Leksand, July 9, 1926.
It's about 9:15 and we're all in bed! This is because of no sleep to mention last night, due to thousands of damnable mosquitoes, and an early start tomorrow - for the Arctic Circlet. The mosquitoes are now excluded by good cheesecloth put on by the advice and help of a friendly fellow-lodger. These people apparently either shut their windows - one man said he did - or else suffer the beasts. They may be no worse than Maine, but they are awful! I wish I'd bought that net I almost bought in Abercrombie's - for there are other nights ahead!
The place is really perfect - I've never seen a lovelier landscape than yesterday and today - gentle slopes and water, evergreen forests (don't worry about wood's failing in our lifetime!) and such interesting things all the time.
We were met at Insjön (by the telephoning of the kind lady in the Sverige Turist Föreningen) by a boy and a "Bil", the abbreviation for auto in common use here - pronounced "Beel." There was also another passenger who talked a few words of English. We went to Säterglätan, a combination of summer - and winter - pension and school of weaving, up on the hill-slope maybe 3 miles from the little town, a most lovely place, an old farm where the walls are painted, where there are some quaint and nice pieces of furniture as you'll see when I send along the booklets, and where the old customs are kept (modified) by two sisters who run the ranch and have one house full of weaving looms. They teach the weaving in the old way more or less as a diversion to the guests tho somehow stuff does accumulate to sell. I bought just a little - coarse, but not unattractive.
There was an Amer. girl there from Oregon and she took us all about. The folks live in what were old storage things, like log cabins on stilts, made over into what we'd call little bungalows (on stilts). They're cute within and without, also comfortable. A Stockholm Jewess who spoke English took us to walk in the woods and oh, the flowers! It was almost like the Tyrol! I've nearly exhausted my flower book already - nice little book. Linnea everywhere for one thing. I'm so glad to see it here in blossom. Quantities of bluebells like ours (and Scotland's) and a taller, more lavender species, very pretty, growing with daisies in the fields. So many things I met in England, - notably an orchid like the purple fringed in general effect, and another like a finely divided white Habenaria, called "evening violets" because of the night fragrance.
We passed the may-pole, with its faded garlands. I may remark that every little hamlet has its may pole, rather tall, like a flagstaff, arranged to come down and then be lifted and bolted to a stone firmly in the ground! A permanent installation, so to speak. The pole is garlanded and then things are put along it. Usually there is the suggestions of a cross - for St. John Baptist, for it's his saint's day on Midsummer Day - and often with crossed arrows and other things along it.
These poles just stand and the decorations remain faded there. I'm afraid I've taken no picture, which is stupid. I thought of course a postcard would turn up, but none has.
We had dinner at the Säterglätan, a meal where everybody helped himself from a serving table. Filbunke (I'm quite attached to it) a lamb stew with rice, potato, carrots & turnips all arranged nicely on a platter, homemade beer, dessert of a glorified omelet-waffle I've met before, with fruit sauce, and coffee. (Always coffee!)
We drove in the evening to Leksand and landed in a Swedish pension, Gläntan, at the very edge of the town, a delightful place. Room outside in a true Swedish house. The yard is full of flowers, the house has an outside staircase (I have some postcards like it) My bed is a sort of box, though under a lovely window, there's a white porcelain stove, there's running water, thanks be, there's painting on the wall in the hall, a cherub over our door - oh, it's great! There is no English - but the friendly Fröken Zenzen appears and persuades them to adjust the cheesecloth! I'm writing with no light at 9:45 and there'll be clear twilight all night. The folks are nice. The pension is uncommonly good, as to service, comfort and food - again with service from a common table. Pen dry - no more now -
July 10, 1926
We're now on the road north, and the train makes very leisurely stops until we get to the "Lapland Express", so there will be time to write a little, I hope. We have two days and a night of steady travel ahead of us, but I'm more than ever eager to see the looks of those northern moors and also the Lofoten Is. The midnight sun will be a pleasant incident if it is visible but the general look of things is what I care more for. The glorious weather still lasts.
