Viking Sea called on Stavanger, Norway. Metropolitan Stavanger has about 330,000 residents. It is the fourth largest city in Norway. Norway in total has around 5.2 million. Stavanger is the hub for North Sea oil and gas operations in Norwegian waters. Because of the large number of highly paid offshore workers, Stavanger is consistently in the top ten most expensive cities to live in in the world.

Oil was first discovered in Norwegian waters in 1969. From the start the state claimed ownership and collected royalties off production. The state saw the royalties as a way to give Norway long term financial security. It invested about 4% in infrastructure projects along the way and put the rest in a sovereign wealth fund. Today the wealth fund is valued at about a trillion dollars, but it is a fraction of what it could have been as it is one of the most poorly managed sovereign wealth funds in the world. Unfortunately, after 50 years, the fields are playing out. So there will not be much opportunity to make it up.

Stavanger is extremely beautiful and clean. The Gamle Stavanger or old town is comprised of about 250 wooden structures dating to the 17th and 18th centuries. They are protected today by a conservancy.