Fridtiof Nansen, 1861-1893 . laby-rinth. At the frontier of Nordmarken the comforts of civilisa-tion instantaneously stop short. When you have said good-bye to the great hotels on the slopes of the Frogner Sseter,and plunged into these interminable forests, you maywander for days without coming across anything remotelyresembling an hotel. At longer or shorter intervals—seldom shorter, however,than four or five miles—little red-painted forest homesteadscrop up beside the quiet lakes, which as yet have neverheard the whistle of the steam-pipe. If you have come upon the lake on the opposite sidef
Fridtiof Nansen, 1861-1893 . laby-rinth. At the frontier of Nordmarken the comforts of civilisa-tion instantaneously stop short. When you have said good-bye to the great hotels on the slopes of the Frogner Sseter,and plunged into these interminable forests, you maywander for days without coming across anything remotelyresembling an hotel. At longer or shorter intervals—seldom shorter, however,than four or five miles—little red-painted forest homesteadscrop up beside the quiet lakes, which as yet have neverheard the whistle of the steam-pipe. If you have come upon the lake on the opposite sidefrom such a homestead, and wish to escape the tramp roundto it, your plan is to light a fire by way of signal for a boat. Tramping and rowing are practically the only means oflocomotion in this district; riding, indeed, is not impossible, NORDMARKEN 39 but as a horse prevents the traveller from availing himselfof the lake ferries, it is of doubtful assistance. In this very inaccessibility lies the secret of the attraction. NANSEN AS A STUDENT exercised by Nordmarken. It may be expressed in thesingle word, forest-solitude. Here, only a few miles from the restless bustle of thegreat city, one is suddenly set down, with no apparent 40 LIFE OF FRIUTIOF NAXSEN transition, in the heart of Natures deepest seclusion. Here—only a few miles from the electric tramways and the humof cafe life—one may come at any moment upon the GreatPan. One feels, in the midst of the vast silence of theforest, that there are discoveries to be made on every side. Here—close to a town of 180,000 inhabitants—onecomes without warning upon Tarns and hidden fountains Where the great elk conies to drink, while the music of the sono^-birds lures one further andfurther into the woods. Here one finds oneself in regionswhere the bodies of the dead have at some seasons to beconveyed to the confines of civilisation on the backs of men,or packed on horses, before they can be coffined. Yes, here all is peacef
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