The Portland daily press., 1901-02-16
FJORDS OF NORWAY.
A Pleasant Summer
Yachting Trip.
An Outing Unequalled in Pleasure
and Profit.
Life on Floating Palaces
Sui Generis.
The North Sea Not as Bad as IL
Has Been Painted.
Basle, Switzerland, Feb. l5.


A yachting cruise among the fJords oil
Southsrn Norway, followed by an exour-
sion along tins northern coast to the North
Cape, furnishes summer outing un-
eauaIed in pleasure and profit. Life on
boarI these floating palaces Is sui generis
and It Is SO absorbing that the business
man throws of every thought oil MS
office the mercahnt of his shop, the great
speoulator forgets the minutise Of trade
while the scholar leaves behind his books,
and the writer only remembers the glow
Of pleasure caught from the golden beams
of a Midnight sun ON lofty mountain
peaks, and domes and spires mirroreu In
the yelvety sheen or some lake or fJord
which he afterwards attempts to paint in
words.
There are many pleasure yachts sailing
in and out of the great fjords, the sur
roundings OF which are vast mountain
boulders, interspersed with glacisrs ana
tipped with snow; and sometimes nest
ling villages border the waters edge IN
charming contrast.
In These little hamlets life is sltog gather
primeyaI, with no element OF existence
exaggerated One fails to answer the
query, ever in the mind as to what exis-
tercs can be to the isolated children ot
tbs far North, and whether their pleas
urss ara at all com menslrate with those
In more temperate ATTITUDES. These peo-
pie are no doubt born, given in marriage
ana die like other poor mortals, but their
winter Is one eternal bleak night, and 1t
must needs be, that the summer In COM
parison Is one long blissful day; and such
surroundings must of necessity shape
the whole course Of their life.
The question as to which is the strong
est factor In the universe, environment
or heredity, has been potently answered
In the lives OF these unadaptativs child
rem OF the North who are Victims OF the
heritage which environment, generation
alter generation has made OF their par
ents. 10 all appearance there is little
misery among them since they give nc
sign Of sorrow or excessive joy, and SEEM
ingly they are entirely impractical, wholly
unsuited 60 any element outside OF their
original condition.
The life on thess yachting stea merf
where the journey is made solely for tins
pleasure OF the passengers. is entirely
uuiaue. The first destination is Trondh-
jem the central Norwegian city which
marks the coast boundary between South
ern and Northern Norway. The agents
Of the horde enfjsldske Line at Hamburg
and the EngI sh Agents at Q1een street,
Newcastle arrange all the details of thii
tour for the traveller. The North CAP
trip is part OF the excursion, the Nortl
Caps steamer from TrondhJam connect
ing twice a week with these fjords steam
ers from Hamburg and Newcastle.
We set sail about the middle OF July a
midnight and passed the superb Elb'
scenery before the passengers were up fo'
breakfast The great bugbear OF thi
Norwegian trip has always bsen consid
cred the North Sea, since this large
body of water is sometimes no respectel
of persons, and its choppy motion In I
storm affects all crafts upon it, SO tina
she sure foundation of the good sailor
unde rmined almost as completely as thos
chronicalIy affected by mal-1e-Dler. Blu
in many cases 1t is as placid as the mos
peacsful part OF the Atlantic and as sool
as the sheltered coast OF Norway 1
touched the water is as smooth as glass
The system of supplies on these yachts
as well as many other interesting details
is wholly different from that OF the grel