Midnight Sunbeams; or, Bits of Travel Through the Land of the Norseman

by Edwin Coolidge Kimball

The natural history department comprises a most complete collection of Norwegian fish, sea fowl, and marine animals, and we were particularly interested, since our visit to the whale-oil factory, in inspecting the skeletons of several immense whales, and numerous baby whales, of various sizes, preserved in tanks filled with liquor. We found the museum a most comfortable and instructive place in which to spend a rainy morning, and as the young lady attendant who showed us about spoke excellent English, the visit was especially enjoyable.

Formerly there was scarcely any restriction placed upon the sale of liquor in Norway, and in 1833 the consumption of strong liquors amounted to twenty-eight quarts per head of the entire population of the country, and there was a vast amount of drunkenness, with its attendant misery, poverty, and crime. But, owing to the raising of the duty upon liquor, and the work of temperance societies, the consumption was greatly lowered, and the introduction of what is called the “permissive bill” has still farther reduced and restricted the traffic. By this law the authorities of a district may, by a majority vote, refuse to grant a licence for the sale of liquor, or they can give the monopoly of the liquor trade to a company, who are bound to pay them all profits, after deducting expenses and the payment of a dividend of five per cent. In many of the country districts no licences have been granted, with the result that drunkenness is almost unknown.

In Bergen, and some of the other cities, the licence is given to a company, who control all the shops where liquor is sold, and the surplus profits of the business are turned into the city treasury. A fine road, called the Drammensvei (dram road), extending along the side of a hill back of Bergen, high above the town, has been constructed wholly from the profits of the liquor traffic paid into the municipality; it is one of the pleasantest drives in the vicinity, in fine weather commanding most extended views of the city and surroundings.

Many of the captains and officers of the steamers are teetotallers; such was the captain of the “Kong Halfdan,” a North Cape steamer, who told us that his chief steward had a licence for selling to regular passengers, but no one could come from the shore, or board the steamer while in port, and purchase liquor. The sale of beer and wine is permitted at all hotels and restaurants, though under certain restrictions. During the whole time we were in Norway we never saw a drunken person, but in Sweden, where the liquor traffic is not restricted to the same degree, we saw quite a number.

The harbor of Bergen extends inland, like a deep bay, and furnishes a busy scene from its many large sea-going steamers, and the smaller carrying vessels anchored in the stream or drawn up along the quays. West of the harbor is a hilly peninsula covered with houses; extending its entire length is the chief street of shops, with very narrow alley-ways branching down to the water, and upon the other side are steep streets mounting to the summit of the hill. The situation of the city is very picturesque, being built along the harbor and two small inland lakes, and rising on hills, with a background of barren mountains.

Once more, after so many weeks, we heard the puff of the railway engine and the noise of a train as it rolled into the station from Vossevangen, sixty-six miles distant, at the terminus of the road. We walked through the modern promenades and around the lakes, and visited the newer portions of the city adorned with handsome modern residences, but the rain continued with but short intermissions, and we could obtain but a general idea of the city.

We would have much preferred to have driven from Odde, through Thelemarken, to Christiania, and there taken a steamer to Copenhagen, and proceeded thence by rail; but we were limited for time, as we were already due in Paris, and so chose the shortest route thither, by steamer to Rotterdam and then by rail. Our courage nearly failed us as we boarded the diminutive steamer in which we were to cross the North Sea. It was chiefly constructed for carrying freight, its first-class passenger accommodations being limited to five state-rooms and a small saloon, all situated in the stern; yet as but four passengers were booked for the voyage, we knew we should have plenty of room.

We left Bergen at night, after being rowed out to the steamer in a small boat under a perfect deluge of rain; and during the first night and until after dinner on the first day we had a comfortable passage, as our course lay within the girdle of islands extending along the coast. The scenery was tame and uninteresting after all the grandeurs of nature we had viewed, but we were thankful for our protecting “island belt” and enjoyed the sunshine after our experience of Bergen weather.

As we stood on the lower deck, leaning against a large case covered with a sail-cloth, we heard a savage growl, and sprang back in alarm; on inquiring as to the contents of the case, the sail-cloth was removed, and our astonished gaze rested upon a large white polar bear, lately captured in the Arctic regions, which was being shipped to the Zoological Garden at Rotterdam. After this sight, we no longer carelessly kicked our heels against that case.

Soon after leaving the small town of Haugesund, with its red-painted houses and large wooden fish houses, we left the “island belt,” and all too quickly the barren Norwegian coast disappeared from view, and we were out upon the North Sea, which fully deserves the epithet of nasty, in the English, and not in the American, sense. Our little steamer bobbed about like a cork on the water, pitched, and rolled, and buffeted by the long sweeping waves and tremendous swell of the northern sea, so that we were soon forced to pay tribute to Neptune, and retire to the secrecy of our state-rooms. The entire journey from Bergen to Rotterdam occupied fifty-two hours; every hour of the second day and night seemed interminable, and it was with a blessed feeling of relief that we awoke the third morning to find that the steamer had ceased rolling, as we had entered the river Maas and were advancing over the smooth waters towards Rotterdam.