| Show prepared by the national society Wisht aEton D C old V thins capital and the surrounding country of central norway recently cele berated the nine hundredth anniversary of the death of Nor ways patron saint olat the king who established christianity in europe s northwestern comer the alts name was officially changed a few months ago to Nl daros its ancient alon but ibe inhabitants aie not unanimously pleased with the change and continues in partial use modern Is built on a peninsula formed by the river ald and the lord which indents Nor ways west coast its houses are cheerful frame structures painted in white or light colors with potted plants making colorful spots at their windows the royal a huge white building Is one of the largest wooden buildings in the world the shops have many unusual wares or visitors furs are sold and there Is a demand for blue and silver fox polar bear and ermine eiderdown eider down quilts bear rugs embroideries carved wood souvenirs and silver carved in old norse designs are popular with tourists many of the birg cr shops are on olaf street which was named after the town s founder although it lies in the iame latitude as southern iceland has summers like those of england and its winters are no more severe than those of germany the river and the fiord are seldom in summer numerous trees and shrubbery give the town a semitropical appearance pe arance which the visitor hid not expected the long antic summer daylight has its effect on the surrounding often there are two crops a year of produce which yields but one crop in temper te ell mates norse coronation place was the coronation place of ancient norse kings and the present ling VII was crowned there in 1900 when the union of sweden and norway was dissolved the city has a population of some much of its life centers about the water fronts the ship building industry Is brisk and there Is a boat service between and bergen and the north cape nu berous fishing boats come in with their cargoes of salted herring to be deposited in the tall quaint gabled warehouses which line the the lofty gothic spires of trond baem cathedral rise above alie sur founding low buildings of purely norse architecture in striking con to them the cathedral looks like a transplanted english church in a norse setting iti gothic astle may be attributed to norseman norsemen Nor semen living in england when the gothic architecture was attaining its vogue who preferred it to the simpler norse stile and in corp orated t into the the structure was begun during the reign of olaf the quiet between and 1093 it has been restored many times but each restorer has kept to the gothic style and the present res tor atlon has endeavored to follow the original building AH the which marks our most generally observed christmas attends day of john on june SH while t baars boars a christian name the holiday and kg customs go bock to origin in effect the day still Is a festival of the sun green birch trees adorn every house and children carry evergreen branches th the streets the analogy to christmas breaks down however when sounder folk crowd into boats on the fiorda fiords or hike to the mountain woods which at are flecked with bonfires all night long these burn as ghostly figures of the merry mikers dance and sing around them ufa in central norway yearly more visitors are strapping on their knapsacks for walking trips through the rugged countryside of cen aral norway where every rock hewn road seems to lead to a fiord and where th native customs defy the in roads of such of trivel as now sift through the visitor goes to church and the simple services seem stereotyped enough until a bit of statuary descends from the belling cel ling the figure of an angel supported by a rod holds a bowl filled with water the surprised visitor realizes theatrical appurtenance Is a baptismal font the simplicity and of the country folk in the remote and isolated sections Is betokened by their promiscuous bathing and by bathing Is meant just that not the diver 1 slon of water splashing and sand sun nang but getting oneself cleab A log hut Is the village bathhouse A furnace of stones Is heated and water poured over the red hot surface into this steam steps a family f men women children visiting relatives and neighbors the bathers switch each other with birch twigs to induce more perspiration and gleeful st ly throw buckets of cold water over each other when the heat becomes too intense all of this Is nothing of an orgy but as prosaic as our dally bath E the rural norwegian would see noth ing immoral nor tunny in an amerl can hotel which inadvertently advertised 1000 rooms and bath in a vermont village each family once had its horse and bungy vehicle now supplanted by the automobile in a norway hamlet a boat ts the principal conveyance in summer there fishing takes the place of farming and the houses are strung around a bend of a fiord in stead of along a rambling main street grazing herds of goats Is the pran capal land industry Ind of norway s hilly north country and these flocks give rise to the picturesque goat girl the mountain pastures usually are far removed from the villages and each spring sees the young farm women driving their herds up the mountain paths to some lofty but sheltered valley among the glistening snow capped peaks there they remain all summer long camping in w huts visited occasionally by their men folk to car I 1 ry away the butter and cheese goats cheese Is a staple S goats cheese a dell f f cacy in the united states Is a prin f cipal article of norwegian diet it a 1 has the rich brown color and something of the flavor of peanut butter it is not eaten on crackers as a sup elementary tary course but sliced and laid on large cross sections of brown bread Is a staple of the meal characteristic of inland norway la lillehammer which lies at the north ern end of kjosen lake largest body of fresh water the town Is a gateway to the Gud brands dal in this valley many ancient CDS toms and costumes of the country are still in vogue alie town itself lies tl on the north and south rail route froia oslo to and is visited an u dually by thousands of tourists this region differs marked tv from w the fiord country bordering the at coast and the land of the mid tt night sun which lies farther to the north in spite of its high latitude enjoys a comparatively t mild climate hotels being open ki for visitors the year round of supreme interest to both and foreigner Is an outdoor n museum of ancient arts and crafts at the nearby village of malhausen Mal haugen fifty hand built farmhouses mills e workshops and barns were purchased moved to one community and ro IK riched with collections of old mr ti handwork there are articles i of wood brass leather and iron to gether with examples of weaving a I 1 embroidery typical of the products 0 0 o cottage handicrafts carried on by aa of the neighborhood i long winter evenings heie ars also v wheels looms and tools osea M before the introduction of goods during tourist season proal 0 if la mide to have artisans actually working at loom and forge so apat la memory of the count rys historic pa ant arts and crafts may no 0 fade from the earth ta lillehammer itself while it Is tab t metropolis of and claims more than ia 1 ah tanks has had only a sr 4 borate 4 1 |
