Visit to Iceland and the Scandinavian NorthPfeiffer, Ida
History
Visit to Iceland and the Scandinavian North
Pfeiffer, Ida
Iceland -- Description and travel; Old Norse poetry -- History and criticism; Scandinavia -- Description and travel
I could not see the situation of the town of Bolkesoe till daylight
to-day, for when I arrived the darkness of night concealed it. It is
situated in a pretty wooded vale, on a little hill at whose foot lies a
beautiful lake of the same name.
The road from here to Tindosoe, about sixteen miles, is not practicable
for vehicles, and I therefore left my carriol here and proceeded on
horseback. The country grows more quiet and uninhabited, and the valleys
become real chasms. Two lakes of considerable size form an agreeable
variety to the wildness of the scenery. The larger one, called the
Foelsoe, is of a regular form, and above two miles in diameter; it is
encircled by picturesque mountains. The effect of the shadows which the
pine-covered mountain-tops throw on the lakes is particularly attractive.
I rode along its shores for more than an hour, and had leisure to see and
examine every thing very accurately, for the horses here travel at a very
slow pace. The reason of this is partly that the guide has no horse, and
walks beside you in a very sleepy manner; the horse knows its master's
peculiarities by long experience, and is only too willing to encourage
him in his slow, dull pace. I spent more than five hours in reaching
Tindosoe. My next object of interest was the celebrated waterfall of
Rykanfoss, to reach which we had to cross a large lake. Although it had
rained incessantly for an hour, and the sky looked threatening, I at once
hired a boat with two rowers to continue my journey without interruption;
for I anticipated a storm, and then I should not have found a boatman who
would have ventured a voyage of four or five hours on this dangerous
lake. In two hours my boat was ready, and I started in the pouring rain,
but rejoiced at least at the absence of fog, which would have concealed
the beauties of nature which surrounded me. The lake is eighteen miles
long, but in many parts only from two to three miles wide. It is
surrounded by mountains, which rise in terraces without the least gap to
admit a distant view. As the mountains are nearly all covered with dark
fir-groves, and overshadow the whole breadth of the narrow lake, the
water seems quite dark, and almost black. This lake is dangerous to
navigate on account of the many rocks rising perpendicularly out of the
water, which, in a storm, shatter a boat dashed against them to pieces,
and the passengers would find an inevitable grave in the deep waters. We
had a flesh and a favourable breeze, which blew us quickly to our
destination. One of the rocks on the coast has a very loud echo.
An island about a mile long divides the lake into equal parts; and when
we had passed it, the landscape became quite peculiar. The mountains
seemed to push before each other, and try whose foot should extend
farthest into the sea. This forms numerous lovely bays; but few of them
are adapted for landing, as the dangerous rocks seem to project every
where.
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