Jennifer in the Faroe Islands

This has been a grey August in the Faroe Islands, with clouds and fog every day. I have come to realize that the scenery is much more beautiful with at least a little bit of sunshine. There hasn’t been any, so I haven’t taken many pictures. Here are some miscellaneous pictures from the past month, to give you an idea of how I have been spending my time.

I often visit Gunnleyg in Gøta, and she often comes with me if I am shopping in Runavík. Today we visited another relative who lives in the rest home in Runavík. I recently visited the school in Kambsdal, and talked with a class that will be making a trip to the US, including more than a week in San Francisco and Berkeley. I tried to explain American football to them so they will understand a little when they go to a Cal football game.

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Nearly all of the food we eat here is imported to the Faroe Islands, since not much can be grown here except in hot houses. I always find it interesting to see where the food comes from, and it seems to come from all around the world. This week I took my camera to the grocery store and took a few pictures.

The food does come from all around the world, but it arrives in the Faroe Islands early on Monday morning on the Nørrona Ferry from Denmark. Monday afternoon is the best time to buy fresh produce.

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This week I had the special treat of having visitors from America for one day. Deborah is from my choir in Berkeley, and she and her husband and his family were on a cruise that spent one day in Tórshavn. I rented a car that seats seven, and took them sight-seeing around the island of Streymoy, visiting Saksun, Tjørnuvík, and Kirkjubøur. I warned them that it rains about 300 days a year, but we had a lovely day without a drop of rain. We had low fog when we got to Tjørnuvík, so I had to try to describe the views they were missing, using my best tour-guide voice. Saksun was beautiful, but it seems that all of the tour bus companies thought the same. After we arrived, three large tour busses arrived, which was more than the narrow one lane road could handle. We decided it was time to leave, and on the way out of Saksun, we passed four more tour busses on their way to the little crowded town. Passing tour busses on a narrow one-lane road isn’t for the faint-hearted. However, my guests were very brave, and didn’t do any back-seat driving. We got back to Tórshavn with plenty of time to do a little shopping, as well.

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From my dining room window, I enjoy watching the activity of the ships coming and going in the bay. Several days ago, we had a visit from three old sailing ships, probably the kind that my father fished with some 90 years ago. They were making a tour of the islands, visiting some of the major ports. Today these ships have engines in addition to the sails, but originally they relied entirely on wind-power.

A few days later, a large ship sailed along the edge of my side of the bay, which is rather unusual. Most often they sail along the edge of the quay on the other side of the bay. Up close, some of these ships are very large.

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Here are some pictures taken in and around Fuglafjørður. On a clear sunny day, the view of the bay from up the hill is quite striking. These are just left-over pictures from July.

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