Tórshavn, Streymoy, Faroe IslandsA Free Day
On our final day in the Faroes, we were at long last starting to feel a bit better, and even managed a small amount of breakfast. But still not feeling one hundred percent, we decided that a relaxing bus ride to Tórshavn Harbour and lunch in the city by the water might be just the right activity for our last day.
The following day we were flying out from Vágar Airport to Reykjavik, Iceland for a six-day visit to mainly the south-west of the island. Against our better judgment, we had again decided to embark on a tour. Like our trip to the Faroe Islands, our decision was justified by it being the winter season with icy roads and reverse-direction (from Australian) traffic flow. In fact, tourists travelling in Iceland are strongly advised not to drive, especially in winter conditions. And although our tour in the Faroes had been excellent and as luck would have it, mostly a private trip for just the two of us, we knew that Iceland would be much more tourist oriented. In fact, at one stage, we had considered not even visiting the island. But it WAS on the way to Greenland, our main destination for our 2023 travels. We rationalised that it would be madness not to at least have a short visit.....
We just had to put out of our minds our pre-conceived idea that it was a party destination for wealthy Europeans....
A Bus Ride to Tórshavn Harbour. And Beyond....
We had of course, visited Tórshavn city on a number of occasions but they were just fleeting visits to pick up and deliver our other passengers. A quiet, relaxing day in Tórshavn city prior to our anticipated frenetic Iceland travels, was sounding better by the minute.
Like the beginning of my day visit to the cable car in in Tromsø, the bus trip from our hotel to Tórshavn promised to be a breeze. There was just one bus and apparently, it dropped us right in the main harbour area of central Tórshavn. What could be simpler? And this time, thankfully I had a friend to join me. For someone who gets so hopelessly disorientated on such a regular basis, getting lost on this occasion never occurred to me. Especially with the well-grounded Alan....
Our Bus Ride Went a Bit Astray....
Unlike my experience in Tromsø, catching the bus - when we remembered what side of the road to wait on - was in fact, a breeze. And in no time we were humming along the well-made road toward central Tórshavn.
You would think that with our scientific backgrounds, we should be very familiar with Newton's Law of Gravitation. That is, under most circumstances, water doesn't flow uphill and you would of course, expect to be heading downhill if you wanted to reach the harbour.... We didn't notice central Tórshavn (it was easy to miss....) but when the bus began to climb up the steep hills surrounding the harbour, we realised we had gone just a bit too far. And goodness knows where the bus terminated. Quite frankly, we should have also realised that we were by then the only passengers on our bus....
Thankfully, our driver was very pleasant and obliging, telling us that the bus would terminate shortly and that as he would be taking a quick break, suggested that we stay on the bus and he would take us back to the city centre on his return trip. What a difference from my rude, aggressive driver in Tromsø, where I was made to feel like a criminal because I accidentally had not bought a return ticket to begin with.... Coming to think of it, I actually had committed a crime by alighting the return bus without paying for it.
As luck would have it, the point of termination was at the Glyvursvegur stop at the top of a steep hill, with splendid panoramic views of Tórshavn city and the harbour. Almost like a tourist look-out, it was not at all difficult to wander and enjoy photographing some of the sites of the delightful city and its ocean surrounds.
In no time, our driver returned and drove us back to the city. At no additional cost to us. Well after all, buses are free in Tórshavn....
A Bit About Tórshavn City
Tórshavn is the port and capital city of the Faroe Islands. Founded in the 13th century, it remained a small village for several centuries thereafter. The rocky promontory of Tinganes is the site where the ancient Lagting or Faroese parliament once held their yearly meeting to discuss issues, and formulate rules and regulations. Today, the Lagting meets in central Tórshavn city.
Tórshavn is one of the smallest capital cities in the world. Housing a population of of just 14,000 (23,000 including the outer urban perimeter), it is home to one-quarter of the total population of the Faroe Islands.
Tórshavn features a sub-polar climate. And like most of the islands which are moderated by the Atlantic's Norwegian Current, it boasts a relatively mild climate for its high latitude with the added advantage of surrounding seas that never freeze.
The city is well connected by road, tunnel and ferry to the other islands of the archipelago. It also houses Tórshavn's most important asset - its international shipping port which is serviced by the Smyril Line ferry service to Denmark and Iceland.
Arguably, the most attractive part of town, the port is lined with long rows of converted warehouses with attractive facades ranging in colour from rich ochre to bright reds and blues, cafes and a harbour full of fishing boats, classy yachts and sea cruisers. A truly picture-perfect postcard view.
The centre of the city houses 4-star hotels, guest houses, shopping centres and designer outlets selling traditional world-renowned Faroese knitting and very expensive upmarket clothing. It also houses numerous restaurants, bars and cafes.
From the harbour, a tangle of narrow streets and lanes lead to Tinganes, winding past carefully restored black-tarred, white-window framed, turf roofed houses to some of the larger prestigious old merchants' houses on the higher parts of the surrounding hills. It was not difficult to note the affluence of this small but pretty capital city.
