We Lose Some Hours Daily With The Locks, And Are Obliged
To Lie Still At Night On Their Account.
The distance is calculated
at from 180 to 250 miles, and the journey takes five days.
In the evening we approached the Baltic, which has the same
character as the Scheren of the North Sea. The ship threads its way
through a shoal of islands and islets, of rocks and cliffs; and it
is as difficult to imagine here as there how it is possible to avoid
all the projecting cliffs, and guide the ship so safely through
them. The sea divides itself into innumerable arms and bays, into
small and large lakes, which are formed between the islands and
rocks, and are hemmed in by beautiful hills. But nothing can exceed
the beauty of the view of the castle Storry Husby, which lies on a
high mountain, in a bay. In front of the mountain a beautiful
meadow-lawn reaches to the shores of the sea, while the back is
surrounded in the distance by a splendid pine-forest. Near this
picturesque castle a steeple rises on a neighbouring island, which
is all that remains of the ancient castle of Stegeborg. Nothing can
be more romantic than the scenery here, and on the whole journey
over the fiord; for it presents itself in ever-varying pictures to
the traveller's notice.
But gradually the hills become lower, the islands more rare; the sea
supersedes every thing, and seems jealously anxious to exclude other
objects from the traveller's attention, as if it wished to
monopolise it. Now we were in the open sea, and saw only water and
sky; and then again we were so hemmed in by the rocks and cliffs,
that it would be impossible to extricate the ship without the
assistance of an experienced pilot.
September 9th.
We left the sea, and entered another lake, the Malarsee, celebrated
for its numerous islands, by a short canal. The town of Sotulje
lies at its entrance, charmingly situated in a narrow valley at the
foot of a rather steep hill. This lake at first resembles a broad
river, but widens at every step, and soon shews itself in its whole
expanse. The passage of the Malarsee takes four hours, and is one
of the most charming excursions that can be made. It is said to
contain about a thousand islets of various sizes; and it may be
imagined how varied in form and feature the scenery must be, and,
like the fiord of the Baltic, what a constant succession of new
scenes it must present.
The shores also are very beautiful: in some spots hills descend
sharply to the water's edge, the steep rocks forming dangerous
points; on others dark, sombre pine-forests grow; and again there
are gay valleys and meadows, with villages or single cottages. Many
travellers assert that this lake is, after all, very monotonous; but
I cannot agree with their opinion. I found it so attractive, that I
could repeat the journey many times without wearying of this lovely
sameness.
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