New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-08-31
AN EXCURSION IN NORWAY.

10 rae Edtf0r OF rae IftOWHcs
SIR: To sail along the northwestern coast OF
Norway from Trondjhem to the North Cape is to
look upon some of the sublimest scenery Of our
planet One who has enjoyed the privilege feels an
impulse to share his experience with Others and
lead them if possible to follow in his track Hence
this letter. If it shall induce some few 10 spend
their holiday in visiting these shores it will increase
the sum total of human enjoyment, and IN order
that it may will first Of all state how easily and
cheaply it may be DONE One month, to a day, from
leaving New-York, was at the North Cape, gazing
at the light of the midnight sun and yet had
spent week in London on the way Every Friday
evening a steamer Of Wilson & Co. leaves either
Hull OF London for Christisnia and each Thursday
steamer leaves Hull for Bergen. l sailed from
Hull July for Cistlania in the excellent steamer
Angelo and reached Christiansand Sunday morn
ing July T. at o'clock and Christiania at III p. m.
The fare is G5-by far the most expensive part OF
the jOurney-but he steamer is admirable, the table
good, and Captain Nicholson, fine bluff English
sailor most attentive and agreeable to his passen-
gers. Wishing to catch at Trondihem the steamer
for the North Cape which had left Christiania the
day before we arrived l deferred seeing
that prosperous port till my return, and
started Monday morning, July 8, at $50 o'clock.
for Trondjhem The railway is now finished all
the way, but wishing to drive up the Gudbrands-
dalen, left it at Edsvold, sailed over Lake Milo
sen, about seventy miles. to Llllehammer. drove
thence by cariole to St0ren 30 English miles.
and went thence by rail some thirty miles to
Trondjhem. The journey by rail all the way takes
two days, though the distance is only $50 miles;
but the train does not run at night, and stops at
Kopang where the traveller sleeps. The journey
through the Gudbrandsdalen takes fully four days.
;,.1 &c nail 70 and
Lake M6sen 1t may be done in three, but it would
be too fatiguing for pleasure, for one must drive
90 miles and seventy miles day is enough. even
over roads so admirably constructed and so well
kept as those in Norway. Indeed we cannot speak
too highly of the care bestowed upon the roadway
which makes ones journey like a drive through the
Central Park.
The scenery both on the Lake Mi5sen and through
the Gudbrandsdalen is beautiful, but not grand;
very like the views ON Lake Champlain, pleasing
but not exciting. But when one comes to the
DovTefeld, which is q BARE bleak height rising
over 900 feet surrounded by gaunt rocky peaks,
streaked with snow, and destitute of any but the
scantiest verdure, the mOnotony is broken.
There is q savage wildness about it which
stirs the interest which begins to flag amid the
constantly recurring wooded heights aud pretty
waterfalls of the Gudbrandsdalen.
The journeyinG by cariOle is what our English
friends call Jolly" You may hire a cariOle at Chris
tania and have it with you all the way to St0ren,
and only change horses at the various stations, or
you may do as l did-change both horse and carOle
at every station. The latter is the cheaper method
though perhaps not the more comfortable. l saved
some six dollars in the three days by this method,
and cariole is always to be had. This vehicle has
only room for one and hardly that if is larger
VnrNr
luggage mt should be smal is tied on board at
the back and on this the boy OF girl sits who ac-
companies you to take the horse and vehicle back.
The carioles found by the way are sometimes very
odd-looking. They would seem to be made up of
fragments Of Noah's Ark joined on to wheel or
two fshed up from Pharoah's chariot in the Red
Sea. But the worst-lOoking are not always the
worst for riding and they all strong and sound.
The harness is often Of go per cent rope and 40 per
cent leather. But the seat has a cushion and
leather apron covers your legs. What can say in
sufficient praise of the Norwegian ponies or
horsesH From ten TO twelve hands high,
with cropped names which stand stitiy
I'D like scrubbing brushes, white and black
along the neck, these nags generally trOt off at
the respectable speed Of seven or eight miles The
hour and they keep at it without whip and in spite
of whip, convinced in their own minds as to the
proper gait and determined at all hazards to main
tain propriety. 81 driving is simply holding the
rope rens, and going as your steed determines.
The stations are houses at certain distances where
the owners are under obligations to keep so many
horses and caroles for travellers. These distances
vary from three-ouerters of Norwegian mile to
two miles "a Norwegian mile is zig English
miles) The houses vary n comfort and accOmmOda-
ton, but m the post road of the Gudbrandsdalen
Al, al of ham
dating from tho eleventh century, such as Fokstuen
.Jerkinn and Kongsvod: and the older the better
The parlor at KongsvOld had a nice piano in it, and
many rooms at humber stations had ivy growing
all over the ceiling and beautiful flowers in pots at
the windows. At IoftemOen the station is kept by
descendant of Harold HaaTfager, and when Oscar
l. dined ut his house on his way to be crowned at
Trondjhem, in 1860, the uncle of the present man
told his Majesty that it unnecessary TO bringn
his plate, as he had silver forks and spoons enough
for all the thirty OF forty in his suite They give you
capita fish, usually brook trout, poor meat, good
brown bread, the richest cream. excellent
coffee, and fresh butter and eggs at these
stations, and feather bed both above and
under you ven you retire to rest. The
good people obligmg enough to take your scanty
Norwegian in god part. and are as obiging as pos
sble in regard to small change and also small
charges. Ihe price Oh morse Is aV inc Iate VI OV
cents a Norwegian mile of carioe the same dis
lance cents for the pOstbOy the same as the carl
ole, viz, cents so that for nearly eight English
miles you pay about go cents, or from to cents
English mile for everything. The travelling expenses
for tho 90 miles from Lillehammar to St6ren were
about So, so that it depends on the speed with
which one travels for the rate of expense per day.
Lodging breakfast, dinner and supper are about 81
per day, so that "a day would be ample for all ex
penses when travelling at good speed. Usually one
goes at such rate as to reduce the expense to So
day
One gets considerable insight into Norwegian
manners and customs on such journey. The lone
Illness Of the country is manifest In tho fact that il