To Norway

Transport to the Schonefeld airport turned out as planned (despite the relative complexity compared to a normal day when a non-stop or one-stop service was available).  The 0549 bus connected well to the suburban train which delivered us to the airport around 0715 for our 0910 Norwegian flight to Stavanger.  It was cool in Berlin and colder at the airport.

Two hours at the airport gave us enough time to use the lounge because bag drop and security were good today.  We left on time for the 1h30 flight to Stavanger with inflight wifi.

The apartment in Stavanger would email and TXT us when the room had been readied for us.  As we hadn’t heard, we waited at the airport and used the internet to prebook the bus ticket as there was a discount compared to buying on board.  It was a lot of hassle as I didn’t know the name of the correct stop and had to search in one in turn on the map (in case there was a pricing difference).  The savings for both people combined was equivalent to a cup of coffee at the airport.

Once done, we hopped on the bus for the city.  The driver didn’t even check the ticket, as it turned out.  It was a 25 minute drive and it was drizzling when we got dropped off.  We searched for a cafe to take refuge but nothing was open nearby on a Sunday morning.  As it pulled out my phone to get more directions, I noticed that there was a message with the access codes for the building and our apartment.

We rested in our spacious living room for a few hours as it was gloomy outside.  The bedroom was small though.

In the afternoon we ventured into the old commercial heart, mistaking it for the old town (which was in fact an older residential area across the harbour).  Most shops were closed, including the big supermarket above the station.  We learnt that anything over 100 sq metres is closed on Sunday and was referred to a smaller mini market with reasonable prices near the apartment.

We got some heat-and-eat meals and veges for dinner.  A small bag of groceries came to nearly NZD30!

After dinner, we wandered out in search of a nice cafe for a cuppa.  The first place cost the equivalent of NZ10 so we continued our search.  The second place was more reasonable but they didn’t have normal tea.  We stumbled upon McDonald’s which was cheaper than New Zealand when it came to a cuppa but we had lost interest by then.