Copenhagen (1st July 2010)

In the morning after a good night's sleep, me and Marjaana had a wonderful breakfast outside. We were barefoot. The sun was shining and it was really warm. Compared to Tórshavn it was like another planet (no clouds, no rain, no fog) and it felt really strange at first. Luckily I could adjust quickly!:)


Marjaana lent me her bike and we took the traditional Danish way into the heart of the city: we took the bike route, and this one was the scenic route via the Amager beach. It was so nice! Here are a few pictures.

Me and Marjaana at Amager beach.

Marjaana had to go to work so I had Copenhagen all to myself! And riding a bike in Copenhagen is definitely the way to experience this lovely Nordic metropol by the sea. Note that the Danish are very, how should I say, strict about the rules of riding a bike: signal clearly where you're going and, most preferably, ride your bike fast and with a fierce attitude. I went to the Royal Library and Vores Frelsers Kirke (Our Savior's Church), which is also a high point above CPH. 


I had a lovely lunch at the Library, I recommend the restaurant there. The food was tasty at a good price aka not too expensive. The library also has a very nice gift shop and the Danish Museum of Photography is also located in the same building. I went and saw the exhibition and it consisted of very brutal stories of violence against refugee women in Denmark. The women were more or less under the control of their sadistic husbands or boyfriends.

Lunch at the Royal Library.

The Royal Library.

Me at the top of the church tower.

View from above.

Oh yes. Those are my shoes. Awfully high above ground zero!

Biking around I got lost a few times, but that didn't matter because I had some free time alone before Marjaana got off work. And on my adventures I met a stork!

A stork in the park!

Ice-cream in Nyhavn, central CPH.

After a few hours of solo adventure, I met Marjaana in Nyhavn for some ice-cream. Then we went home and bought food and wine and had a lovely time. After a long day of adventures in the fresh sea air, I didn't have to wait long for sleep to come find me!

From Tórshavn to Copenhagen (30th June 2010)

Once in Copenhagen I took the train to the Central station, where I left my bags in a locker. I had some time on my own, since my friend, Marjaana, was still at work. So I strolled around the city doing everything and nothing in particular. I went to the shops I usually go to, picke up food where I always pick up food (my cousin showed this Chinese take away restaurant to me in 2004, see photo). I took some photos at Rosenborg castle and on the streets.

Easy and comfortable: Chinese Take Away 
from a familiar restaurant. 

And Adidas sneakers:)

Cute guys showing off their street dance skills!

Rosenborg castle, in the heart of CPH

Detail of Rosenborg castle.

The funniest thing happened when I was walking incognito on the streets of Copenhagen: I actually met the guy (Heini) we had had to give us a lecture on religion&politics! Apparently when you know someone from the Faroe Islands, you immediately meet them on the streets of Copenhagen:) You can find an entry of Heini's lecture by clicking this link. Heini was on his way to Roskilde: I want to go there, too, some day!

Finally when I got tired of walking, I went and sat down at the Danish Film Institute. I noticed that the Film Institute had free wireless Internet, so I opened my computer. I decided to check where my course friend, Hjørdis' BBQ-party was being held at. I was aware of the party, but I hadn't had the time to check the adress while still in Tórshavn. It turned out that Hjørdis lived quite close by to the Film Institute (well, close by is relative as you know, but within walking distance for me!). So I sent her a text that I'll be coming to her party after all!

Waiting for food to get ready:) Hjørdis to the right.

I walked briskly for a couple of kilometres and took a pitstop at a local food market: bought a few ciders, grapes and candy for the BBQ-party. When I arrived the pittoresque backyard was full with lovely Nordic people: many Norwegians (Hjørdis is also Norwegian), one Swedish guy and one Finn (=me:)! I couldn't figure out where all the Danish were, though, but my guess is Roskilde:)

The food was awesome and man was I HUNGRY! Many different delicious things roasting on the barbeque, accompanied by salads, fruit and veggies, dessert, wine and cider. The atmosphere was welcoming and warm and it was nice to meet up with Hjørdis so soon after the course in Tórshavn. I was a happy girl!:)

After a nice meal, good food in good company, I had to head downtown to meet up with Marjaana, who had gotten off work and dinner with work friends. It was late, so I just left my stuff at the Central station and we went straight down to Amager to "our" appartment. I was going to stay at Marjaana's friend's place for a couple of days, my flight to Turku wasn't until Friday. But right then and there, it was time to get some sweet sleep! I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Day 24 (Wed): Bye bye Faroe Islands, Hello Copenhagen!

