A Month's Carriole TOur through Western Norway
Including the finest scenery in the country
| 1st day 2d day |
Christiania, the capital of Norway. Visit the Royal Palace and the Storthings-Bygning ; the Viking Ship, a unique and deeply interesting relic of the days of the vikings, and one of the most highly prized archaeological treasures of Norway. It was dug from a mound on the land of a peasant farmer at Gokstad, near Sandefjord, in 1880, where it must have lain (well preserved, too) near upon a thousand years. See the Tivoli Garden, St. Hanshaugen, Oscarshall, the Gol Church, Mount Holmenskollen, the University buildings, National Picture Gallery, etc. |
| 3d day | Ulefos (seven hours by train from Christiania to Skien, thence two hours by steamer). See the Vrangfos, the Schaffhausen of Norway. |
| 4th day 5th |
Dalen (six hours by steamer from Ulefos) , in the heart of the Telemarken. Excursion to Eidsborg to see the ancient Stave Kirke, and Ravngjuv, the most terrific precipice in Europe, i ,000 feet perpendicular. |
| 6th day | Hotel Haukeli. About eight hours' drive, stopping at Borte for lunch. |
| 7th day | Haukeli-Saeter (four and a half hours' drive). One of the most elevated stations in Norway, with wild and somewhat desolate scenery. Herds of reindeer may be seen in the afternoon, descending from their browsing ground to the lake. |
| 8th day | Roldal (four hours' drive from Haukeli- Saeter). Descending the mountain, the wild scenery gradually gives place to wooded valleys and ravines, and at last the great Roldal Lake comes into view. |
| 9th day | Naes. Drive from Roldal through the wonderful Bratlandsdal Valley to Naes, " the gem of gems " among Norway scenery. The tourist should walk the last mile of the journey, in order to better appreciate the imposing grandeur of the scenery. |
| 10th day | Suledal Lake. There is nothing to surpass in grandeur the imposing combination of mountain and lake scenery of Lake Suledal. The rocks rise to the height of some 2,000 feet on each side, straight out of the water, and the lake twists and turns among them, revealing a new and beautiful picture in every reach. The finest point is the famous Portal, or Gate. |
| 11th day | Roldal. Drive back from Naes, walking the first mile of the journey. |
| 12th day | Odda (seven hours by car from Roldal). At the head of the Sorfjord. Drive across the Horrebraekkerne, past the splendid Laatefos. The summit of the pass is 3,400 feet above the sea, and amid wild and rugged scenery the descent is made to Odda on a branch of the Hardanger Fjord. |
| 13th day | Odda. Excursion to the Skjaeggedal Falls, the European Niagara, and the most imposing falls in Norway; and to Buarbrae, an arm of the great Folgefond Glacier |
| 14th day 15th |
Bergen (twelve hours by steamer from Odda) , through the Hardanger Fjord, conceded to be the finest in Norway. The second city of Norway ( for description, see page 69). |
16th day |
Stalheim. Leave Bergen by rail for Vosse- vangen, passing through fifty -four tunnels on its course of sixty-seven miles; thence by car in five hours to Stalheim, a pleasant drive through a picturesque valley. Stalheim is situated 1,200 feet above the sea in a canon on the Stalheims- Klev, overlooking the grand gorge of the Naerodal. |
| 17th day 18th |
Mundal (ten hours from Stalheim). Drive through the Naerodal Valley to Gudvangen on the Sogne Fjord. Kilefos has an unbroken leap of 500 feet, and a further fall of i ,350 feet. The voyage from Gudvangen through the Naero, Songe and Fjsetlands Fjords to Mundal is one of great grandeur. Visit the stupendous glaciers of Bojum and Suphelle. |
19th day |
Nedre Vassenden (six hours and a half from Mundal). Situated on Jolster Lake, at the edge of the Jostedalsbrae, the most gigantic glacier in Europe. |
| 20th day | Faleide (eight hours from Nedre Vassenden, two hours by steamer on Lake Jolster, thence by carriage to Utvik, thence steamer to Faleide). A great resort for tourists, where everybody goes, being a good center for excursions. |
| 21st day 22d |
Hellesylt (six hours by car from Faleide) is finely situated on the renowned Geiranger Fjord. This wonderful arm of the sea contains beyond a doubt the very grandest bit of scenery in Norway, and the trip to Merok might fittingly represent a scene in Dante's " Inferno." It is one of those rare scenes of nature which overwhelm the mind that contemplates it. |
| 23d day | Aalesund. Drive in about four hours from Hellesylt to Oie; thence by steamer'in four hours to Aalesund, situated on the open sea. |
| 24th day | Flatmark. Leave Aalesund by steamer via Molde, for Aandalsnaes, up the Romsdals Fjord, about seven hours; thence drive to Flatmark ( three hours). This trip affords fine views of the Romsdalshorn, the Matterhorn of Norway. On the opposite side of the valley is the gigantic ridge of the Trolltinder. |
| 25th day | Domaas. All-day drive along the Rauma Valley. At Ormeim a fine view is obtained of the Vaermefos, a fine waterfall. Domaas is situated at the junction of the Gudbrandsdal and Dovrefjeld routes, and is on the slope of the Dovrefjeld range of mountains, which separates northern from southern Norway. |
| 26th day | Lillehammer. Drive to Bredevangen and Otta, thence by rail to Lillehammer (time, about nine hours). Near Bredevangen is the scene of the massacre by peasants of " nine hundred Scottish troops under Colonel Sinclair," who were marching to join the Swedes, then at war with the Norwegians, in 1612. The locally accepted tradition is exaggerated as to the number of the victims. |
| 27th day | Christiania. Leave Lillehammer by steamer to Eidsvold on Lake Mjosen, the largest inland lake of Norway, thence by rail to Christiania ( total time about nine hours). |
