It was apparently chiefly a steamboat journey, with short excursions to
glaciers and other areas of special interest to the traveller. Boat was
taken from Newcastle to Aalesund, then _viâ_ Molde and Christiansund
(where a brief note records an exquisite sunset about eleven, with
sunrise following at one) to Trondhjem. After a day in this town the
journey was continued to Rödö and Melövar. From this point a trip was
made in a boat with four men for twenty miles up the fiord to visit the
Fondalen ice-field. Several days were spent here, and various glaciers
were visited and presumably studied. A return was then made to Melövar,
and the steamer journey continued to Tromsö. After a day here James
Geikie went on to Skjervö, where he arrived at 2 A.M., as is carefully
recorded, and put up at a merchant’s house, no inn being available.
Here he was most hospitably received, and enjoyed his brief glimpse of
a Norwegian interior. Next day a boat was taken across the fiord to the
Jökul-fjeld, and an apparently profitable excursion, which included
icebergs and icefalls among the objects seen, ended at a fisherman’s
cot at midnight. Next day was spent idling about, because the wind was
adverse, which suggests that the boat was a sailing-boat, and the start
was not made till evening, so that the whole night was passed on the
water, Skjervö not being reached till six in the following morning. Two
days were spent here, and then the steamer taken to Loppen, from which
an excursion was made to Bergsfiord, where the glacier was visited.
Another excursion was made to Öksfjord, and the steamboat rejoined as
far as Hammerfest, the furthest point reached. On the return journey
the call at Christiansund permitted of an expedition, taken in company
with the geologist Dr Dahll, during which a “fierce controversy” took
place. Finally, a Dutch steamer brought the traveller from Bergen to
England after what must have been a most instructive tour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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