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interesting points in the ramifications of the fjord are only called at two or
three times a week. The steamers are all well fitted up and have good
restaurants on hoard (which provide wine and heer. but no spirituous liquors),
but the sleeping accommodation is limited. If a night or part of a night
has to be spent on board, the traveller should lose no time in securing
a sofa or berth. The cabin fare is 40, the steerage 25, and the deck
15 0. per sea-mile (4 Engl. il.). The usual charge for a substantial
breakfast with coffee is l’s-S, for dinner 2, and for supper l-V/2 kr.
(fee discretionary, according to length of voyage). Comp. Introd. hi.
The * Sognefjord (from the old word lSogne’, signifying a
narrow arm of the sea), the longest of all the Norwegian fjords, being
180 Kil. (112 Engl. 31.) long from Sognefest to Skjolden, and
averaging 6 Kil. (4 Engl. M.) in width, forms one of the most
important highways of traffic in Western Norway, and also one of
the most convenient avenues to some of the grandest and wildest
scenery in the country. At places it is nearly 4000 ft. deep. Like
all the Norwegian fjords , it is unattractive at its entrance, where
the rocks have been worn away, partly by the action of the waves,
and partly by that of the enormous glaciers wfith which the whole
country was once covered. The scenery gradually improves as the
traveller proceeds from W. to E., until the fjord at length
terminates in a number of long and narrow arms hounded by lofty
mountains rising at places to a height of 5000 ft., from which
numerous waterfalls precipitate themselves into the depths
below. At the upper extremities of the N. ramifications of the
fjord lie huge glaciers descending from the snow - mountains,
including the Jostedalsbrce (‘Bræ’ signifying glacier), probably the
largest glacier in Europe (350 sq. M.). In other parts of the fjord
again the banks present a smiling and genial character, being
fringed with luxuriant orchards and waving corn-fields, and studded
with pleasant-looking dwellings. At some points indeed (as at
Balholm, Sogndal, Amble, and Skjolden) the scenery of the fjord
is not unworthy of comparison with that of the Lake of Lucerne,
or even with that of the lakes of N. Italy. In the majestic grandeur
of its mountains and glaciers, the Sognefjord far surpasses the
Hardanger, but its general character is severe and at places desolate
and monotonous, while the waterfalls, as well as the softer scenery,
of its southern rival unquestionably carry off the palm. — Up to
the point where the great ramifications of the Sognefjord begin,
the climate is the same as that of the W. coast, being rainy and
mild in winter and usually damp and cool in summer; but the
seasons in its long and narrow arms are more similar to those
prevalent in inland European countries. In winter a considerable
part of these arms is usually frozen over, and although the ice is
detached from the shore at its margins, being raised a couple of
feet or more twice daily by the tide , it serves as a busy highway
for sledge traffic. On these occasions the steamers ply to the
margin of the ice.
The Inhabitants (Sogninger) of the banks of the fjord, which,
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