Yesterday we had breakfast at the prevailing hour of 9:30 and then got an auto to take us around Lake Siljan (all j's are y's in pronunciation). It is a long drive, perhaps 100+ miles, and lovely all the way. The road was good, though not with a dust-proof surface, and the car was a Dodge. The night before 'twas a Buick. There surely are many American cars over here, Anne sees a new kind every day or so. Lots of Fords and tell Gertrude there are as many Chevrolet signs in Stockholm as in Boston. There are the tiny French cars, too, and they seem to get around very nicely. -
We went first around the side of the Lake which is less frequented by tourists, tiny hamlets of a few cottages. At one place an old woman with a white cap and red skirt was sweeping the doorstone with a broom made of a bunch of twigs. I got out and asked her (sign language) if I might take her picture. Her husband promptly sat down but the old woman scuttled into the house and I thought I'd lost her, but presently she came out tying on a clean apron. I hope the picture will come out well, but she isn't as good as without the apron, for her skirt had a lovely border.
The houses are mostly of squared logs interlocked at the corners very neatly - it's not hand hewing, but machine squared timbering, I think. The roofs ar emainly red time while the walls are dark red. There are lots of outside staircases and galleries and such, and the storehouses (= corn-cribs) on stilts are very abundant. The grass is not cut much here yet, but the fields are full of erections of poles on which the hay will be piled very neatly. Every cow looks as if it had had a morning bath - I've not seen one dirty one. The cows are small with narrow heads, and mostly white with brown spots, very gentle beasts, apparently, none with horns left on. They are freely along the roads on which there are occasional gates.
I don't remember a single church in a small village, but there are huge ones in the three larger towns, Mora, Rättvik and Leksand. We went into the one in Rättvik (to which we ought to have seen the folks going in Sunday dress! We were sorry not to get a Sunday in the region.) It is huge, with a row of Christ and the apostles on the front of the gallery at the back of the nave, and with biblical scenes and a list of the ministers since 1509 on the gallery rails of the transepts. The pulpit was rich, with either painted wood on stucco (wood, I think) figures, most extraordinary in outlines and proportions, like nothing I've ever met before. We have books and pictures that show a few things, but there are so many! The distant views, with low hills, across the Lake, were lovely, but the hills are very gentle, much less than in Berkshire, for instance. We couldn't go on boats, worse luck.
At Mora we found Gustavus Vasa, an old king who helped the people from out the clutches of Denmark, maybe in the 16th Cent. He went through the "valleys", (Dalarna) rousing the people to fight. At one place where there is now a most amusing memorial, we were dumped out by our chauffeur and judged it proper to go in - a square room from which a steep stone staircase descended to a cellar where G. V. was concealed with the beer kegs by a clever woman who lived in the house on the spot. There are three large pictures, one of the event, two of the region, the last two by some member of the royal family. They seem fond of the crown prince here, very, but somebody said the king isn't much beloved. We saw a grand statue of G.V. also in Mora, and had a rather meagre lunch at his hotel, meagre because the girl failed to understand us! This is our first slip-up. But we made up at dinner, which was excellent.
The woods are lovely - I wrote Alma about them last night. Norway pines, very straight, with short bluish needles, and with the bark orange brown after about 20 feet or so - a wonderful color effect. I think the whole region is forested scientifically, for there seemed to be signs of thinning out the trees at two different periods. And there are miles and miles of these forests - no lack of trees at all. Underneath is a mossy and green carpet for the woods are relatively open. Sphagum and Linnea in abundance, also other little things. The Linnea is so fragrant, and it grows everywhere, though I think it seems a little paler than ours. There is a cranberry in blossom which may be our mountain species or a little larger - I can't be sure. The woods have beautiful spruces (species I'm not sure of - very rich green) and there are many birches about, more weeping than ours, and not so white. No other big deciduous trees for we're too far north for beeches &c. It will be fun to see the things change as we go north. But I've never seen lovelier woods than those of Dalrna. There are poplars and some maples in the towns. Folks come up to ski in the winter - there are very attractive pictures.
