The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1955, Side 25

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
23
cA Pilgrimage to -Notdeland
by PROFESSOR RICHARD BECK
(Continued from Fall Issue)
After visiting other historical places
in and around Trondheim, we headed
south on board one of Norway’s mod-
ern coastal steamers. Early the next
morning we arrived in Molde, a charm-
ing town located on the Romsdals-
fjord and known as “The City of
Roses”, but even more renowned for
its environs. It is said that on a bright
day, one can see from the town no less
than eighty-seven snow-crowned moun-
tain peaks in all their grandeur.
In Molde I recalled that Bjornstjerne
Bjornsson, the famed Norwegian poet
attended school there, and that he was
not particularly interested in the re-
quired subjects; on the other hand
he read extensively, including Snorri
Sturluson’s Heimskringla, and Bjorn-
son’s peasant stories amply reveal the
influence of the Icelandic sagas in his
literary style.
Some of the most prominent chief-
tains in Iceland of old came from
Romsdal, as did AsgerSur, the grand-
mother of Njall, immortalized in the
great saga bearing his name.
Farther south we stopped at Aale-
sund, a great fishing center, whose
enterprising herring fishermen are no
strangers to the coastal waters of Nor-
thern Iceland. Above the city towers
Mount Aksla, from whose top there
is an inspiring view, not only over the
city itself, but also out over the numer-
our surrounding islands, with the soar-
ing peaks of the Sunnmore Alps in the
distance.
In the park at the foot of Mount
Aksla stands a statue of Gange Rolf
(Gongu-Hrdlfur), a gift of the City of
Rouen in France. According to the
sagas, a brother of his became a great
leader in Iceland, and a number of
other prominent settlers there came
from the More-district.
Next a short stop was made at the
colorful fishing village of Maaloy, the
scene of a notable commando raid by
the Allies in World War II. Farther
south, the mouth of the Nordfjord was
crossed, and the ship threaded narrow
channels passing close to the foot of
the Hornelen mountain, which rises
nearly 3000 feet virtually perpendicul-
arly from the sea. This mountain was
called Smalsarhorn of old, and as an
example of King Olafur Tryggvason’s
agility, the saga relates that he climbed
this steep mountain and left his shield
near the top of the steep cliff as
tangible evidence of his achievement.
We had now reached the district of
Firdafylke (Fjordane); from that part
of Norway came the first settlers of
Iceland, the foster-brothers Ingolfur
and Hjorleifur, not to mention sev-
eral others of our illustrious fore-
fathers.
Upon our arrival in Bergen, we im-
mediately were on our way into Sogn.
Journeying through some of Norway’s
most idyllic scenery, as well as, on 'the
other hand, some of the most awe-
inspiring, we continued around and
across Sognefjord, until we reached
Balestrand in the evening.
Sogn is a very rugged and impressive
mountain and fjord region. Bale-