Weather: a bit foggy, but no rain
Walked: very little, only down to the bus terminal

This day was a sad day. It started with a nice breakfast with Mrs. Fanny. We had also a Danish man staying in the house for Bed and Breakfast, so we were three at the table. It was inevitably time for goodbyes and then I walked down to the bus terminal.

I had my last look at Tórshavn while walking with my big backpack. I had  had a wonderful in Tórshavn time and I would miss it all.. On the bus I looked at the sheep on the green hills, the foggy skies and listened to people talking.


I was good and early at the terminal. Boarding and the security check went well. On the flight to Copenhagen I sat next to a young mother who had two sons. The younger one was still a baby and sat in his mothers lap, but the older one was probably around four or five. I played with him and helped him build his Lego-toys and we had small discussions in Danish. They were on their way to visit the Danish grandparents and obviously the mother was pleased to have me help with the kids and keep the older one occupied. I must admit though, that I was the "Funny lady" because of the free drinks the flight attendants were serving!:)

My turkey sandwich, red wine and Cola. Coffee and Bailey's afterwards:)

Atlantic Airways (see link here) is a good company: good service and customers are valued!:)

Day 23 (Tue): Last day in Tórshavn!

Weather: sunny and warm, a bit windy
Walked: 9 km

This day was a sad day. I could not get past the feeling that it was all over!:( The summer, the language course, the people, soon having to say goodbye to my dear Mrs. Fanny, my new friends.. So sad but I tried to make the best of my last day in Tórshavn.

So I went for a walk and walked to the Tórshavn Outdoor Museum (in Hoyvík). It was a nice hike and I had good weather. The interesting thing about the Faroe Islands is that you should never presume anything about the weather: it might be good today and stay that way for a while, but it most probably won't be the same the next day! So, I was lucky to have spent the previous rainy day shopping and having this beautiful, sunny day for some outdoorsy hiking.

The Outdoor Museum had preserved several old buildings and the setting was nice. It was inexpensive as well. There were sheep, hens and ducks running around. It felt very authentic.

After the visit to the outdoor museum you get free entrance to the Faroese Historical Museum (Føroya Forminssavn, check link!)

I spent several hours looking around and learning new things. I also watched some of the videos playing in the video room: old footage from the old days, people celebrating Olavssøka and whale hunting/whaling.

I was amazed in many ways: I know that whales are BIG animals, but I had never thought of how the whale is transported in to the harbor. Once captured the whale is tied up on the outside the ship! And then the small ship slowly makes it way through the bumpy sea and upon arrival in the harbor, there is one big mess when they cut the "big fish" into smaller pieces... It was kind of yucky and very fascinating at the same time!

The museum had rune stones, sacral artefacts, fishing equipment, boats and some examples of Faroese national dresses. I especially enjoyed Eivør Paulsdottir's awesome red dress! All very interesting stuff.

After the hike back I had to force myself to do some packing. It was awful! I knew I'd get in trouble because of the books, the papers and of course my new (second hand) boots! In between the packing I had to get out for a while, so I went for another walk and during my evening walk I could hear Elton John's concert.

Sir Elton John's arrival had stirred up some serious debate because of the fact that he is very openly gay. There had been numerous articles in the papers and people being upset that he was coming to the Faroe Islands: some pleaded to the public to stay home and not attend the concert. I've forgotten to check what the press wrote about it afterwards, it would be interesting to know how it went for Elton John.

After the walk I had to pack the rest of my stuff and get some sleep...

Day 22(Mon): shopping and doing other tourist stuff

Torshavn's city emblem

weather: foggy and misty

walked: 11 km!

This day I had decided to do all the things I had had too little or no time at all to do. I walked around a lot! I went and bought some postcards and sat down to write them in Nordens hus and had a cup of nice, hot tea. I also helped some American tourists who had some trouble finding the shops and other tourist "worth visiting/must see" places. I had a very nice time by myself, just taking in the atmosphere, relaxing and enjoying little Tórshavn.

I found some very nice things at fleamarkets and second hand shops. You can see my purchased items below this text! I spent time taking photos and the weather was nice in that sense: the fog is much more interesting than bright sunlight.

Outside Nordens hus / Nordic House.

Dried sheep "feet" at the local supermarket Miklagarður!

No, I did not buy one, I found the smell quite horrible...

My Faroese knitted sweater.

Bought from a second hand shop the Blue Cross.

My colour and definitely unique!

I found a lovely "Chinese" dress in Torshavn's

second hand shop Blue Cross.

Yup, been to Chinatown in San Francisco

but this is where I found my dress...

How peculiar!:)

Real leather boots (that actually fit)

did not cost me much. Second hand shop on Bøkjarbrekka.