Tin is the great metal - used most artistically. I expect to get more in Stockholm. Now I have two little vases. I think we shall see better copper, perhaps. And I regret already a silver thing I didn't buy in Copenhagen.
July 11, 1926
We have crossed the Polcirkeln, at about noon, and seen Lapps at the station of that name. We are in Lappland! It's quite exciting and neither one of us has been bored at all. Yesterday we just came on north, but though the landscape was interesting it was not remarkable. The sleeper is great fun. Two most comfortable berths, one above the other, and this in a compartment with a little basin of its own, and lots of racks &c to put luggage. All the Swedish compartments have tables by the window, which fold down. The making of the berths was quite different from ours - the blankets put into a bag which was the upper sheet. There is a trouble with this - we met it, modified by decoration at Copenhagen - in that you can't have half the clothes on! At Cop. the upper sheet was a bag with hole in the top, bordered by decoration, and inside was a red puff thick enough to be a down quilt and hot. Last night I was very hotfor a while though we cooled off and it is cool today. 1311 kilometers from Stockholm to our next meal.
We have extra clothes though I left my winter coat behind - coat & sweater & raincoat & rug I hope will be enough. We have a water bottle and two glasses and the bottle has been refilled at least 3 times in 24 hours, with the old water emptied out. There is a fresh, nicely laundered roller towel in the "Toalett" which serves 5 compartments only, towel changed every few hours. And we get dusted frequently. Today there is an electric engine, very handsome with polished wood and brass, and almost no dust.
This is the "northernmost railway in the world." The scenery is getting more barren and the trees smaller though there are a few big pines. Only birches, pines & spruces, and the low willows. Back in Dalarna the lilacs were just out of flower - we've seen them in blossom about Boden and here they're in bud. We saw a woman on the platform with lilies of the valley - wild over here. I'm crazy to get to Abisko and see what flowers there are. I can see some new things by the road, though daisies, buttercups and clover, also hare-bells are abundant at the stations.
We had breakfast at Boden, with the unsual smörgasbord, also hot cereal (fairly good) and several things like omelet, &c. No fruit ever at breakfast since we landed. We buy our own, but this last lot of oranges is poor.Ê We had good strawberries on the train yesterday, with cream, but now have touched the wonderful ones in Denmark. The train meals were good and not expensive. Lots of military men on the train yesterday with so many different uniforms. We had no idea what they meant, when they met they shook hands and then saluted. I'll mail this at Abisko. I find I have a card at Insjön of the little storage houses made over into cottages. They certainly were cunning.
Abisko - July 12
This seems like a real rainy day, the first we have seen since landing, but fortunately I got about quite a bit last night and even if we can't go to the Lapp encampment we've seen the folks - though not their reindeer! The mountains were lovely when we got up - I wish I'd taken one more picture for the clouds about their middles - the tops clear. But I waited too long.
This is a most interesting place. It reminds me more of the old Ravine House in atmosphere than of any place I know - probably still more like some of your western places. The hotel holds about 130, with several public rooms, each with a huge fireplace, but such queer white fireplaces built into corners - I have a picture of one. There are accessory places at the sides perhaps for heating things - I've not discovered. So far we've found nobody who speaks English except two girls at the desk, but one serves herself, so all the trick of meals is to follow the crowd.
It's a Swedish Tourist Club place, though others are admitted - the thing we joined in Stockholm - no exclusive affair like the Appalachian, but with perchance 75,000 members - 50,000 in 1912 Boedeker. The place is a state reservation so one can't pick, but the flowers are neatly tagged in flowerbeds out front and I saw enough last night so I'm not heartbroken at not getting out.
We came at dinner time and immediately saw ruck-sacks & rough clothes. One woman at least is in sturdy knickers. A crowd went off apparently for a night climb.
