Visit to Iceland and the Scandinavian North

nt Hecla on the 24th June. On the first day, when we rode to Thingvalla, we pass

he sun was just breaking. Some of its rays reached the clouds of mist, and illuminated them in a wonderfully beautiful manner. The most delicate shades of colour seemed breathed, as it were, over them like a dissolving rainbow, whose glowing colours w

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ight-hand one leads to the Geyser. We rode for some time along the shores of the lake, and found at the end of th

covered it, and was quite overgrown with that whitish moss, which has a beautiful appearance when it only cove

h formed an awe-inspiring portal. I had unfortunately not known of the existence of these caves, and was consequently unprepared to visit th

rfectly level, covered the country for miles. These rich valleys were, of course, tolerably well populated; we frequently

but the bulk of which they were composed I considered to be fine loam-soil layers, if I may trust my imperfect mineralogical knowledge. Some of th

proceeding from hot springs, but of no great size. But after we had already travelled about twenty-five m

ittle wooden bridge, which stands in the middle of the stream, and over which the high waves constantly play, leads over the chasm. Any one not aware of the fact can hardly explain this appearance to himself, nor understand the noise and surging of the stream. The little bridge in the cen

bridge; but as the water at this season stood so high that the waves from both sides dashed

projecting rocks. Not far from the bridge the cleft terminates; and the whole breadth of the waters falls over rocks thirty to forty feet high. The nearer we approached the centre, the deeper, more violent, and impetuous grew the stream, and the more deafening was the no

nclosed by lava mountains and hills; the inanimate, silent nature around is

from my anxiously curious gaze. At last this hillock was passed; and I saw the Geyser with its surrounding scenery, with its immense steam pillars, and the clouds and cloudlets rising from it. The hill

mself my cicerone. He had unfortunately, it being Sunday, paid too great a devotion to the brandy-bottle, so that he staggered rather than walked, and I hesitated to trust myself to the guidance of this man, not knowing whether he had reason enough left to distinguish how far we might

basin may be about thirty feet; that of the inner one six to seven feet. Both were filled to the brim, the water was pure as crystal, but boiled and bubbled only slightly. We soon left this sp

n we returned to the great Geyser, where he gave me some precautionary rules, in case of an intervening erupti

h one may easily evade. On this side one may therefore approach within forty paces even during the most violent eruptions. The eruption announces itself by a dull roaring; and as soon as this is heard, the traveller must hastily retire to the abov

; one here, and the other in Thingvalla. The one here is particularly appropriate, as travellers are frequently obliged, as stated above, to wait several days for a fine eruption. Every traveller certainly

arly eleven o'clock. My companio

watching is no very arduous matter for several travellers, it became a very hard task for me alone

as if a cannon were being fired at a great distance, and its echoing sounds were borne by the breeze. I rushed from my tent and expected subterranean noises, violent cracking and

y departure, that I expected I should need the most coura

ings, but from the violent agitation of the waters. In a minute and a half all was over; the water no longer overflowed, the caldron and basin remained filled, and I returned to my tent disappointed in every way.

entle slumber in the intermediate time, or I visited the other springs and explored. I wished to di

ence of 800 to 900 paces: several of them are v

valley is entirely covered with grass, and the vegetation only decreases a little in the immediate vicinity of the springs

h boiling and gushing springs; of

been above thirty feet, and did not last more than a quarter of an hour. The Strokker is the only spring, except the Geyser, which has to be approached with great caution. The eruptions sometimes succeed each other quickly, and sometimes cease for a few hours, and are not preceded by any sign. Another spring spouts constantly, but never higher than three to four feet. A third one lies about four or five feet deep, in a rath

le, moderate discharge. The beauty of these springs consists in their remarkable transparency. All the varied forms and caves, the projecting peaks, and edges of rock, are visible far down, until the eye is lost in the depths of darkness. But the greatest beauty of the spring is the splendid colouring proceeding from the r

ited the springs at different times, sometimes when the sun shone brightly, sometimes when it

