June 19: Today was not as exertive as the day before, but quite satisfactory. I slept the sleep of the just, and woke feeling OK except for the congestion I’ve been having. I doubt this is Covid, as there’s no headache and no particular sore throat, not to mention no change in my sense of taste.

My hosts were kind enough to wash my dirty clothes, and to hang them to dry.

Then we headed for the Stavanger Archaeological Museum, where they’re having a special Viking exhibition for the Hafrsfjord Jubilee. I’ve been to the museum before, and like it very much. The exhibition turned out to be free, because of the festival.

We saw a fascinating collection of Viking artefacts, many of them from the Stavanger area, though a number of them were carted off to Bergen, where they remain, in the old days before there was a museum here. We saw three fine Viking swords…

…and some of the gullgubber, mysterious images on gold foil, thought to be votive offerings to the old gods…

I’d never guessed they were as tiny as they are.

Also gold arm and neck rings, and various pieces of silver treasure.

And a piece of a ship’s dragon head, recovered from a bog, something I never knew existed. And displays of various kinds.

Other rooms showed area history from other ages, back to the stone age. Of particular interest was a loop of projected video of a young blonde woman doing a sort of haka dance, wearing the famous bronze age string skirt, often depicted in history books. She was very lovely and quite topless, and I liked her right off.

The gift shop had many tempting items, but I restricted myself to a blue glass ring.

The afternoon was quiet, and we said goodbye to the nephew at last, as he was picked up for his flight back home to England.

Tomorrow I must get up early to catch my bus for the first leg of my trip to Hardanger.