Souvenirs for mom (white+blue) and Hanna (turquoise).

Bought for a few DKK at the Red Cross second hand shop.

Day 21 (Sun): Taking it easy on "dagen efter"

weather: rainy and foggy

walked: not much at all

On Sunday after the farewell party I did not do anything worth mentioning. Sofia came to say her goodbyes early in the morning and Katri did the same later in the afternoon. I slept, did some reading and spent time at my computer and felt very empty: the course was over and all of my friends had left the precious little Faroe Islands behind them...

Day 20 (Sat): Exams & Grande Finale

On Saturday we had our last day, which to me, consisted of exams - one for Faroese language, one for Faroese literature. The exam took 2+2 hours and no lunch in between. I thought that it went OK and I had pretty much everything covered. (The results came in and I got a B+ for language and a B for literature, "B" standing for "good knowledge of the subject with lacking just some small details" and A being the best you could get -> me very happy!:)

Katri working on her exam.

After the exam I was happy that we had food at home: the Finns came to our house to finish the rest of the food and we were all happy. Afterwards I had the luxury and the time to take a little nap! And then it was time to go to the University for our last evening together. And I cried and I cried and then I cried some more after all the sentimental speeches: I had had such a wonderful time with the summer course, the Faroe Islands, new friends and all of it, and I was so sad that it was all over for us! :'(

The food at the going away party was awesome! The atmosphere was heartfelt! We sang, we drank, we had fun and stayed up very late. I sympathized with the ones leaving with the early morning bus to the airport - and was so happy that I had decided to stay for a couple of extra days! I could sleep in all day the following day if I wanted to (and so I did).

Sofia, me and Hjördis at the farewell party.

At our farewell party we also danced some Faroese chain dancing: a very simple "one step right, two to the left" - choreography with singing (chanting) old norse verses. Our course leader stood in the middle and served everyone a shot of aquavit (schnaps)! I don't think that there were many sober dancers after that session!

I also went out a small trip to see what was going on at Bar Circus. I also got hit on (my first and only time in Tórshavn) when a guy asked if I wanted to spend the night with his friend. I was so baffled that I couldn't respond with anything witty, but when I think about it, it would've bee nice if he had asked for himself (we're not in first grade anymore)...

Day 19 (Fri): Study-for-exam-day

Weather: sunny and unbelievably warm!

Walked: 5 km

We had Friday (actually, Misdummer's eve!) off so that we could study for our exam on Saturday. I slept quite long after the night at Circus, then we had the Finns come over to our house and we prepared lunch of all the food we had left. We made a vegetarian pasta salad, fried potatoes and a Spanish veggie omelet (tortilla, as they call it).

We spent the day studying together but it was just so UNFAIR that this study day was perhaps the most beautiful day we had experienced so far on the islands!! Of course. Murphy's law, or something...

After the serious and anxious cramming we went to get a pint of Faroese cider at Café Natur. The day went by very quickly!

Day 18 (Thu): Last day of school & Sushi

Weather: nice, cloudy but no rain

Walked: 5km + evening walks

Day 18 was a Thursday and we had our last lectures. It was a long day! We had to stay for some extra teaching in Faroese language. Phew! At the same time it was sad and also nice to get out of class and start planning the last evening with my course friends.

After the lectures we took a quick pit stop at home and then we headed out to get some sushi at Tórshavn's one and only (?) sushi restaurant Etika (click on the link to see more!). It was one of the coolest restaurants I've ever been to. The interior design was awesome! I was surprised that the price was actually reasonable, maybe even cheap (?) considering that sushi food is still thought to be a bit "hip"and "cool", so I expected a pricier menu. (Ps. Etika also has a restaurant in Copenhagen, I'm sure it's also worth a visit.)

And as it seems, I only eat sushi abroad!:) This was my second time at a sushi restaurant, my first was in St. Petersburg last year (2009). So I'm definitely not a connoisseur, but I have to say that I loved it! The Norwegians ordered a ton of small things (a larger portion than ours) and we all did our best with the chopsticks.. Hah, great fun! A tired old joke: No wonder the Asians are so skinny, they have to eat with chopsticks!:)

Our sushi plate. Delish!

Needed some help with the eating;)

Afterwards we went to get hold of the rest of the group that were watching a football (soccer) game, Denmark vs. Japan - the Danes didn't want to miss the game, which is why we didn't have any Danes with us at the sushi restaurant. Apparently Denmark had lost: a surprising turn of events!

It was a bit cold outside so we headed in to cafe/bar Circus, an underground bar in the heart of Tórshavn. I stayed out until maybe 01 o'clock? Headed home because Circus closed shortly after we arrived. Hmph! *dislike* Just when we started having some serious linguistic fun!