ccident. The beauty consists, as I have said, in the magical illumination, and in the transparency, by which all the caves and grottoes to the greatest depths become visible to the eye. Involuntarily I thought of Schiller'

sin, in which a brownish-red substance, rather denser than water, was boiling. Another smaller spring, with d

in the evening to inquire whether I had already seen an eruption, was with me when the hollow sounds which precede it were again heard. We hastened out, and I again despaired of seeing any thing; the water only overflowed as usual, a

at the tent. How little, how dwarfish it seemed as compared to the height of these pillars of water! And yet it was about twenty feet high. It did, indeed, lie ten feet lower than the basin of the Geyser; but if tent had been raised above tent, these ten feet could only be deduct

the eruption, for during its continuance I should probably have forgotten to do so. The whole

nger, and examine both at leisure. There was now nothing to fear; the water had entirely disappeared from the outer basin. We e

r was white, the latter brown. I also tasted the water; it had not an unpleasant taste, and ca

basin; but half an hour later the inner basin was already full, and commenced to overflow. As long as the water only filled the inner basin it boiled viole

d scarcely time to retreat, for the pillars of water rose immediately. This time they spouted during the noise, and were more bulky than those of the first explosion, which might proceed from

igher than at noon, and brought up some stones, which looked like black spots and points in the white frothy water-column. And during the third night it presented itself under another phase: the water rose in dreadful, quickly-succeeding waves, without throwing rays; the basin ove

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lock this morning, to continue my journey. I made the more haste to leave, as a Dutch prince wa

the first. This time also the outer basin was entirely emptied, and the inner one to a depth of six or seven feet. I could th

nown. But I can assure my readers that I did not find every thing as I had anticipated it according to the descriptions and accounts I had read. I never heard a greater noise than

asserted that he had "ridden to the very edge of the crater of Mount Vesuvius." He probably did not anticipate meeting any one in Reikjavik who had also been to the crater of Vesuvius. Nothing irritates me so much as such falsehoods and boastings; and I could not therefore resist asking him how he had managed that feat. I told him that I had been there, and

rcumstances that came under my notice, which, though trifling in themselves, were yet very significant. The most unimportant facts

he could have conducted me so safely in such a semi-conscious state; and had he

habits, I might fill volumes. They seem to have no feeling of propriety, and I must, in this respect, rank them as far inferior to the Bedouins and A

my journey about twenty-eig

s of steam rising to the sky. The roads were tolerable only when they passed along the sides of hills and mountains; in the plains they were generally marshy and full of water. We sometimes l

ngle parishes would unite to dig trenches and drain the soil, they would have the finest meadows. This is proved near the many precipices where the water has an outle

orfast?dir, we already perceived Hec

d consolation in the brandy-bottle. The law commands, indeed, that this be not done in the church; but if every one obeyed

h lasted more than half an hour. With this the ceremony within the church was concluded, and the coffin was carried round the church to the grave, followed by the priest and the rest of the company. This grave was deeper than any I had ever seen. When the coffin had been lowered, the priest threw three handfuls of earth upon it, but none of the mourners followed his example. Among the ear

ion of Christianity, the first bishopric was founded in 1098, and the church is said to have been one of the largest and richest. Now Skalholt is a miserable place, and

was shewn an oil-picture which hangs in the church, and is said to represent the first bisho

ight which I should have to spend in this church, perhaps immediately over the grave of the old skeleton. I had besides already had too much to do with the dead for one day, and could not rid myself of the unpleasant grave-odour which I had imbibed in Thorfast?dir, and which seemed to cling to my dress and my nose. [41] I was ther

the provisions, and a variety of tools. They opened an immense chest for me there, which seemed to contain only large pieces of tallow made in the form of cheeses; but under this tallow I found the library, where I discovere

bly to increase their knowledge of the human race by studying my peculiarities. I soon, however, closed the door, and prepared a splendid couch for myself. At my first entrance into the church, I had noticed a long box, qu

ch other was always, "Krar hefur hun sovid" (Where can she have slept?). The good people could not conceive how it was possible to spend a night alone in a church surrounded by a churchyard; th

