On Friday we woke up to the sight of a huge wind turbine outside the window. We didn’t know it at the time but how apt. Haugesund originally made its money from herring fishing. Then it’s industry changed to build the boats to fish the herring. Then it built the larger ships to export the herring internationally, and now it builds wind turbines including three for Dogger Bank in the North Sea for the UK. Nowadays the Aibel engineering works dominate the landscape, along with the cruiseliners that dock in the port.
Allegedly the first King of Norway came from this area – King Harald Fairhair. Apparently the woman he wanted to marry said no until he was King of the whole of Norway. So he never cut his hair for 10 years until he had conquered the whole country including the North. This area of Norway gave its name to the country as navigating through it was a “way to the North” of the country – Nord way became Norway. As we never got to Stavanger, which is Norway’s fourth largest city, it is the biggest town we have visited with a population of 38,000 which is 950 times larger than Hjelle that we visited on Thursday.
Thankfully this was a day of sunshine. Steven wandered off to the coast where he met an ex patient from Bradford who happens to be on our ship. Thankfully a very happy ex patient. Steven has all the pretty pictures and video. To see some of what he saw, click here
I did a walking tour of the town and have passed on most of what I learnt from our tour guide, who was excellent. Most of my photographs are more documentary than scenic and picturesque. They even include more people than boats as August is festival month here and this weekend is a Jazz festival. There were plenty of free events throughout the town and if we’d been here for longer then we’d certainly have attended this in the evening. The picture of the coloured buildings at the top of this post is actually a sketch of some of the prominent places visited on this tour.
In the photographs you will see references to “Rabinowitz” – he relocated here from Germany in the early 1900s and became a very successful business man, eventually employing over 200 people in his businesses which were predominantly in the garment industry. He was know for his humble and modest way of life and how he brought prosperity to the area. He was also known for declaring his love for Haugesund and for being outspoken against Nazi Germany. When Germany invaded Norway during the Second World War he was one of the first to be captured by the Gestapo. He was murdered in Sachsenhausen, but managed to write a will conveying his best wishes back to the people of Haugesund. As his family were all murdered by the Nazis, eventually the town inherited his estate. They have erected a stone in his memory but they also keep his name alive by preserving the original advert for his stores, which was moved to a more prominent position and his house is also a stop on the tour. His house is the one with the glass shop underneath
You will also see a statue of Marilyn Monroe and one of Amanda. Allegedly Marilyn Monroe’s father was a baker in Haugesund prior to emigrating to the USA. Amanda was a local woman who sold her “wares” to the local population. She wa most famous for her “moonshine”. In fact she is is so famous here they have Amanda awards at the International Film Festival, they have an Amanda bus line and hotels.
The street “Brummenæs & Torgersens Gate” is in memory of two women who were the first female ship builders in the world who operated out of Haugesund. There is also the obligatory photo of fancy manhole cover. I’m getting quite a collection- of these from around the world.
Leaving Haugesund there was a solitary elderly man on the quayside videoing us and waving like his life depended on it. Of course he stopped once I decided to video him. It was an incredible sight seeing this large ship turn 180º avoiding the engineering works and sail out between the islands to the North Sea.
In the evening was a gala “20s night” so we got dressed up in our finery, although the only concession to the 20s was a change in necklace and earrings for me. For some reason we were given what we considered to be the best table in the restaurant – centre, back next to the window – the one with the central view of the wake. It’s either because we were the most glamourous couple or pure fluke . .
On our final day at sea the weather was glorious, the sea as flat as a pancake and we demonstrated our skill at deck quoits. It’s a bit surreal sailing past so many oil rigs, and stuff just sticking out of the water in the middle of the North Sea. Wandering around the ship I found the “emergency stop person overboard” button, but just managed to suppress the urge to press it.
Finally, tonight we were rewarded with a glorious sunset as we approached the Straits of Dover.