A Short Visit to the Faroe Islands August 2022 The Faroe Islands are half-way between Norway and Iceland, due north of Scotland. Day 1 - Tuesday 9th, Stormy Weather Getting up at 2am and braving the queues at Heathrow, after scoffing a nice breakfast of bacon, eggs and sausage in a lounge that our card got us into, we flew to Copenhagen airport where we had yet another breakfast of Scandinavian meats and cheeses in another lounge, then flew to the Faroe Islands. It was sunny all the way until the pilot announced that we were about to land and there was 'light rain' in the Faroes. Actually it was torrential rain and the water was streaming off the rocky hills in an endless series of waterfalls. We got the comfortable, efficient bus for the 30-mile ride to Torshaven, the capital, and battled our way through the storm from the bus/ferry terminal to our Airb&b, which turned out to be only a short distance away. It was very cosy in a picturesque wooden house with a turf roof and a superb view of the harbour. Unusually there was a trapdoor in the floor leading down to a 'cave' in the rocks with a washing machine and drier - there was also an external door but it wasn't as much fun to use. We couldn't have chosen a better place to stay. In the afternoon we ventured out and explored the old town despite the wind and weather, checking out cafés, pubs and restaurants. We settled on Sirkus, a colourful pub with a view of the harbour (from our table at least), and had 'Slepp' dark beers, jalapeño cream nibbles and king-fish and chips. After being on the go since 2am, we collapsed into bed by 8pm. Day 2 - Wednesday 10th, still raining The morning's entertainment was watching the harbour and the ferries docking, unloading and reloading from our dry vantage point in the living room of our b&b. The rain came and went and the wind blew continuously, but we set out for a walk round looking at the old houses (wooden, with turf rooves like our b&b) and checking out restaurants and the occasional shop. By lunchtime we were hungry and settled in the Irish Bar for a big meal - a mixed starter selection with chicken nuggets, onion rings and sweet potato fries, followed by big pork schnitzels with fries and bearnaise sauce, all accompanied by beer and wines. They have a neat system where they give you a pager which beeps when your food is ready, but it all went wrong when someone else 'pinched' our starter from the bar before we got to it, but the staff apologised and quickly made us another, and it just extended our long lunch a bit longer. We had another wonderful view from the Bar of the other, western half of the harbour, which was the reason we chose this restaurant. Having got used to the big ferries coming and going, we were impressed all over again when the enormous weekly ferry to Iceland came in, filling up the whole harbour, and somehow manoeuvered sideways into its dock. Still dozy from our big lunch, we retired early again. Day 3 - Thursday 11th, dry but cloudy The sun almost broke through from time to time as we walked round the old town photographing the picturesque traditional houses (no more picturesque than the one we were staying in though). We stopped for a coffee and cake at Paname, an historic turf-roofed café and book & gift shop on the main square. At the main town bus stop at the end of the street, we got the free number 5 city bus for the picturesque half-hour drive through the hills and fjords to Kaldbak, a pretty village with a turf-roofed wooden church. Back at the b&b we had Sheila's leftover 'doggy bag' from yesterday's Irish Pub lunch. While Sheila was resting I got the number 5 bus in the other direction to Kirkjubour, a historically important picturesque village with the ruins of a cathedral built about 1300 and a farmhouse dating from the 11th century, which is the oldest inhabited wooden house in Europe. That evening the sun was definitely breaking through and we had a drink in the upper bar at Sirkus, looking out over the sunlit western harbour. Then we had a big, wonderful and very expensive meal at the top-end The Tarv restaurant on the harbourside - main courses from £40 to £112 with each veg and sauce £5 extra, and wine at £12 a small glass. Day 4 - Friday 12th, bright sunshine We had a rich breakfast of leftover lamb fillet with new potatoes and mushrooms from last night (Sheila's of course), then we checked out of the b&b. We were left with the equivalent of £48 in Faroese Krone so we went to Kaspar's coffeeshop and had one smoked salmon bagel and walked up to Paname café for a second course of coffee and delicious rhubarb cheesecake, and then we only had £2 left - Torshaven is not a cheap place! We had a panoramic view of the old town and the harbour sparkling in the sunshine from the top floor of Hotel Hafnia, then made our way to the ferry terminal where we got the bus for the scenic drive to the airport. We flew to Copenhagen where we passed our two-hour stopover in three different lounges that our card gave us access to, having dinner from a variety of Scandinavian buffets with complimentary wine and beer. The flight to Heathrow arrived early and we dawdled in the warm evening air until our taxi arrived. If you would like to see more of our travels just click the map.