A slight breeze disturbs the surface of the water, and the fjord now ripples with a thousand hues from sunset sky and rosy-tinted mountains. It is now fast approaching the hour of midnight. Almost already the first faint signs of dawn appear in the north, where a solitary star is but barely discernible in the pale amber sky; and as we gaze on such a scene with reverent and grateful hearts, we offer up a pæan of praise, and thankfully store away in the treasure-house of our memory the recollection of a perfect night of June spent amid such romantic surroundings.
The Geiranger Fjord
In the character of the scenery of Geiranger in Söndmöre we have a blending of the Alpine splendour of Nordland, with the wildness of Jötunheim, the beauty of Hardanger, and the grandeur of Sogn. Whether we approach this fjord from the land side and drive down the splendidly engineered road in zigzag windings to the village of Meraak, or sail in from the main Stor Fjord, we obtain an equally vivid impression of Geiranger's beauty and grandeur.
Here the scenery of the Söndmöre district maybe said to attain its most perfect expression. Sogn has higher mountains, but Söndmöre, with its bold, sharp peaks, makes quite as overpowering an impression on the mind of the traveller, attracting and captivating him with its enchanting power.
Geiranger Fjord and district are noted for beautiful waterfalls, and from the hamlet of Meraak, if we row for a couple of hours, we can visit the Seven Sisters Waterfall—its proper name, however, is Knivsflaafos—a bevy of falls who plunge gaily side by side down a high, precipitous cliff into the fjord. Their number varies at different times according to the state of the weather, and we are not always able to count the mystic seven. Other sisters appear after heavy rain, and thus increase the family to eight or nine; and in hot weather four only are to be seen.
These falls, which descend from a great height almost without touching the cliff, seem to shoot downwards like rockets in myriads of large and small douches of water—these, as they descend, pierce through the fine spray which they create, and thus cause a very pretty effect, especially when the sun's rays cause rainbow hues to float on the delicate gauze of spray.
Another beautiful waterfall near here is known as "Brude Slur" (Bridal Veil). This "fos" descends almost as a veil from the sky-line of the high cliff, and spreads its streamers over the face of the dark rock. In stormy weather I have seen this waterfall lifted bodily by the wind and carried upwards into space, to descend like rain at some distance.