It is a painful exercise for me to plan where to spend my summer holiday.  Should I go back to Shanghai, China and stay with my parents for two weeks? Should I go surfing in Morocco? What about going diving in the Philippines? Afterall, as a volunteer to 10:10, I promised to cut my carbon emission by 10% a year, just like the rest of 10:10 community. Should I really fly half-way across the globe? Maybe just stay in Denmark since I haven't really been around the country?

Well, as people always say, things change fast, I will end up spending my two-week holiday in Stavanger, a city I had barely heard of three months ago.

It all begins with a short visit to a friend of mine who lives in Stavanger.

Stavanger is Norway's third largest city and the oil capital of Norway. There are quite a lot of daily flights between Stavanger and Copenhagen. According to my friend, who commute between the two cities every Monday and Friday, the planes are usually packed with business people on weekdays. The plane I took was half empty because it was a holiday. During the one hour flight, the plane didn't fly up high into the air. It gave me a very good view of the landscape of Denmark and Norway.

I stayed in my friend's place, which was right opposite the Norwegian Petroleum Museum. Visiting museums was not on my to-do list since I am the kind of person who believes that all information can be found on the internet. However, since my friend insisted that I pay a visit, I paid 100 NOK and got myself in. Surprisingly, there are so many interesting interactive exhibits, which illustrate everything from daily offshore life to technologies and dramatic incidents. I easily spent half a day in the museum, and I didn't have time to try everything out. I wish I had.

Coming out of the museum, I walked along the coast. I bumped into two boat-shops, where fishermen were selling fresh fish, crab and shrimp. I bought some and eat it for lunch. It tasted awesome because it was just so fresh.

I spent the afternoon on the beach, which is about a thirty-minute walk from the city center. Unfortunately, the water was so cold that it was not possible to swim. I was satisfied anyway because the sun was shining and the view of fjord was right in front of me.

On my second day in Stavanger, I went to Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen). It takes three hours to get to this "Rock": half an hour by ferry, half an hour by bus, and two hours of hiking (plus a little bit climbing). When I arrived at Pulpit Rock and saw the gorgeous fjord scene, the tiredness of hiking was left far behind. I lay down on my stomach on the edge of the cliff. I probed out my head. The taste of danger blended with the feeling of excitement. It was amazing.

Stavanger is a lovely place. The city is small and cozy. Wherever you live or wherever you want to go, it is never far away. I am going to go back there in the summer, hopefully the sea water is warmer then. I plan to hike to Trolltunga and Kjeragbolten. It would be a healthy and low carbon summer holiday. 

Carbon Footprint - Summer Holiday in Stavanger or Shanghai?