Introducing the Faroe Islands

Not all who wander are lost ~ Tolkien

There have been places that I’ve visited in the past that truly called to me.  Places where time seemed to stop, where I felt compelled to stay still so that I could absorb the essence of that place.  I have felt that compulsion in Ireland, the Pacific Northwest of America, the northern coast of California, and in Sifnos Greece.  And now I can add another place to that list:  the Faroe Islands.

Eric and I recently spent 11 days island hopping in Faroe and 2 days in Copenhagen Denmark.  If you’ve never heard of the Faroe Islands, you’re not alone.  This tiny set of 18 islands is a mere blip on the map between Iceland and Norway.

Though part of Denmark, they are self-governing (thanks to a Home Rule Act enacted in 1948) and they are not a member of the European Union (as Denmark is).  Their seat of government is in Tórshavn, which has a population of about 13,000, and their parliament (Løgting) is considered to be the oldest parliament in Europe.  Tinganes, the neighborhood that houses the distinct red government buildings, has been the meeting place for these islands since the 9th century when Norwegian settlers arrived.  Parliament now meets in a larger building north of the city, but official offices are still located in these old buildings.

Tinganes translates to “parliament point” and Løgting means “law thing.”  For more history on this, click HERE.

The people here consider themselves Faroese, not Danes, and they have maintained their language and traditions, even as the outside world has pressured them to change.  One of the best examples of this is their continuation of whale hunting.  For centuries, the Faroese people have eaten pilot whale meat and blubber.  The tradition is a communal experience, where citizens work together and the meat is equally distributed.  Regulations are in place to ensure a less painful death and whales can only be hunted if they appear within a certain distance of shore.  While I myself could never kill such beautiful creatures, I cannot condemn a culture for maintaining a tradition based on survival.  Not to mention that my own culture kills Bambi.  I actually admire these people for holding tightly to this tradition despite being crucified in the media for this practice.

Our overall impression of the Faroese people was that they are reserved but warm and friendly once approached.  They are resilient and creative.  They love games, music, knitting, reading, art, and soccer.  Their capitol has a population of only 13,000 and just under 50,000 for all the islands, and yet they have a university — pretty impressive in my opinion.

They are a nation of fishing, as the fishing and aquaculture industry constitutes 95% of their total export income and 20% of their total GDP.  Salmon farming is huge, most of it being exported to boutique purveyors in the US, Russia and China.  Nearly every village on a bay had “salmon rings” and even from the shore we could the salmon tossing themselves above water.

They are most DEFINITELY a nation of sheep!  In fact, the Faroese word for their islands is Føroyar, derived from old Norse Færeyjar which means “sheep islands.”  Sheep outnumber humans, and that was readily apparent from day one of our visit.  They are EVERYWHERE and they come in all colors and shapes.  As we experienced, they have zero fear of moving vehicles and some have very unique personalities.

And now, they are a nation open for tourism.  Though still in the early stages of growth, the tourism industry has quickly expanded in the past 5 years.  This is one of the reasons that we chose the Faroes — because we wanted to experience it BEFORE it becomes the next Iceland.  The other reasons were great hiking and remote landscapes.  As we discovered, however, hiking in the Faroe Islands isn’t easy and it’s certainly not cheap.

But the views are worth it and there are enough free trails to satisfy even the most experienced hikers on a budget.

So there you go, a brief introduction to the Faroe Islands and why we traveled there.  Stay tuned for stories and photos, as I cover each of the islands that we visited.