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us. It is often very troublesome to make the horses enter these streams; they see at once that they will have to swim. The guide and boatmen cannot leave the shore till the horses

which is scarcely more than fifteen to twenty feet, as for its breadth, and for its quantity of water. Some beautiful rocks are so placed at the ledge

t inclines so much to milky white, that, when the sun shines on it, i

. Thence the road lies through meadows, which are less marshy than the former ones, till it c

pity for the beautiful meadows, for it frequently separated into two branches, and thus enclosed the verdant plain. But it could not withstand the violence of the succeeding masses; it had

en it was over, I witnessed an amusing rural scene. The people poured out of the church,-I counted ninety-six, which is an extraordinarily numerous assemblage for Iceland,-formed into little groups, chatting and joking, not forgetting, however, to moisten their throats with b

landers do not mind this. They all kissed the priest, and the priest kissed them; and then they kissed each other, till the kissing seemed to have no end. Rank is not considered in this ceremony; and I was not a little surprised to see how

inn in which to assemble, and no stable in which the horses can be fastened, all flock to the open spa

son; he was kind enough to conduct me to the S?lsun, nine m

of travelling. The horse swims more than it walks, and this creates a most disagreeable sensation; one does not know whither to direct one's eyes; to look into the stream would excite giddiness, and the sight of the shore is not much better, for that seems to move and to recede, because the horse, by the curr

eighbourhood. One hill only to the left of Hecla is reddish brown, and covered with sand and stones of a similar colour. The centre is much depressed, and seems to form a large crater. Mount Hecla is directly united with the lava-mountains piled round it, and seems from the plain only as a higher point. It is surrounded by several glaciers, whose dazzling fields of snow descend far down, and whose brilliant plains have probably never been trod by human feet; severa

Mount Hecla, but is not s

nd my former guide to the summit of Hecla. He demanded five thaler and two marks (about fifteen shillings), a most exorbitant sum, on which he could live for a month. But what could we do?

my bed; beside it hung a decayed fish, which had infected the whole room with its smell. I could scarcely breathe; and as there was no other outlet, I was obliged t

even on Mount Vesuvius, had I heard such hollow, droning sounds as here,-the echoes of the heavy footsteps

vised me to start at two o'clock in the morning, to which I assented, well kno

. Besides bread and cheese, a bottle of water for myself, and one of brandy for my guides, we were als

omen, and told me that M. Geimard, the before-mentioned French scholar, had been compelled to wait three days for fine weather. Nine years had elapsed, and no one had

to climb over blocks and hills of lava, where it is difficult to find a firm resting-place for the foot. The lava rolled beside and behind us, and we had to proceed carefully not to fall or be hit by the rolling lava. But most dangerous were the chasms filled with snow ov

bed over these precipices-one might almost call them rolling mountains-but my guide would not permit it. Sometimes we came to spots where they were useful, and then he maintained that I must ride as far as possible to reserve my strength for the

one so far on horseback, and I can believe

s; every thing was cold and dead, every where there was black burnt lava. It was a painf

sses of lava, sharp and pointed, which covered the whole side of the mountain. I do not know

ost blinding effect. When crossing fields of snow I did not look at the lava; for having trie

Hecla, and eagerly sought the crater on the snowless top, but did not find it. I was th

e, a depressed space, nor any sign of a crater. Lower down in the sides of the mountain, but not in the real cone, I saw s

and soon enveloped us so closely that we could scarcely see ten paces before us. At last they dissolved, fortunately not in rain but i

n again shone over us. I remained on the top till the clouds had separ

e lava-masses. I seemed to stand in a crater, and the whole country appeared only a burnt-out fire. Here lava was piled up in steep inaccessible mountains; there stony rivers, w

comprehended how it was possible to penetrate so far, and was overcome with terror at the thought which in

and lakes, into which no human foot has ever ventured to penetrate. How nature must have laboured and raged till these forms were created! And is it over now? Has the destroying element exhausted itself; or does it only rest, like the hundred-headed Hydra, to break forth with renewed strength, and desolate those regions which, pushed to the verge of the sea-shore, enc

isible from the top of Hecla, I could not

ld ones. The falling snow was therefore most welcome, and I looked anxiously around to see a place where the subterranean heat would melt it. I should then have hastened thither and found what I sought.

