Norway Trip

I've been looking forward to visiting Stavanger, Norway for some time. Work called me to visit this historic Scandinavian city - Stavanger is home to my employer, Laerdal.


Founded in 1125, Stavanger is located on a peninsula on the southwest coast of Norway. It's about a one-hour flight from London to Stavanger. The city has a history of maritime activities such as ship building, shipping, and fishing. In the late 60's, oil was discovered in the North Sea. The city is now the center for the oil industry in the region.

A week of scheduled meetings will keep me busy. Fortunately, our team made time to visit some of the region's attractions. On Monday we traveled by bus to a town called Byrkedal (pronounced Bershedaal). The city's urban feel quickly gave way to rolling pastures, tall rock cliffs, waterfalls, and fjords (fee-ords) that were created by glaciers a long, long time ago.

Party pic at Byrkedal - what a crew of life-savers!

A farm in Byrkedal - note the grass insulation on the roofs.

What a fantastic dinner. We had Salmon (delicious) and reindeer (tastes like venison) - not a combination you see everyday at home.

Swords in Stone - a monument in memory of the naval battle that took place in Hafrsfjord during the late 9th century when King Harald "Fairhair" unified Norway into one kingdom

Three cold tourists at the Swords in Stone monument. Thanks to our host, Stig Frydenlund, for taking us to see this historic site. Dave's coworker Karen is to the left...this doesn't look like Gatesville, huh Karen?

The week is only half over and we've done so much - stay tuned...I may get to post another blog from Stavenger.

Ha det

Goodbye in Norwegian - literal translation "Have it Well"