The sun shone brightly until 11 something when it dipped under the mountain rim across the beautiful big Torneträsk. The lights on those snow mountains and the water and clouds were like a glorious sunset moving along the mountains. We sat up until about 1 when there was a peep of the sun in one of the dips. About July 1 it is probably bumping along the tops all the time, and we could see the light perfectly well on the mountains behind the house, perhaps 1000 feet up, but we didn't want to climb so far. I took two walks, and should have perished but for the mosquito net I bought at the desk, a black tarlatan affair with an elastic to fit around the crown of the hat. I never saw as man except that awful trip up to the Dalls of the Wisconsin! But we slept with our window tightly closed (!) and it was cool enough so we didn't suffocate. Breakfast is from 9 to 10:30 so we had considerable sleep. Rooms nice, but bed por, the poorest I've met.
It was fun to get on a real trail even for half an hour, and to find a whole new set of flowers. There is a beautiful tall pale yellow double buttercup, an inch and a half in diameter, there is a carpet like that on Mt. Wash. of crowberry (?) our mountain cranberry (?) Linnea, though less abundant than at Leksand, a bunchberry taller than ours with a more leafy stem, a little vetch quite exquisite red-purple, and some more. I'm going to get the scientific names from the tags in the garden here for many of the things. There are violets there, but I've not seen them outside. Oh, at both restaurants where we ate yesterday there were tulips for table decorations. Only one fern have I seen, but there are three in the garden, and I'm sure there must be more, for instance the polpodium. There was plenty of bracken at Leksand, but I see none here, which surprises me.
We went to walk between eleven and twelve, and it was strange to have it really hardly twilight at all. I "took" the sunset, but how it will come out I've no idea for the support was unsteady and it was a time exposure. The mountains are some larger than in the Lake Region but are not high enough to the snow covered at home. I don't see any as high to my eye as Mt. Washington from the Glen Road, but there is plenty of snow climbing and also steep rock work - also plenty of real climbers here. One man had a pink tarlatan veil - I'm writing to Miss Hewes of this. The clouds are rising now, but it is no good day.
The railroad performances are rich. There is a station-master, most immaculately clad, sometimes in a linen suit, soemtimes with white trowsers and shoes, or in navy blue with red pipings, but always with a navy & red cap and a gorgeous red flag. He starts the train - and magnifies his office! We watch for them all the time. The trains are very well run, even though not very swift. They dusted and gave us fresh drinking water all day long. Our tickets which we bought at Copenhagen are almost gone, and then we start on the Bennett Norway set. I hope it will all come out well.
I'll stop now and mail this from our farthest north.
Much love - and greetings to your companions.
July 14 -
On board the Sigurd Jael,
north of Trondhjem.
I wrote you last at Abisko, didn't I? After the lovely night when the sunset ran along the mountain tops. It was very wonderful, even though we should have had to climb the south mts. quite a bit to see the sun where we saw the sunset. The clouds and the colors in the lake, and the alpine glows in the valleys I'll not forget any more than I have the alpine glow on the Jungfrau.
I found lots of flowers in two walks about Abisko. They were most of them in the garden all tagged, so I could tell what they were, and it was fun to have species tagged Lapponica, with Lapps right there, and artica when we had cross "Polcirkeln". We were fairly comfortable with mosquito veils and I yearned for two or three days there - one to go to a mild summit - some, not all, looked perfectly simple - and one to go along the R. R. to the summit of the divide where the snow was still in scattered drifts close to the track. The line is kept open all winter, but it seemed as if a quarter of the way was under "snow-sheds" - quite like our old covered bridges.
Oh yes, the rain kept us from crossing the Lake to the Lapp encampment, but we saw plenty of Lapps, and again it was a bright-eyed gaiety that impressed me. The costumes around the hotel were perhaps "dress-up", yet the men were working in them - navy blue wool stuff with many bright red trimmings! The big red flopping pompom on the top of the cap, the red belt and the red border on the bottom of a full blouse were points, also very spindling legs sort of swathed, ending in huge, clumsy shoes. The faces thin, bronze, with red cheeks and such bright eyes and high cheek-bones - oh, very unlike anything I've ever seen.
