After a lovely, relaxing day at sea, we arrived in Torshavn, Faroe Island. Disembarkation was scheduled for 10am, but due to bad weather, we were delayed for a short time. Once we received the all clear, we boarded a tender and made the short trip to the island.
The Faroe Islands is an archipelago and autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark and is situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland, and about 200 mi north-north-west of mainland Scotland.
Torshavn is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Stremoy. The name of the town means Thor’s Harbor and is likely named after the god of thunder and lightening in Norse mythology. The Vikings established their parliament on the Tinganes Peninsula in 850 CE and has remained the capital ever since. Tinganes, the old part of town, it is still made up of small wooden houses covered with turf roofs. The oldest one dates back 500 years.
We did not have any excursions planned, so we decided to walk through town and have an adventure. We found a lovely streaming running through the middle of town and saw amazing sculptures.
We ended up on the far side of the town. The view was incredible.
After exploring a grocery store, we decided to walk back into town and see what else we could discover. I tried to purchase some packaged goods, but my credit card would not work. Rats!
We wandered back through town to the harbor on the other side of Tinganes. We found a small cafe/pub on the waterfront. Frank had a local beer and I had a cider.
Yep…that’s my phone. They had free wifi, so we were able to check in at home. Love wifi!
This harbor is where the local fisherman are. We saw a table filled with the largest mussels I have ever seen. Horse mussels are buried or partly buried in gravel. They are most frequently found at subtidal depths from 10 to 25 meters, but there are registrations from 150 meters depth. They are often aggregated in large groups. We did not buy any, as we could not cook them. But boy…did I want to try some!
Torshavn Cathedral is the second oldest received church of the Faroe Islands, on Tinganes in the old town of Torshavn. It is painted white and roofed with slate, and was established in 1788. The cathedral church lies in the north of the peninsula Tinganes and is one of the main attractions of the town. Like most churches of the country, it belongs to the Evangelical-Luthern national church of the Faroe Islands. Since 1990, it has been the seat of the bishop of the Faroes and is therefore known as a cathedral. The interior was stunning, with boats suspended from the ceiling in honor of the sailors lost at sea.
We were lucky to be there on a Saturday and witnessed a parade of weddings. Apparently, summer weddings are very popular in the cathedral. The wedding party wore traditional Faroses costumes that are handed down through the generations.
All too soon, it was time to return to the ship and continue our journey. As we sailed past the island, I was reminded of the Scottish Highlands.
Off to Iceland!
Zest4Travel 