major shifts in the shoreline (all across the North Sea) that occurred as the ice melted, sea level rose, and the land uplifted isostatically at the close of the last ice age. There are lots of interesting implications, including where settlements were located and how oil was squeezed or spilled from reservoirs by uplift-related tilting. There are lots of people to talk with on subjects that are of interest to him. Good interactions have started to be developed with anthropologists, for example.

Stavanger has an active Petroleum Women’s Club here that I’ve joined and very much enjoyed. The women are from Norway, France, Britain, Netherlands, Germany, Ecuador [via US] and most either are spouses of oil employees or they themselves worked there. There are also some NATO wives – all British that I’ve met. Age range is 33-78, and more come from Britain/Scotland and France than anywhere else. At least 25% are Norwegian so I am meeting some locals. The women are incredibly positive, flexible, and fun. Once a week a group goes for a walk or ambitious hike (even in downpours) and twice a week meet for bridge. There’s also a group for mothers and pre-schoolers, badminton, tennis (indoor and too much of a distance for me without a car), and other groups. Twice a month couples play bridge and enjoy a gourmet meal with couples volunteering to bring main course, dessert, etc. The first weekend of November, everyone will work on/at a juried Crafts Fair. I’ve been playing bridge weekly, gone on some of the “walky-talky” Thursday outings, tutored bridge to a group who use a different system, and substituted for a woman who teaches English to adults through a Folk University. The women don’t talk too much politics, but the French all hate Bush and the most interesting comment came from a Norwegian woman who quite admires Bush’s steadfastness even though she doesn’t agree with his policies. And bureaucracy is bureaucracy – after almost 7 weeks we’ve yet to get the number that would allow us to get a debit card at the bank where Larry’s pay is deposited so he has to physically go and withdraw cash between 10:00 and 4:00 Mon-Fri. This number would also allow us to get a list of local (in the neighborhood where we live) doctors who will take new patients, but it would take us at least a month to get an appointment.

We’re renting a basement apartment that’s a 25 minute walk from Larry’s research institute and a 15 minute bus ride from the center of town. The apartment has a small bedroom (7ft. by 10 ft.) and kitchen big enough for just one chef/dishwasher at a time, a nice living area, good sized bathroom with a washer but no dryer, wireless internet and cable tv. Other than the too cozy bedroom it’s fine and the walk to work is lovely – Larry can see both fjords and the North Sea on his route, as well as deer, cows, WWII bunkers and kids walking to/fro school. All around are wonderful Fokesti (walking paths) for bikers, walkers and horseback riders; also wonderful and extensive paths between homes for just bikers and walkers that Larry thinks are for the children who all walk to and from school.

Almost everything is about twice as expensive as in the States (good bread is cheaper, as is wonderful fish; avocados and clementines are the same price, and alcohol is outrageously expensive.) For the first time last week I bought something frivolous so maybe I’m adjusting to the prices. We drink less – both alcohol and cappuccinos, walk lots more, take the bus a number of days a week, read the New York Times daily on-line, spend lots of time on the computer, read, read and read, and watch great TCM movies many nites.