Wall painting at Bar Circus. Turned out

photos weren't allowed. Oops. My bad:)

Bar Circus. The kitschiest bar í Havn!

Encouraging writings on the wall

@ the unisex toilets of Bar Circus.

Day 17 (Wed): Jóanes Nielsen

Weather: fog, rain and sunshine

Walked: 4km

Today (28th June) I think I saw the author Jóanes Nielsen driving a blue van in Tórshavn. I'm pretty sure it was him. And this proves that Tórshavn is a very small town!

We had a long day (23rd June) with literature. In the morning we had our regular literature lessons and the whole day was dedicated to the author Jóanes Nielsen (see link), whose novel, Glansbílætasamlarnir ("The Scrap Collectors" or sth like that: what an unsuitable and clumsy translation in English!) we had read and were supposed to analyze. I don't know how good a job we did, but we did our best.

In the afternoon we had the author himself come for a visit. We had questions. He answered. I think I asked two questions. He didn't understand my Swedish:) I don't think we managed to be very deep with our questions... I would love to bedazzle an artist or someone whose known to be an intellectual. But so far I haven't succeeded:)

I found myself fascinated by his eyes and constant thoughtful frowning. I wanted to go over and wipe the frown away, make him not frown. I thought he was interesting.

Jóanes Nielsen signed my book, coolness!

I now have two signed books from Nordkurs: the Jóanes Nielsen book and Hallgrímur Helgason's "101 Reykjavík" from Iceland (2003, see link).

Curious facts:

- The Faroese Glansbílætasamlarnir has a typo on the cover! It's written Glansibílætasamlarnir with an extra -i- after Glans- ...

- The "New Norwegian" translation has a beautiful cover paper: the scrap pictures on the front cover are black and they reoccur on the inside of the paper cover, kind of hidden. Lovely symbolism! Lovely graphics!

Glans(i)bílætasamlarnir (Faroese, blue cover),

Glansbilledsamlerne (Danish, black cover),

Glansbildesamlarane (Norwegian/"New Norwegian",

white cover, picture of the inside of the paper cover)

Day 16 (Tue): Literature and a latte at Café Natur

Weather: very, very thick fog!

Walked: 6 km

Phew, this Tuesday (22nd June) was veeeery loooong. We had our regular language lesson in the morning, but a little more literature than usual. On top of the regular lessons we had our Norse ballads and dance lesson (kvæði), that had been cancelled the previous week..

Afterwards I thought that I needed some fresh air, so I took my camera and my books and went out for a walk. During the last week I was starting to feel very tired: my active lifestyle here and my way of wanting to do as much as possible without resting, was beginning to take its toll..

So a silent walk with me, my thoughts and my camera seemed to be what I needed. Ended up having a tasty latte at Café Natur and reading material for the literature course.

A beautiful latte.

And brown sugar on a stick.

Delish!

Day 15 (Mon): Vestmanna bird cliffs

Weather: foggy

Walked: 3,5 km

Our third and last summer course week started with the regular language lesson in the morning on Monday the 21st June. We had a tad longer lunch break and I had time to go home to Mrs. Fanny and prepare lunch. After the lunch break we had a few guest lectures at the Fróðskaparsetur: one about the Faroese Language Board and one about the Faroese dictionaries the University is responsible for. The guest lectures were quite interesting, but I was still a bit tired from the hike on Nólsoy, so my concentration wasn't fully up to 100%..

After the lessons we went on another excursion: our course leader had planned a trip to Vestmanna. Vestmanna is located on the same island as Tórshavn, that is, on Streymoy. In Vestmanna we went on a boat ride to the bird cliffs and it was fantastic! In the morning I would have liked the weather to be sunny and warm as it had been on Sunday, but on the other hand: the tour to Vestmanna became much more interesting with a little fog and beautiful clouds.

The bird cliffs were very high and if I remember correctly, in some place the cliffs were 600m high. 600 meters on a "round" hill feels very different from 600 meters of a cliff that plunges vertically in to the rough seas beneath. And some fearless men need to climb these cliffs: sometimes they need to rescue a lamb in trouble or sometimes they go gathering for bird eggs... Wicked! :S

You really can't tell just by looking at the photos, but it was actually quote cold in the brisk sea breeze. When you look at the photos or when you just looked at the cliffs IRL in this thick fog, it reminded of pictures that you see of cliffs in South East Asia: I think it looks a little bit like rain forest.

The boat took us inside caves and it was awesome!:) I'm hoping that my photos turned out nice:)

Our boat went through this little cave!

