Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.07.2012, Blaðsíða 38

38
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 10 — 2012
Step into
the Viking Age
Experience Viking-Age Reykja­vík a­t the
new Settlement Exhibition. The focus of the
exhibition is a­n exca­va­ted longhouse site which
da­tes from the 10th century ad. It includes
relics of huma­n ha­bita­tion from a­bout 871, the
oldest such site found in Icela­nd.

Multimedia­ techniques bring Reykja­vík’s
pa­st to life, providing visitors with insights
into how people lived in the Viking Age, a­nd
wha­t the Reykja­vík environment looked like
to the first settlers.
The exhibition a­nd
museum shop a­re open
da­ily 10–17
Aða­lstræti 16
101 Reykja­vík / Icela­nd
Phone +(354) 411 6370
www.reykja­vikmuseum.is
“It's not Scotland, it's not Iceland.
The Faroe Islands have embraced
me. It's kind of in the middle. Like
Sc-iceland. The scenery is incredi-
bly striking, but less Scots and less
ice.” This is how comedian Danny
Robins describes Iceland’s neigh-
bours in his Faroe Islands Rap.

The eighteen islands that make up the
Faroes have around 50,000 inhabitants
and, as everyone likes to point out, al-
most twice as many sheep. Indeed, the
local name ‘Föröyar’ probably comes
from ‘fjár,’ or sheep, although it may
also mean Far Away Islands, if you like.

THE PUFFIN, SKUA AND THE SHAG
Most visitors don’t come for the sheep,
though. They come for the birds. With
about 80 species nesting on the is-
lands and 200 more dropping in for a
visit, it’s estimated that the bird popu-
lation is nowhere denser.
My travelling companion is a short
girl with a big camera who has come
all the way from Hong Kong to admire
the avian life. On board the ship from
the capital Tórshavn to the island of
Sandöy, the captain invites us up to the
bridge and we are treated almost like
royalty. Icelanders are almost as com-
mon as the birds here, but no one has
ever met anyone from Hong Kong. My
companion is frustrated as she tries to
photograph a puffin, the tourist bird of
the Faroe Islands. The oystercatcher,
the national bird that once graced the
Faroe Islands flag, is easier to find, as
it prefers to lay its eggs by the side of
the road.
In addition to cute puffins and the
oystercatcher, you can also find the
shag and the great skua in the Faroe
Islands. The great skuas, a large sea-
bird with a wingspan of 140 centime-
tres, are a pain to man and fowl alike.
The bird will peck at your head if you
come too close, so your best bet is
to put your hands in the air; though
they won’t accept your surrender, they
might attack those instead. They are
also known to intimidate smaller birds
until the little ones have vomited up
their lunch, which the skua then gob-
bles up. Perhaps it’s a better idea to go
looking for a shag.

SCANDINAVIAN TOURISTS
The tourists here are mostly Scandina-
vian, and come for different reasons.
The Danes usually want to go to dis-
tant Mykines, not because of the vi-
brant bird life but because the movie
and book ‘Barbara’ take place there.
In the story, a pastor is unable to re-
turn to Tórshavn due to bad weather
and while he is stranded there, his
wife leaves him. Give or take straying
spouses, this story is still known to re-
peat itself, as the same winds that cost
the pastor his wife frequently inhibit
both ship and helicopter transport to
the island. If you’re not a Dane inter-
ested in ‘Barbara,’ it’s still a great place
to see puffins, but don’t plan your trip
on the day before your departure.
For Norwegians, the hamlet of
Gjógv is the destination of choice on
the archipelago. It is the setting of the
novel and TV series ‘Buzz Aldrin’ (not
about the second man on the moon,
but rather about the feeling of be-
ing second best). Gjógv is located on
the island of Eysturöy and is an easy
daytrip from Tórshavn. For those who
haven’t seen the series, Gjógv has oth-
er delights to offer. It is set on a slope
running down to the impressive cleft
from which the town draws its name
(in Faroese), and it also has that local
rarity, a hostel. Furthermore, there’s
a garden decorated with what seems
like a world-class collection of kitsch
statues of dwarfs, giant spiders and
various other creatures. Visitors are
free to roam about.
DANISH HOUSES, BRITISH CHIPS
Just above the town there is a grave-
yard with a statue of a mother and chil-
dren looking out towards the ocean.
Like all French towns seem to have
memorials to World War I, all Faroese
villages seem to have monuments for
those lost at sea. It often happened
in years gone by that the entire male
population of a village would drown
on a fishing trip if the winds changed
quickly. Most dramatically, this hap-
pened on the village of Skarð on
Christmas Eve in 1913, when all the
men save a 70-year-old and two small
boys drowned. The village was aban-
doned six years later.
Back in the capital there is a lot
that reminds you of Iceland, but per-
haps more Iceland as you imagined it
or Iceland as it used to be, rather than
Iceland as is. In any case, the Faroese
have done a better job of preserving
old buildings. Turf lined roofs are ev-
erywhere and the narrow lanes of Tin-
ganes are like a walk back to the 18th
century. The Icelandic Embassy aside,
Danish influence is prominent in town,
with a slight hint of Norwegian thrown
in. Another one of the Faroe Island’s
neighbours, Britain, left behind an
airfield that remains in use and an en-
during love of fish and chips after the
(largely benign) occupation in World
War II.
The Faroese people likely are
among the friendliest you will find. In-
deed, the islands live up to their name
of Far Away Islands, not because they
are really so distant geographically,
but because they seem somehow un-
discovered. You should go see them
now, before everyone does.
Travel | Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands: Neither Iceland,
Nor Scotland, Nor Even Denmark
Words
Valur Gunnarsson
Photography
Skari
“Most visitors don’t come for the sheep, though. They
come for the birds. With about 80 species nesting on the
islands and 200 more dropping in for a visit, it’s estimat-
ed that the bird population is nowhere denser.”
To book your trip from Iceland, look up atlantic.fo or airiceland.
is. Once there, you might want to check out greengate.fo to
book your trips on the islands.