Dublin, July 2022

In July 2022 we travelled the wind swept Faroe Islands. We went through tunnels and crossed fjords and visited many of the 18 volcanic islands that make up the Faroe Islands. Check out the Google Map here to follow our trip. We didn't visit the southern islands, not shown on the map.

The week before that we had travelled the fjords and mountains of Norway, from Bergen in the south west through tunnels and via ferries to Trondheim in central Norway.

Click each photo to enlarge

Vagar Intl. Airport, Faroe Islands, July 2022

We left Copenhagen Airport on an SAS Airbus and crossed the Skagerak, the North Sea and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. A couple of hours later we were approaching the Faroe Islands. However, a thick cloud layer covered everything. When we finally could see a bit of the ground, we touched down less than 30 seconds later, wow! The pilots did a splendid job.
"I'm impressed, said McBear. "Had the control tower been taller, the roof would almost have hit the clouds. It's a cute airport - they only have two gates here..."

Vagar Intl. Airport, Faroe Islands, July 2022

Roger got delighted as we entered the arrivals hall: A fine viking ship was greeting us, and Roger instantly felt at home.
"Clearly, the Faroese know how to welcome true vikings like me! I am impressed," he stated.

Vagar Intl. Airport, Faroe Islands, July 2022

Less impressive was the bagage reclaim: it was all chaos and tumult on the conveyor belt, suitcases hitting each other and blocking more luggage that kept coming. One of our humans started to organise the luggage, which created space and other passengers copied the move. That cleared the baglock.

Torshavn, July 2022

We picked up our rented car and went to Torshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands. We would be staying at the fine Hotel Faroe Islands a couple of days.
"The hotel looks great, but why is there grass and flowers sticking up on top of the roof? It reminds me of the Norwegian bus stops...
"Well," McBear explained, "it's raining a lot here and aparently the grass helps sopping up the excessive amount of water and keep the house insulated..."

Torshavn, July 2022

Torshavn is said to be the world's smallest capital. And it seems the government buildings are the smallest as well. Here we are in front of the ministry of finance.
We would have loved to go inside, but offices were closed today and tomorrow due to celebrations in connection with St. Olav's Day on the 29th July, the national day.

Torshavn, July 2022

In down town Torshavn we were looking for some coffee. There were no Starbucks, no Costa Coffee and no Insomnia. They did however have some great cafes - some even without grass roof - so we could get some decent coffee.
"Wonder if they have coffee chains here," McBear pondered.
"Maybe Costa Grass or Costa Sheep..."

Vidoy, July 2022

The next day we went around the islands. We went as far as we could go, which was 70+ kilometers from Torshavn over bridges, through tunnels and up mountains. On Vidoy in north we could see over to Fugloy - Bird Island - the northeastern most of the 18 islands.

Vidoy, July 2022

Like Norway, the Faroe Islands have tunnels everywhere - everywhere!

Eysturoy, July 2022

The roads are fine on the Faroe Islands. Some are a bit narrow, but only when you go to the far ends. Distances in general are reasonably short - the distances on signs are in kilometers, not miles.
It's easy to get around between islands. There are bridges and tunnels. You only pay for the subsea tunnels. A few places there are ferries.
One has to learn a few extra characters to be able to read Faroese, especially the ð character. It's almost like a th.

Saksun, Streymoy, July 2022

On the way back from Vidoy we made a detour to Saksun to see this beautiful valley. It was like a step back in time. Other parts of the Faroe Islands seemed like a very modern society, incl. the capital Torshavn.

Kirkjubøur, Streymoy, July 2022

In the evening we went to Kirkjubøur in the southern part of Streymoy, the largest of the Faroe islands. Here, we saw the St. Olav's Church, said to be the oldest on the islands.

Kirkjubøur, Streymoy, July 2022

To get around, we had hired a Toyota Corolla. It was driving very easy and smooth.
"I like the license plate," said McBear. "FH 157 - it's really easy."

Kirkjubøur, Streymoy, July 2022

In Kirkjubøur we saw a field with some gorgeous Scottish highland cattle. But then again; Scotland wasn't far: The Shetland Islands were less than 300 km away...

Kirkjubøur, Streymoy, July 2022

After a couple of days we moved to the Hilton Hotel in Torshavn. Due to the national day, St. Olav's Day, the Føroyar Hotel was booked out.
Next morning we went down for breakfast. The bread was lovely and they had a great selection of food. But when Roger sipped a taste of his hot coffee, latte, he nearly spit it out.
"It's disgusting!" he burst out. "How's your coffee?"
"Well...fine, I suppose. I picked an Americano".

Funningur, Eysturoy, July 2022

This day we headed north and a bit east to visit Gjogv - after numerous attempts we gave up trying to pronounce the name. On the way we passed Slættaratindur, the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands at 882 meters. We also went to Funningur. This area was particularly beautiful.
"It reminds me of Norway," said Roger. "The mountains, tunnels and fjords, but yet a bit different."
"Different?" Tom said. "The coffee seem to be the same..."
"That's a good point," Roger said. What is it with coffee and the Nordic countries? McBear, you never had that issue when you lived in Denmark, did you?"
"Well... no, but I heard our human's sister explain, that in Norway they boil water and pour it over the coffee - still boiling."
"Maybe that kills the beans," Roger believed. It's odd, in Ireland we pour boiling water over the tea to make it taste. The Nordic countries need to learn to boil the water and leave it for a minute before pouring it over coffee..."

Gasadalur, Vagar, July 2022

We also went west to Gasadalur to see the famous waterfall. We has hoped to be able to see the puffin island, Mykines, however, the clouds were hanging very low and it was raining.

Kollafjørður, Streymoy, July 2022

Not every house has a grass roof, but those that have just have this very characteristic look. Here's the church in Kollafjørður on the island Streymoy.

Vagar Intl. Airport, Aug. 2022

The days on the Faroe Islands went far too quick, but we had seen and learned a lot. We packed our suitcases and went to Vagar, the airport. On the apron, an Airbus from Atlantic Airways was being moved.
"Next time, we'll fly Atlantic Airways," said McBear.

Hotel D'Angleterre, Copenhagen, Aug. 2022

From Vagar on the Faroe Islands we flew back to Copenhagen and went to the famous hotel, the D'Angleterre. We had been here for coffee several times in the past, only this time we were going to stay two nights...

Hotel D'Angleterre, Copenhagen, Aug. 2022

"Wow, this is a splendid room," Tom said and was very impressed.
"Let's enjoy it all! After all, D'Angleterre is a once in a lifetime experience!"
"So was the Duke's Palace in Bruges," Roger pointed out, "until we came back the next year!"

Hotel D'Angleterre, Copenhagen, Aug. 2022

The bears went on an inspection tour around the bathroom.
"It all looks pretty posh," McBear applauded.
Roger immediately spotted the huge mirror and felt compelled to try it out.
"How do I look?" he asked.
"Like a bear in the D'Angleterre." McBear concluded.
"Wow, that sounded almost poetically. Perhaps I should write a theme about our stay:
I'm a bear in the D'Angleterre
I have travelled far by car"
"Roger, you're a poetic genius." McBear said in recognition.

Hotel D'Angleterre, Copenhagen, Aug. 2022

We went down to enjoy the lounge. It had changed a lot since our last visit.
"At least we know how the coffee is here," said Roger. "Maybe we should classify coffee."
"That's a splendid idea!" McBear applauded. "D for Disgusting, and a DD for definitely disgusting".
"Well... I was actually thinking of a D for Distinguished coffee. But maybe we could use an E for Excellent."