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
After I had gazed, and hoped, and raised my eyes entreatingly to heaven
for a single ray of sunshine, all in vain, I had at last to determine on
my return. I left my post almost with tears in my eyes, and turned my
head more backwards than forwards as we left the spot. At the least
indication of a clearing away of the fog I should have returned.
But I retired farther and farther from it till I reached Mael again,
where I sadly entered my boat, and proceeded uninterruptedly to Tindosoe.
I arrived there towards ten o'clock at night. The wet, the cold, the
want of food, and, above all, the depressed and disappointed state of my
mind, had so affected me, that I went to bed with a slight attack of
fever, and feared that I should not be able to continue my journey on the
following day. But my strong constitution triumphed over every thing,
and at five o'clock in the morning I was ready to continue my journey to
Bolkesoe on horseback.
I was obliged to hurry for fear of missing the departure of the steamer
from Christiania. The journey to Delemarken had been represented to me
as much shorter than I found it in reality; for the constant waiting for
horses, boats, guides, &c. takes up very much time.
August 28th.
I had ordered my horse to be ready at five o'clock, but was obliged to
wait for it until seven o'clock.
Although I made only a short trip into the interior, I had sufficient
opportunities for experiencing the extortions and inconveniences to which
a traveller is liable in Norway. No country in Europe is so much in its
infancy as regards all conveniences for locomotion. It is true that
horses, carriages, boats, &c. can be had at every station, and the law
has fixed the price of these commodities; but every thing is in the hands
of the peasants and the publicans, and they are so skilled in tormenting
the traveller by their intentional slowness, that he is compelled to pay
the two-fold tax, in order to proceed a little more quickly. The
stations are short, being rarely above five or six miles, and one is
therefore constantly changing horses. Arrived at a station, it either
happens that there is really no horse to be had, or that this is an
ostensible excuse. The traveller is told that the horse has to be
fetched from the mountain, and that he can be served in one and a half or
two hours. Thus he rides one hour, and waits two. It is also necessary
to keep the tariff, as every trifle, the saddle, the carriage, the
harness, fetching the horse, the boat, &c., has to be paid for extra; and
when the traveller does not know the fixed prices, he is certain to be
dreadfully imposed upon. At every station a book lies, containing the
legal prices; but it is written in the language of the district, and
utterly unintelligible to the stranger. Into this book, which is
examined by the judge of the district every month, one may enter
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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