Stavanger

I stepped off the gangway and my shoes hit cobblestones before I'd even properly looked up. That's what startled me about Stavanger — there was no shuttle bus, no long pier walk, no taxi queue. Our ship was docked at Strandkaien quay, and the medieval heart of Norway's fourth-largest city was literally at our feet. The cold salt air hit my face and I heard seagulls crying overhead while the smell of fresh bread drifted from somewhere I couldn't quite locate. I turned to my wife and said, "This is different."