While the ship descended through the many locks, we visited the
neighbouring church of the village of Vretakloster, which contains
the skeletons of several kings in beautifully-made metal coffins.
We then crossed the lake, which is from four to five miles broad,
and remained all night before the entrance of the canal leading into
a bay of the Baltic.
September 8th.
This canal is one of the longest; its environs are very pretty, and
the valley through which it runs is one of the largest we had
passed. The town of Soderkoping is situated at the foot of high,
picturesque groups of rocks, which extend to a considerable
distance.
Every valley and every spot of soil in Sweden are carefully
cultivated.
The people in general are well dressed, and inhabit small but very
pretty houses, whose windows are frequently decorated with clean
white draperies. I visited several of these houses, as we had
abundance of time for such excursions while the ship was going
through the locks. I think one might walk the whole distance from
Gottenburg to Stockholm in the same time that the ship takes for the
journey. 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. It certainly has not the majestic backgrounds of the
Swiss lakes; but this profusion of small islands is a pleasing
peculiarity which can be found on no other lake.
On the summit of a steep precipice of the shore the hat of the
unfortunate Eric is hoisted, fastened to a long pole. History tells
that this king fled from the enemy in a battle; that one of his
soldiers pursued him, and reproached him for his cowardice,
whereupon Eric, filled with shame and despair, gave spurs to his
horse and leaped into the fearful abyss. At his fall his hat was
blown from his head, and was left on this spot.
Not far from this point the suburbs of Stockholm make their
appearance, being spread round one of the broad arms of the lake.
With increasing curiosity we gazed towards the town as we gradually
approached it. Many of the pretty villas, which are situated in the
valleys or on the sides of the hills as forerunners of the town,
come into view, and the suburbs rise amphi-theatrically on the steep
shores. The town itself closes the prospect by occupying the whole
upper shore of the lake, and is flanked by the suburbs at either
side. The Ritterholm church, with its cast-iron perforated towers,
and the truly grand royal palace, which is built entirely in the
Italian style, can be seen and admired from this distance.
We had scarcely cast anchor in the port of Stockholm, when a number
of Herculean women came and offered us their services as porters.
They were Delekarliers, {52} who frequently come to Stockholm to
earn a livelihood as porters, water-carriers, boatwomen, &c. They
easily find employment, because they possess two excellent
qualities:
