“‘That’s my wife,’ I replied, whereupon he burst out into a laugh. ‘Nay, nay! to drag his wife with him over the top of Norefjeld on New Year’s Eve!’ he said.
“Presently he brought in something to eat, for we were famished; and when Eva smelt it wasn’t cheese and pemmican, she woke up.
“We rested here three days. Yes, it had been a New Year’s Eve trip. A very agreeable one in my opinion, but I’m not so sure Eva altogether agreed with me!
“Two days later I and the ‘poor little lad’ drove through Numedal to Kongsberg in nine degrees below zero (Fahrenheit), which nearly froze the little fellow. But it is not a bad thing occasionally to have to put up with some inconveniences—you appreciate comforts afterward so much the more. He who has never experienced what cold is, does not really know the meaning of warmth!”
The day after the wedding the newly married pair set out for Newcastle, where there was to be a meeting of the Geographical Society, travelling via Gothenburg, Hamburg, and London. After this they went to Stockholm, and here Nansen was presented with the “Vega” medal by His Majesty. This was a distinguished honor, the more so as it had hitherto only been awarded to five persons, among whom were Stanley and Nordenskjöld. Nansen subsequently was presented with several medals in foreign countries, and was made a Knight of the Order of St. Olaf and Danebrog.
On their return from Stockholm to Norway, Nansen and his wife took apartments at Marte Larsen’s, the old housekeeper at Store Fröen, and stayed there two months, after which they took a house on the Drammen road. But they did not enjoy themselves there, and Nansen determined to build a house, for which purpose he bought a site at Svartebugta, near Lysaker.[2] It was here that, as a boy, he had often watched for wild ducks. It was a charming spot, moreover, and within easy distance of the town. The house was finished in the spring of 1890. During the whole of the winter, while building operations were going on, they lived in an icy cold pavillion near Lysaker railway station.
“It was here he weaned me from freezing,” says Eva Nansen.
In this wretched habitation, where the water froze in the bedroom at night, Nansen would sit and work at his book on Greenland, and when he had time would superintend the building of the new house. It was called “Godthaab”—a name given it by Björnstjerne Björnson.
In the autumn of this year Nansen set out on a lengthened lecturing tour, accompanied by his wife. He lectured in Copenhagen, London, Berlin, and Dresden, about his Greenland experiences, and also about the projected expedition to the North Pole. Everywhere people were attracted by his captivating individuality; but most thought this new expedition too venturesome. Even the most experienced Arctic explorers shook their heads, for they thought that, from such a daring enterprise, not a single member of the expedition would ever return alive.