Tórshavn is also the centre of sport in the Faroes, and home to the massive Tórsvøllur football stadium. Built in 1999 and capable of holding 6,500 people, it was to become the country's first artificial grass surface upon which international football matches could be played. For such a tiny nation, the Faroese football team has apparently punched well about its weight with international success.
A Short Day in Tórshavn
We only managed a short walk through Tórshavn. The city surrounds were undeniably attractive, but our health was not quite as good as we had first thought. A gin and tonic at the lovely Hotel Hafnia was very pleasant but to our disappointment, our stomachs were adamant that lunch was sadly "off the menu".
After a short walk around the harbour foreshore, we headed back to our Brandan Hotel. This time, successfully by bus....
Back at the hotel, the bar area was again brimming with Norwegian army personnel. Friendly and polite, they were a pleasure to be around. We would have loved to have a more in-depth conversation with these young people, but their certain reservedness kept us at arms' length. And that was of course, totally understandable.
We had asked our travel agent Høgni to join us for drinks at our hotel when he finished work that afternoon. We were keen to provide him with feedback about our tour as well as chat with him about life in the Faroe Islands. It was an easy conversation. There was no doubting that Høgni had organised an excellent tour for us, and that Simon had been a fabulous guide. We agreed to stay in touch with Høgni kindly offering to be available to fill in any details regarding the writing up of my blog. Which he did. It was a very pleasant way to end our journey in the Faroes.
REFLECTIONS: OUR IMPRESSIONS OF THE FAROE ISLANDS
Faroe Islands is a great destination for those wanting a fabulously scenic, easy and safe holiday.
The geography of the Faroes is truly magnificent. Its islands have sensational coastlines with soaring vertical cliffs, pinnacle sea stacks, tiny rocky offshore islands, glorious waterfalls spilling into the ocean and spectacular land formations. And the wild, windswept landscape, whilst somewhat stark and forbidding, is truly fantastic. Tiny turf roofed villages with gorgeous old stone churches dotting the landscape, only serve to complement the oozing beauty of these extraordinary islands.
And importantly for us, being in the Faroe Islands during the low season, our visit was almost devoid of tourists. To have such beautiful scenery exclusively to ourselves was a great privilege. Furthermore, we were incredibly lucky to have such good weather. As mentioned, Simon had told us that we had enjoyed the first fine week for some 18 months! And perhaps in its more usual mode of weeks on end of cyclone force winds (some of which make even driving impossibly dangerous), and consistent high rainfall, the archipelago could exude quite a different complexion.
For English-speaking foreigners, the Faroe Islands is a really comfortable place to visit. The locals almost all speak excellent English, and the signage in also in English. Furthermore, the islands are well connected by tunnel, bridge or ferry, the roads are in excellent order and the transport is very efficient. And given the short distances between locations, undertaking compact tours covering a lot of the islands' destinations in just a few days is an easy proposition. What more could one want of a remote, far flung destination smack in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?
Well, in all honesty we came away with the bizarre feeling that although we loved the environment, we really didn't understand, nor obtain too much of a feel for the country and its culture. In our view, there was an intangible surrealism about the people's way of life and how the country operated; a curious feeling we were observing the country and its people in an unreal, almost theatre environment.
Furthermore, for such a reasonably autonomous nation with a tiny population of just 53,000, the amount of infrastructure as well as the considerable capital investment contributed by the Danish government, did not seem to make sense. Well at least, not for us....
An example of seemingly "over the top" infrastructure was that of the tiny village of Gásadalur on Vágar Island. Despite its population of just eleven permanent residents, a 1.4 km tunnel was forged between the village and neighbouring Bøur at a staggering cost of approximately USD 67 million. Admittedly, while Gásadalur with its beautiful Múlafossur Waterfall cascading into the Atlantic Ocean was simply stunning, it did raise questions of justification. The explanation of "being worthwhile for tourism", while certainly sounding like a good reason in theory, didn't quite gel. It certainly placed the notion of forward planning at another level....
And it was hard not to be slightly surprised by the apparent affluence of the people. While certainly not a criticism, a lot of the villages looked more like holiday places for the owners rather than real working locations (we should know - we live in such a village....). In many locations we saw virtually no people and very few motor vehicles. But perhaps in low season with such a small population, that could well be be expected?
In fairness, apart from Høgni, Simon and his father-in-law Gunar, we didn't meet many of the locals and so perhaps we didn't have the opportunity to gain a real insight in the way of life of ordinary Faroese people. And we were only in in the Faroe Islands for six days. But in that time, we did do a lot of travel.
I suppose that for such a remote archipelago located about halfway between Norway and Iceland, we had expected a very different environment. Perhaps a more exotic one? All in all, the people appeared to live very similar lives to those in Europe. Again, this is not a criticism. Just an observation....
Even some time after our travels and having had time to digest our experience in the Faroes, we remain totally perplexed by this stunning, yet enigmatic destination.
Cathy Callen
2023-12-31
What fantastic photos and information. Love my journeys with you. So pristine