Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-08-26
LUXURY is SET ASIDE.
William e. Curtis Tells of Hotel Com
fort for Travellers in Norway.

tWilliam Il. Curtis in Chicago Record
Herald) AT intervals of eight or ten
miles along the public highway, usu
ally in connection with the skyds
stations. are inns where the traveller
will invariably find the comforts ii
not the Injuries of life-plenty,of food
and shelter, bed and board.
There is no upholstered furniture, vel.
svet carpets or eggshell china. but al.
ways neat lace curtains at every win
dow. sometimes in the windows OF
the stables. A luxurious American
will have to deny himself much thai
he is accustomed to at home, and will
encounter experiences and customs
that are new and novel to him. But
If ~ is reasonable in his requirements
and behaves himself like a gentleman
he will always meet with Il hospitable
although homely welcome The
Norwegian hotel keepers measure our
appetites by their own and give us so
<much to eat. particularly at the noon
dinner, that you are stupid and sleepy
all the rest of the day and snooze in
yolr carriage when you ought to be
aHTIring the scenery.
There is no style about the hotels
and the service is poor The house
hold work is all done by the landlord.
and his wife and daughters. There
are no electric bells and if you want
anything you usually have to hunt for
it and help yourself 1t is the Gus
tom of the country for travellers to
make themselves at home, and you
are sometimes compelled to look al
ter your own luggage or it is liable to
be left. But you will recover it again
after time. The people are honest
considerate and unselfish. but unpre.
tentious in their hospitality There
are no locks on their doors. for none
A'e needed. Burglars and thieves are
absolutely unknown.
The bedrooms are barren of or
naments and the easy chairs that We
are accustomed to at home. There
are no carpets nor rugs on the floor
All the appurtenances are plain and
substantial, without any effort at show
and very little idea of convenience
The beds are good, but usually the on
ly cover is a comfortable seven OF
eight inches thick and as heavy and
unwieldy as a feather tick. You can
not tuck ii in at the bottom nor al
the sides and it is always sliding OFF
on the floor. 1t is too much covering
for an ordinary sleeper, and when the
nights are warm, as they often are
you are compelled to choose between
Il chill and a suffocation. The Pill
lows are another nuisance. There is
usually a bolster of feathers abou
the size of barrel and little bit o
four b. nine pillow an inch or tive
thick with pretty trimmings upon it.
The big pillow is too big and the little
one is too small, and you solve the di
lena by rolling up your overcoat into
a ball and using that instead. There
is plenty of fresh. heavy homemade
linen. large square towels that have
been woven under the same roof dur
ing the long winter days.
The breakfast is abundant and of
ten terrifying. You are first con
: fronted with five or six differen
kinds of cheese. an equal variety o
cold meats. timed fish, smoked her
ring, salmon, cold boiled ham. three
or four kinds of sausage. strips
reindeer meat and half a dozen dii |
ferent jams and preserved fruits |
You are expected to partake freely
that kind of provender and usually dc |
- until you learn by experience thai
fried fish, boiled eggs, veal outlets |
and other hot food will soon follow
you are patient. The coffee is usu
ally good, and there is always al |
abundance of rich. thick cream. No |
warm bread Is served, but five or si,. |
kinds of cold bread baked from wheat |
rye and oat flour, beside the nationa'
''ilatbrod," which no Norwegian tabl |
is ever without
The dinner Is formidable affair |
after the fashion of the ordinary Eu |
ropean table d'hote. with soup. fish |
salad, preserves and pudding, while
for supper you get the same assort |
ment of cheese. cold meats. fish, sau
sage and preserves that you had 70 |
breakfast and two or three hot dishes |
Fish is the staff of life and salmon tho |
RSnstay. 1t is served in some form |
at every meal, fried at breakfast and |
supper and boiled for dinner with |
strips of cold smoked salmon of a |
deep rich color on the side at all
meals. The lakes and river are well |
stocked with salmon trout. which are |
caught in nets and kept alive in tanks
until they are needed. You enjoy |
them the first five or six meals, but |
after you have had them seventeen or
eighteen times in succession they be
gin to lose their relish. Beer is the
ordinary beverage. Everybody par
takes of it. Claret and Rhine wine
can be had at the larger hotels, hut
never any whiskey, brandy or other
strong liquors. Local option prevails
throughout Norway. and in the coun-
try districts the sale of spirituous liq-
uors is forbidden.
On the mountain sides and on the
banks of the pretty lakes are sanitaI'
hms-not hospitals. bat health re-
sorts. patronized by invilids and peo-
nle who need rest and recreation.