|
Newsletter #50 - May 27 to June 3, 1960 |
Newsletter #50 Greetings, This wonderful trip to the roof of Europe is as exciting as ever and we are still thrilled with the weird rock formations, the delightful resorts, the peaceful fishing villages, the green pastures, the bays, the innumerable fiords, the many mountains, waterfalls, gorges, fertile valleys and colorful wildflowers. Today [May 27] we had a very interesting tour of Trondheim and visited a Folk Museum which consisted of many wooden buildings from various sections of Norway which were carefully dismantled, transported from their original sites and reassembled under the guidance of Norwegian experts to form a complete farmstead and community of yesteryears. The area provided a charming and natural background and the homes, barns, storehouses and other buildings are complete with their original furnishings and equipment portraying Norwegian rural life from the Middle Ages to the present. The homes were varied giving us an idea how the average as well as the wealthier homes were furnished and laid out and was certainly an excellent outdoor collection consisting of all original buildings. Our tour bus then took us out of town and up into the mountains where we had tea and cookies at 11:00 a.m. at the Ski Lodge, which was a very charming place where even the atmosphere of the open fire, copper kettles, etc., were enjoyed. Here we saw several ski jumps as well as one used for International Jumps. (Gråkallbakken Ski -Jump). Later we saw the Kristiansen Fortress which was built in 1682, the Archbishops Palace built in the 12th Century which is now the seat of the local government and the Munkholmen, a nearby island which was once an abbey but is now a popular bathing island. We concluded our excursion in Trondheim with a very delicious and beautifully served dinner at the Britannia Hotel in their luxurious Palm Court Dining Room with fountains playing and excellent organ music during the meal. Tonight we were all given the King Neptune initiation as we crossed and returned from the Arctic Circle. This procedure required each passenger to kneel before Neptune and get a good sprinkling of salt water either directly in the face, down the neck or back with a toast of aquavit (the Norwegian National drink) or a cocktail of Sherry and Aquavit. We were then presented our certificate which puts us into another order as we now have gone beyond the Arctic Circle as well as below the Equator. Our courier acted as King Neptune with a most authentic costume beard, triad and sword and administered the salt water quite effectively. Our excursion today was only for two hours but it included an organ recital at the very beautiful Alesund Lutheran Church and a trip by taxi to the top of Aksla mountain where we had fascinating views in
|
all directions of myriad islands and soaring peaks. This view even surpasses the gorgeous panorama from Floyen in Bergen as the peaks of the Sunnmore Alps and the varied shades of blue waters made us feel we were in the Carribean Sea. Alesund is Norway's leading herring town and runs one of Scandinavia's largest cheese and butter export dairies. It is also the headquarters for the Arctic sealing fleet. Today [May ] while we were in Alesund in the west coast fiord country we got a peep into the deep Storfjord and later passed the mouth of the Orsta as well as the Voids fiord and then sailed into the open sea at Stad. (This is the area where the herring shoals come in from the sea). The North Sea swells were quite high today and I was happy when we arrived in Maloy and had a chance to stretch our legs on land for an hour or two. From Maloy the catching and exporting of such fish as herring, dogfish and skate is quite an expanding business and the layover here was very interesting as we watched them weigh, ice and pack the fish for exporting. After leaving Maloy and heading south we crossed the mouth of the Nordfiord and sailed to the very foot of the Hornelen Mountain which rises 2,900 feet practically perpendicularly from the sea and is so steep that the east face of it has never been scaled. At the top of Hornelen a long narrow crack can be seen and observations have noted it getting wider each year. Owing to the danger of landslides, ships are not allowed to sound their sirens in this area. Tonight [May ] we stopped at our last port of call for this trip at 9:00 p.m. and it was in the most westerly town of Norway called Floro, It is a trim and very pleasant little town which is a trading and communications center for the country districts of Sunnfiord. Fishing is the staple trade and the various industries in the town are closely allied to fishing. In this town a few of the women passengers and myself purchased delicious cookies and pastries as we had a little surprise farewell party at 10:00 p.m. after the ship left Floro. Meredith and I gave our farewells to several of the passengers who had to meet early planes but are giving the rest at breakfast. (When I get home remind me to tell you what a typical Norwegian breakfast consists of - it's quite a feast.) Our 12-day journey to the Land of the Midnight Sun is now over and we're quite sure our days aboard this coastal steamer and our many excursions will never be forgotten as we really viewed an endless succession of scenic wonders. At breakfast I kissed all the passengers, the guide and my favorite waiter goodbye and we have invitations to visit new-made friends from Belgium, Australia, Scotland, England and America. [May ] After getting the "Little Princess" out of storage in Bergen we began another drive through Norway's superb scenery and saw more deep lakes, snow-capped peaks, idyllic hamlets and beauty abounding on the exciting drive along the blue Hardanger fiord. We took a ferry from Kvanndal to Kinsarvik and went thru interesting towns such as Tyssedal, Odda, Fjoera and Etne driving along the Akrofiord where we viewed awe-inspiring gorges and tremendous roaring waterfalls. We arrived at our destination, Haugesund, at 7:00 p.m. had dinner and
|
then called Torun Fagerland, the Norwegian girl whose father was captain of the Ellen Bakke, the ship which we were on 15 days from Hong Kong to Australia. She came to our hotel and insisted we go to her home to meet her mother and sister. We had a perfectly delightful evening together and ate desserts and drank cokes and coffee almost the entire evening. Today Toman met us and took us to all the places of interest in and around Haugesund and we then took her to lunch at Bellevue a lovely restaurant high on a hill outside the town where we got a magnificent view of the town and ocean. We shopped in several stores and at 4:30 were invited to dinner at her home where her mother served a delicious meal which was perfectly served and climaxed by cloudberries and whipped cream a delicacy in Norway especially at this time of the year. (Multer) After a lovely evening of reminiscing and other small talk, plus the discussion of education (Torun's sister is a primary teacher). We gave them our farewells. Today we drove past many more impressive sights and climbed terrific mountains which were almost completely covered with snow and at several placed the piles of snow on the sides of the road were higher than our "Little Princess". Many of the lakes in this area were still covered with ice and the real thaw has not made too much headway. We drove through the town of Morgedal where skiing was first developed as a sport, so that town is referred to as the "Birthplace of Skiing". It is a mountain resort for winter sports and a famous place for trout fishing in the summer season. Tonight we are staying in Kongsberg which is built on both sides of the three waterfalls of the Logen River. Kongsberg was founded in 1624 when silver was discovered there, but at present the silver mines have been abandoned. Here is Friday night [June 3] and the end of another newsletter week. We arrived in Oslo about noon, got our mail and then spent some time looking about the town. I purchased several Norwegian sweaters and caps and after dinner we went to visit Gini and Mac McLanachan and Sissil and Jens Aasen where we had some lovely smorbrod sandwiches, drinks and coffee. Our next newsletter will include two weeks of travel as the nine days aboard ship will not be too descriptive as we feel sure it will be spent in relaxing and socializing. Be seeing you in York, Meredith & Charlotte
|