Day 14 (Sun): Hike on the island Nólsoy

Weather: sunny

Walked (hiking): 16 km

After the nice wedding party and "outing" at Café Natur on Saturday, Sunday the 20th June arrived SUNNY AND BEAUTIFUL. I could not believe my eyes:)

I met with three happy Norwegian girls in the harbor just after 12 o'clock and we took the ferryboat to Nólsoy. At the tourist information we asked about the hike and how long it would take, because the guide books all told a different version.. We were told that we could easily make the hike to the light house in five hours.

So, first things first: we had lovely waffels at the tourist information!:)

Waffels with ice cream in Nólsoy, delish!

Happy and excited we headed up the fjell (I wouldn't call the mountains here "mountains"..). Just above the village Nólsoy is the roughest part with a steep climb up the fjell but after that the rest of the hike was on a plain grass heath. It was pretty wet on the heath, so I was glad I had decided to wear my hiking boots. We met with an Australian old lady(!) who had hiked to the light house in 2+2 hours(!); a Tschech couple and later two Swedish men.

We saw sheep, grass, the fjell, the pretty light house, the village from above (it was an awesome view from the top!) The light house was cute and our picnic food was delicious! A great outdoorsy trip in a nice weather and good company. I would recommend this to all who have at least five-six hours of spare time in Tórshavn. But bear in mind that it's good if you're physically fit (or at least more or less in a "normal" condition) to do this hike, the first part just above the village is the roughest.

On the way up. Village Nólsoy in the background.

Soon after this picture the hard part was behind us.

Sheep and Norwegian girls :)

Light house in the other end of Nólsoy.

The picture was taken by some Swedish

men we met at the light house.

It was no surprise, that when I got home, I took a shower and was all wound up the rest of the evening. And VERY tired the following day..

Day 13 (sat): Princess Victoria's wedding

Weather: sunny

Walked: 5 km

On Saturday 19th of June our Swedish Anna-Stina wanted to throw a party in honor of the Swedish crown princess Victoria's wedding. This was highly appreciated and we had gone grocery shopping the day before. And yes, I cried at the wedding: I thought that the ceremony was absolutely beautiful! We prepared dinner so after the ceremony we had dinner and sang Nordic songs with our Swedish Fredrik at the piano. A great evening! Here are some pictures.

Blue and yellow: the color of Sweden.

"Sing, ye, Swedish people!"

Anne-G. preparing the wedding buffét.

Day 12 (Fri): A troubadour's birthday

Hanus G. Johansen's humble cake.

Weather: sunny and warm

Walked: 8km

On Friday the 18th June we had lectures about literature and also in the afternoon a guest lecture about children's literature. FYI (curious fact): all Faroese children over 10 years of age received a copy of Robinson Kruso (Robinson Crusoe) in the year 1914. Those who didn't get one, were bitter 'til the end:)

After school we went to the Nordic House (Norðurlandahúsið í Føroyum) to celebrate a local troubadour's, Hanus G. Johansen's 60th birthday party. The party had public access and the house was more or less full. The concert was nice, Hanus'es voice could be described as something between Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. Some of us bought his cd:s and got them signed by the birthday-boy.

Hanus G. Johansen.

The adventure of this event was the following:

Hanus'es beatiful, raven like, goth-daughter announced that there would be a surprise in the other concert hall. I got up and went there. The eager amateur photographer that I am, I decided to sit in the front row (easy access in and out) to get some good shots of the surprise to come. Well, as it happened, Hanus sat next to me! I was a bit uncomfortable because I hadn't thought about that the first row could be seen as VIP places.. And I couldn't really leave either, because that would seem rude. When people came over to congratulate Hanus, they looked at me surely thinking: "Who is this person!?" So I decided to congratulate him and so we shook hands:) He seemed like a nice and happy man!

The birthday surprise was a super-duper hard core thrash metal performance by a band called Synarchy. The concert was actually awesome and Hanus enjoyed it too! This would normally not be my cup of tea, but these young Faroese guys played very well: the vocal range of the singer was awesome (not that I could make out what they were saying) and they were energetic and had a good charisma on stage. I was told that 60% of the people in the concert left, because they couldn't take the "noise":) :)

Haha, well, it all went well in the end.

Synarchy in action.

After Hanus'es party (with the concert, the surprise concert, a huuuuge cake and coffee), we went to get some groceries for Saturday. And then we sat in the harbor, enjoying the last rays of the warm sun, drinking some Koskenkorva (a Finn is not a Finn without Kossu;). Afterwards we went to Café Natur and I stayed out until around 01 o'clock.