ACROSS COUNTRY DRIVE.
CHAPTER X.
ACROSS COUNTRY DRIVE.
Posting System and Manner of Travelling in the Interior—Characteristics of the Norwegians—A Day’s Carrioling—A Morning Walk—Rival Innkeepers—Scenes in the Hay Fields—Our Third Day’s Ride—Resting at Sande.
There are but few railways in Norway. From Christiania are several short railroads to places in the immediate vicinity; two lines go into Sweden; and extending northward to Throndhjem is the longest railroad in the country; on the west coast a railroad extends inland a distance of about sixty miles, both from Bergen and Stavanger, and this completes the railway system of Norway, which reaches but a very small portion of its area.
Its well-organized system of steamers penetrates far inland through the network of winding fjords, forming a reliable and comfortable means of communication, but in the country lying between the fjords, and in immense tracts unreached by steamers, the sole means of conveyance are the stolkjærre and carriole, drawn by the hardy Norwegian ponies.
The roads are built by the Government, but are kept in order by the farmers through whose land they pass, which must be quite a burden upon them. Many of the roads are excellent, though in the more mountainous districts they are naturally rough and hilly. They are divided into Skydsstationer (posting stations), at intervals of from seven to twelve miles, at which the farmers are obliged by law to have a certain number of horses in readiness for travellers, who enter their names in a book, the number of horses wanted, and the station to which they are going. There is a fixed charge, the distance being reckoned in kilomètres (five-eighths of a mile), which amounts to about seven cents per mile; the distance from one station to another, and the amount to be paid, are always given in the station book.