As Seen by Our Students 
The Thrill of Rjukan 
By Ingvald T. BraatejST 
I had a feeling that I was in for an adventure even on the morning 
of my departure from Kristiania. The Vestre Railway station seemed 
more full of life than usual and the train started on time. I was off for 
Rjukan, the wonder town of Norway. 
The train sped on; it was an ex¬ 
press. I sat looking out of the window 
on a beautiful day. A good four hours’ 
ride and we changed trains. I heard 
two of my fellow-passengers talking 
and could not help listening. “Oh, it 
won’t be long before the State takes it 
over—there’s no doubt about that.” The 
speaker was from Rjukan, and proud of 
it. I got the impression that the inhab¬ 
itants of Rjukan were in a class by 
themselves. 
We have changed trains. We have 
reached Notodden, and a powerful elec¬ 
tric locomotive replaces our steam one. 
For we are now in Norsk Hydro terri¬ 
tory, and the company builds its own 
railways. Is it my imagination—no, 
surely this is the fastest train in Norway. 
A short ride to Tinnsjo, where we get 
the boat that is to take us over the lake. 
Once on the boat, all is ice as far as I can see, with a small patch of blue 
water at the left. Some men are standing near that blue patch and per¬ 
forming a peculiar up and down motion with their right arms. They 
are fishing. One man draws up, almost frantically, his line, and brings 
to view a struggling specimen. He takes it off the hook, kills it by 
throwing it hard on the ice, then casts the line again into the water, and 
continues his jerking motion. 
The whistle blows, and I wonder how the boat is going to manage 
the ice. The engine starts, and we begin to move. Crash! A big 
chunk of ice splits like nothing at all. The boat ploughs on like a 
knife through the ice. It is a two hours’ ride. The mountains are 
high and close on either side. Suddenly they open and reveal a stretch 
of dark blue water in which the mountains in the distance and on the 
sides are reflected. It seems to me that I have never seen anything 
IxGVALD T. BRAATEN 
