Marstrand itself is all grey rock, with a very few trees. A favourite walk is round the island. At one place you pass between high cliffs, a very narrow passage called the Needle’s Eye. The extreme point of the island is called Tå Udden--the Cape of the Toe. This is a favourite resort, as here you gaze right out on the sea, and when it is stormy you see the grand spectacle of the waves dashing against the low rocks. CHAPTER IV ACROSS SWEDEN BY WATER An interesting and comfortable way of reaching Stockholm from Gothenburg is by canal. Between these two cities are many lakes, including Vener, Vetter, Hjelmär, and Malar. These are so linked together by canals, that they form a waterway across Sweden through which fairly large passenger and cargo-boats can go from the North Sea to the Baltic. Travelling by canal-boat is, as a rule, tedious. It is interesting in this case. The steamer passes through a country which has many towns, churches, and castles that make you think of long, long ago, and also many factories and workshops that speak of the present. You rarely lose sight of vast expanses of water and great stretches of forest. In the distance you can see a whitewashed parish church glistening in the sun, here and there farmhouses and woodmen’s huts nestling among the trees, and sometimes the castle where the nobleman of the district lives. How comfortable is the steamer, ever fresh-looking with its white paint, with its nice dining-room, clean and tidy cabins, food beautifully cooked, and well served by smart waitresses. Both mind and body have enough to make the time pass pleasantly. To avoid the monotony of the first part of the journey, many join the steamer at Gothenburg about midnight, and arrive at Trollhättan early in the morning. After morning coffee with _kringlor_ (ring-twisted) biscuits, you leave the steamer while it passes through the locks, eleven in number, and walk along the shaded paths until you come to the falls. They consist of a series of six rapids, and are noted not on account of their heights, but because of the volume of water. They are playing a large part in the industrial life of the country, and are destined to do much more. In a very short distance the steamer has ascended 144 feet, and once more enters the Göta River, along which it travels until it enters Lake Vener, the largest lake in Scandinavia. It is very picturesque and beautiful, with many houses and villages on its banks. More than thirty rivers run into it. You very often meet steamers and sailing-vessels, and for their safety a great many lighthouses have been erected. It is not till you have passed through this lake that you enter the Göta Canal.