Germans began visiting Scandinavia as early as the 1820s – in spite of poor means of transportation and accommodation. But the man who really put Norway on the map for German tourists was their emperor himself, Wilhelm II: from 1889 onwards, he sailed every year to the Norwegian fjords in his yacht, attended by a company of men. ›Comradeship‹ and informality were maintained rather awkwardly, while they raved about their great Nordic past and fancied themselves as the new ›Vikings‹. Some of the natives were suspicious of the emperor’s interest in Norway.

A cruise on one of the luxury liners soon became fashionable. In addition to the fjords, icebergs and water falls, the ›Northland‹ boasted one more main attraction: the appearance of the Kaiser.