thought was the consequence of the returning warmth of the sun, for my thermometer now stood at nine degrees of heat.

nd porous lava; the former is black, and so is the sand which covers one side of Hecla. The farther the lava and sand are from the mountain, the more they lose this blac

agreeably by the proposition to return to Struvellir at once. The horses, he said, were sufficiently rested, and I could get a good room there in the priest's house. I soon packed, and in a short time we were again on horseback. The second time I came to

onsidering the scarcity of trees in Iceland, may be called remarkable phenomena, were cro

s one of the best men I have ever met with. He eagerly sought opportunities for giving me pleasure, and to him

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ough beautiful valleys, many of them producing abundance of grass; but unfortunately so much moss grew among it, that these large p

ad, however, been modest enough not to fill up the whole valley, but to leave a space for the pretty stream Elvas, and f

d beautiful house such as I saw no where in Iceland except in Reikjavik. He had gone to the capita

for which I humbly crave the forgiveness of my countrywomen, assuring them that no one regrets the fact more than I do. But dame Nature always treats people of my years very harshly, and sets a bad example to youth of the respect due to age. Instead of honouring us and giving us the preference, she patronises the young folks, and every maiden of sixteen can turn up her nose at us venerable matrons. Beside

out of my face, a white space became visible. The girls all cried out simultaneously, quite surprised and delighted: "Hun er q

cking the Sysselmann's book-case, I found Rotteck's Universal Histo

ly

entirely through marshes. As soon as we had crossed one, another was before us. Lava seemed to

riding about nine miles we crossed the large stream of Elvas in a boat, and then had to tread carefully across a very long, narrow bank, over a meadow which was quite under water. If a travell

black colour. The stones on these hills were very loose; in the plain below many colossal pieces were lying, which must have fallen

horizon to discover the approaching storm. But when I saw neither clouds nor lightning, I perceived tha

uch a manner, and divides into so many branches, that one might mistake it for a lake with many islands.

ch in hot springs, which are congregated partly in the plain, partly on

nd proceeded to the boiling springs. I found very many, but only two remarkable ones; these, however, bel

lently at a depth of from two to three feet, and remains within its bounds till it beg

of water sank a little, to rise to its former height with renewed force. After forty minutes it fell quite down into the basin again. The stones we threw in, it rejected at once, or in a few seconds, shivered into pieces, to a height of about 12 to 15 feet. Its

ear the great Geyser, the only difference bein

er it slightly at a height of about 2 feet, and then rises 10 to 12 feet higher. This spring never is at rest more than a minute; then it begins to rise and boil quickly, and emits a voluminous column, which, striking against the projecting rock, is flattened by it, and rises thence like an arched fan. The height of this peculiarly-spread jet of water may be about 12 feet, the ar

could not tear myself from it. This spring, which is certainly the

ing more than a misshapen hole, in which one hears the water boil

ly

notonous, as it was only covered with lava-stones and moss, but the prospect into the valley was varied and beautiful. Vale and sea were spread before me, and I saw the Westmann Islands, with their beauti

jagged black lava which presents such a beautiful appearance. Immense streams crossed it from all side

rough valleys and chasms, over fields of lava, plains of meadow-land, past dark mountains a

s as are obliged to travel during the winter. But we found much traffic on the road, and often overtook caravans of 15 to 20 horses. Being the beginning of August, it was the time of trade and traffic in Iceland. Then the country people travel to Reikjavik from consider

riends who have not met for a year or more welcome each other, others take leave. On one spot curious tents [44] are erected, before which ch

vest; the merchant must quickly regulate the produce and manufactures he has purchased, and load his shi

le

avik to Th

gvalla to

Geyser to

alholt

sun to S

vellir to

lmholm t

kum to R

5