Kaye Family Journey: To the Faroe Islands

Friday, June 2, 2017

This morning we walk out on the tarmac to board our short flight to a small collection of islands, 18 to be exact, that are sparsely inhabited by close to 50,000 people in all. The Faroe Islands lie in the North Atlantic Ocean between Iceland and Norway. They are a territory of Denmark but self-governing, having a Viking heritage but also their own language and culture. We arrive in the most largely inhabited capital "city" but this is a destination for those who long for the beauty of nature and remoteness...

Plane that will carry us from Reykjavik Domestic Airport to Vagar Airport

Marina in the capital city of Torshavn (pronounced "TOR-shaun")

Our guide for the week Tummus (pronounced "Toe-mas") took us straight to the town's fortress...

...where the boys could "battle"

The Lighthouse

At the town's beginnings, the only housing "code" was that the houses had to be built at least a hammer's swing apart! Also, notice the tufted roofs.
Another interesting fact is that the addition of house numbers is fairly recent- traditionally the houses are "named" and the postmaster delivers mail to each location by memory.

"Walking the plank"

Some of the oldest buildings in Torshavn in the area of Tinganes- were originally storehouses & warehouses- now serve as office buildings. This was the main market area and Faroese people from ALL the islands boated here to buy and trade goods.
*The black "log cabin" is the only one on the island as this style of building did not allow for proper drainage of water and the logs could rot more easily.

Torshavn Cathedral established in 1788 & rebuilt in 1865-
part of the Evangelical- Lutheran National Church

Hymnal in Faroese-

From the 15th century until 1938, the ruling Danes outlawed Faroese as a written language and it was kept only as an oral tradition. In 1938 it could be used in churches and 10 years later it became the national language of the Faroe Islands. However, it was not until the 1980's that it became the common language of the media and advertising!

The Faroese people to this day practice the drying of fish and meat (mainly lamb)-
you see these drying racks on the sides of homes and restaurants...

The day we arrived, it happened to be National Culture Day with a huge festival of music, fashion & food in the streets of Torshavn. Peoples from all the islands congregated in the city for an evening of celebration that lasted until 4am.
We ate fish & chips freshly cooked & wrapped in newspaper on the steps of a building in central downtown.