The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-02
NORWEGIAN INNS.
No Style or Fuss, but Wholesome-A
 Close Description

w. E. Curtis in Chicago Record Herald.
 At intervals of eight or ten miles along the public highway, usually in conhec- tion with the skyds stations are inns, where the traveller will invarlabiy nhu the comforts if not the iuxuries of hfe- plenty of food and shelter. bed and Doaru' There is no upholstered furniture or Nel- vet carpets or eggshell china, but always neat lace curtains at every window, some times in the windows of the staoles. A Luxurious American will have to uehy himself much that he is accustomed to at home, and will encounter experiences ana customs that arc new and novel to nm But if he is reasonable in his require ments and behaves himself like a gentle man he will always meet with hospita- ble although honely welcome. Ihe Norwegian hotel keepers measure our ap- petites by their own and give you so much to eat, particularly at the noon dinner, that yo uare stupid and sleepy all the rest of the day and snooze in your carriage when you ought to pc au- miring the scenery.
 There is no style about the hotels and the service is poor. The household work is all done by the landlord and his wife and daughters. There are no electric bells and if you want anything you usu ally have to hunt for 1t and help your self. It is the custom of the country
 
 home, and you are sometimes compelled to look after your own luggage or it is liable to be left. But you will recover it again after a time. The people are hon. est, considerate and unselfish. but un- pretentious in their hospitality. There are no locks on their doors: for none are needed Burglars and thieves are abso- 1utely unknown.
 The bedrooms are barren of ornaments and easy chairs that we are accustomed to at home. There are no carpets and no rugs on the floor. All the appurten- ances are plain and substantial without any effort at show and very little idea of convenience. The beds are good, but usually the only cover is a comfortable seven or eight inches thick as heavy and unwieldy as a feather bed. You can't tuck 1t in at the bottom nor at the sides and it is always sliding off to the floor u is too much covering for an ordinary sleeper. and when the nights are warm, as they often are, you are. compelled to choose between a chill and suffocation. The pillows are another nuisance. There is usually a bolster of feathers about the size of a barerl and a little bit of a four by nine pillow an inch or two thick. with pretty trimmings upon it. The big pillow is too big and the little one is too small, and you solve the dilemma by rolling up your overcoat into O Dall ana uSlnS Indt instead. There is plenty of fresh, heavy homemade linen, large square towels that have been woven under the same roof during the long winter days.
 The breakfast is abundant and often terrifying. You are at first confronted with five or six different kinds of cheese. an equal variety of cold meats, timed fish. smoked herring and salmon. cold boiled ham. three or four kinds of cold sausage, strips of dried reindeer meat and half dozen different jams and pre- served fruits You are expected to bar take freely of that sort of provender and usually do so until you learn by ex- perience that dried fish, boiled eggs. veal outlets and other hot food will soon follow if you are patient The coffee is usually good, and there is always an abundance of rich, thick cream. There is no warm bread, but five or six kinds of cold bread baked from wheat, rye and oat flour, besides the national fiat brod.' which no Norwegian table is ever without.
 The dinner is a formidable affair after