I've tried to buy me a couch cover - whether I succeed remains to be seen. It is striped wool (except long threads) woven stuff from north Sweden - home industry idea - and I have ordered two strips at a total coast of about 15.00 to meet me at Stockholm. There was one strip hanging in the hotel which the fine girl there who spoke excellent English is going to send to the place where the things are done. I can use the two strips sewed together at either lab or my room. Colors cheerful! I hope I'll find it C.O.D. in Stockholm.
We left Abisko in the evening and rode over a most wonderful height of land by the snow and ice where as the guidebook said, "vegetation almost ceases", down by the birth of a lovely fjord to Narvik. The railroad wound along the side of the fjord, hudreds of feet above the water, in and out of tunnels. Narvik is a wretched place, but this may have been due in part to the mud from recent rain and to our landing at a desolate wharf to find our only sleeping place in a tiny stateroom with two others - thanks be they were clean! We slept some. The boat started at five and we rose about seven to find a dismal day. The girl in the lower soon got seasick, so we left her the room, but there was only a cold and wet deck, with little shelter to sit on.
However, we saw a good deal of the wonderful Lofotens for the clouds lifted. The outlines are more like the Tyrol than anything I can think of, on a smaller scale and much more jagged, all little jags and big jags - perfectly wild - and almost no vegetation except the gentler slopes which were very green. There were a few trees, but only stunted ones and those occasional. It was really most stunning with fast flying clouds, some of them very dark, among the many ravines and tops. One could believe any old mythological tale in a place like that. There were several small towns and otherwise rare little houses along the shore. All the things we suppose are lights are very small, no imposing lighthouses at all. I took a few pictures but it will be a miracle if they are any good, for the light was wretched and the boat moving fast.
At Svolvaer, well out on the Lofoten chain we changed to this boat which seemed palatial - but it is really only a little one. There may be a hundred passengers, two classes, and many can't get state-rooms or don't wish them. It's crowded, but yet our stateroom is a peach - two berths side by side and lots of little conveniences. Also it's clean.
But it was a sick place from 5-10 last night while we crossed to the island passage. It's the roughest thing I ever saw. I soon found it would be best to be horizontal so I went below to lie down, leaving my rug with Anne. Even with two rugs, raincoat, heavy coat & sweater she was frozen, but couldn't get down! Finally a man - he deals in fish along the coast - brought the rugs for her! She's not sick, but almost everybody was - folks stretched out everywhere. I managed to sleep a good bit during the evening, but I didn't feel comfortable, though my record isn't broken - for they served supper at ten o'clock and I wanted it! I'm coming to feel I'm above the average on this sea-sick business, though I surely prefer it smooth. "They say" there's another rough stretch ahead, but I've had a good supper - it's now later than when I began - and I can fly to bed.
We've missed the essential features of the scenery today, for it has rained hard nearly all day. There's a curious island called Torghatten (market-hat) with a hole through the top. We made out the shape of the hat, but the hole was hidden. Also the Svartisen Glacier and some good mountains were shrouded. It's clearer now - though the fishman says the wind is wrong.
Our other talkative companions have been a nice young chapÊ with a wife and baby, and the German and wife. Oh yes, a certain educator, "Doctor" somebody, who speaks a labored and serious English, but who told me much of interest about the scenery and the effect of tourists in commercializing the people, also the great influence of the Norwegian National League for Youth, the sort of thing we have been told in America is of such consequence here - and it sounds as if it were - property in hotels, coffee-houses &c &c, to millions of krone, and easily securing speeches from prime ministers, with one aim the preservation of old Norwegian is distinguised from Dano-norwegian culture and another the keeping of the personality of the country youth who go to the cities. Branches many, 60,000 members.
We get to Trondhjem at 7:30 tomorrow and I'mm mail this there. Our trip ahead looks very good. We hope to get mail at Trondhjem.
Much love, honey dear -
Abby