The main thrust of this summer vacation is the "Nordic Obsession" tour that I booked - a tour of the Faroe Islands. Iceland was nothing more than an extremely scenic and exciting stopover on the way to an even more scenic and exciting destination.
It all started with the Faroe Islands Podcast, which has 200+ episodes relating to the Faroes. The person who runs the podcast decided to put together a small group for a tour of the islands, and that is how I ended up in an airport in Copenhagen, as we began to assemble our group of five Nordic-ally Obsessed people. The deal is a ten-day tour (Tour Itinerary), plus an optional add-on pass for the G! Festival, which I did opt for. So, here are some basic facts to get you going.
The Faroe Islands are an autonomous nation, part of the Kingdom of Denmark, consisting of an archipelago of eighteen islands populated by just under 50,000 people. The six "mainland" islands of Vágar, Streymoy, Eysturoy, Borðoy, Kunoy and Viðoy are connected by causeways or undersea tunnels. The other islands are reachable by ferry or helicopter. The islands of Sandoy and Suðuroy, to the south, and Nólsoy, just east of the capital, have significant populations. Each of the other islands -- Mykines, Kalsoy, Fugloy, Svínoy, Koltur, Hestur, Skúvoy and Stoŕa Dímun -- have less than 200 people each. Lítla Dímun is uninhabited by people (but it does have sheep).
Our base for the tour will be the diminutive capital city of Tórshavn, which is on Streymoy. The G! Festival is held at Gøta, on Eysturoy. The residents speak Faroese, a language pretty much limited to this country. It is based on Old Norse, and is allegedly similar to Icelandic. Learning Danish is compulsory in schools, and English is also spoken widely. Although it is part of Denmark, the Faroe Islands are not part of the EU. They are also, like Denmark, not in the Eurozone, so they use the Danish Kroner as their currency.
A Brief Note about Copenhagen
I have nothing against the city of Copenhagen, but I won't be writing much about it. I arrived at 6 am, having been awake for about 23 hours. In a rare moment of clarity, I had booked a 9-5 room at the airport Hilton before leaving Keflavik, and after waiting for what seemed like 35 minutes (and was, actually, 35 minutes) for my luggage, I drowsily made my way to the hotel. The desk clerk, in an act of seriously uplifting kindness, took pity on me and comped the breakfast buffet, which improved my mood considerably. I got to my room at 9am and went to bed at, roughly, 9am.
Then it was time to meet the group. Matt -- the organizer -- and two of the participants, Jon and Red, met me at the airport. (One other participant, Jenny, was already on the islands and would meet us at the hotel.) After hitting up the duty-free store, we boarded our Atlantic Airways flight and began the short journey to our destination. The weather was uncharacteristically clear and sunny, and the pilots decided to give us a nice view of the islands on the approach.
Photo Credit: Jon Armstrong
A note about the photos...most of the photos I will post here are my own, but the above picture is not. Jon Armstrong, one of the tour participants, took this shot from our flight. Jon has some serious equipment, and even more serious skills, and has been capturing some of the stunning beauty of the Faroes and is graciously sharing his work. You can check out more of his work from the Faroes, and his other stuff which is also pretty impressive, at blurbomat.com.
After landing, Matt picked up the rental car and drove us to Tórshavn, to the hotel. If the view from the airplane didn't convince us, the ride through Vágar and Streymoy certainly did: this place is beautiful. And if that sounds like a literary cop-out, it is. Because I simply do not have the words to describe it. I'm not usually a guy who runs out of words, so that tells you something.
After checking in at the hotel, I unpacked and lay down on the bed. The room is quite small, but honestly it is cozy and well laid-out and it just reinforces the idea that this is a special place. Just before I close my eyes for the night, the truth finally dawns on me: this is real, this is happening, I am here, on one of the most unlikely places on earth, and I'm already in love with this place.
Day 1 - All Around Streymoy
Tórshavn - The Capital City
Day 1 begins with a tour around the oldest part of Tórshavn, called Tinganes. The name refers to the location of the original Thing, or parliament, which has governed the Islands in various ways since the 9th century. We ended up with two local guides: Magni Arge and Birgir Kruse. Both were fonts of knowledge, local and otherwise, and provided us with an entertaining and informative tour. (I have future plans to write a page that will cover some of the interesting historical details, but I'll have to save that for now.) The walking tour covered many of the old buildings, the buildings which were formerly used to administer the Danish trade monopoly (now government offices) and the harbor.
A view of the former Danish trade monopoly buildings.
This building is now home to the Icelandic consul to the Faroe Islands.
A view from Tinganes over the harbor.
One of the main streets in the old part of Tórshavn. The house being converted to a restaurant is along this road.
The above picture is an interesting story. As we were walking on the tour, a man was outside painting his house. He invited us in to show how it was being renovated to make room for a restaurant. He then showed us into his own house, where he and his wife explained the history of the house and the history of housing in this area. The motifs of hospitality, pride and warmth will be present throughout this narrative. Another motif will be that time is a more flexible concept here than it is in most other places.
Heading North - Saksun and Eiði
After a brief stop for lunch and to pick up supplies, we headed north to the town of Saksun. Inhabited by just thirty people, it has an amazing view into the fjord, and some amazing pictures have resulted.
The church was brought over from the town on the other side of the mountain, and reassembled here, after the original was destroyed. Townsfolk trekked over the mountain each Sunday to attend services in the neighboring town, until this church was re-constructed in Saksun.
More gratuitous beauty, looking from the entrance of the church onto the fjord.
Location, location, location.
Some of the buildings are constructed in the traditional style.
We then moved on to the town of Eiði. The remarkable sight to see in this town is the soccer pitch which overlooks the sea.
View from the corner -- looking in from the sea side.
Hard to see, but the fence and rocks on the far side lead right off into the ocean.
This pitch says a few things. First, and most obvious, is the national love of the game of soccer. Second, is the desire to not let the limitations of the land change the quality of life. This was most likely built here because it was one of the few flat areas available at the time.
Just outside of Eiði, we stopped to take a look at the formation known as Risin og Kellingnin (the Giant and the Witch). Like many tales, it involves a giant (and a witch) who conspire to tow the island way, but are caught by the daylight and turned to stone.
Distant View
Closer look at the formations.
Gjógv and a Show
We rounded out the evening with a trip to the town of Gjógv. The word means "gorge" and the town has that name for an obvious reason:
It's a gorge!
A look back over the town.
The road leading into town.
Same road, later in the day, after fog had set in.
After checking out the scenery, we stayed in town for a dinner which featured some traditional Faroese food and a performance by Guðrið Hansdottír. After her performance, we all learned some traditional Faroese chain dancing, which was fun and also surprisingly intense.
This was a really long day. But we saw so much that was incredible, it was worth being out late.
Do you know why the road zig-zags so prominently?
ReplyDeleteThere's something enchanting about the houses with the living grass roofs.
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