A surprise trip for Katya to.... Faroe Islands!

 

This year it was my turn to plan an anniversary trip away for us, + our extra baggage in the form if Lisa chewing on everything within bite distance. 

I think it's original name taken from norwegian is "Sheep Island", and this figures since there appear to be many more sheep than population. Great place for a barbeque.

The islands are located at 62º 01' N, 6º 47' W, above Ireland (and halfway to Iceland from Ireland) and are made up of 18 isles (although there are some extra ones not large enough to be named). The landscape is quite dramatic, with all towns being coastal, given the relief of the land ie:-typically a 30 - 45 degree angle from sea level to mountain tops, which are all bright green and covered in grass.


The islands are mostly accessible by road, otherwise it's boat or helicopter, probably the only place there a chopper tour is slightly more expensive than a bus ticket. There are many tunnels joining islands, or travelling through the mountains, some wide enough for one vehicle only, whilst the oncoming vehicle awaits in a lay-by cut into the rock. I'd say they used a whole lot of TNT here.  

We stayed in the Hotel Føroyar, and I was greatly impressed with the view over Torshavn. As for the hotel itself, I think they are using the view to sell everything about the place, but dirty carpets, old smokey smell in a musty bedroom without extraction and sour Apple juice served for breakfast was not what I was expecting from a 4 star establishment and means we'll not be back there... it'll be camping for us in future, and this seems to be quite popular, since the Faroes are not the cheapest place to visit, on a par with Verbier, Switzerland methinks. There are many places to pitch tent, and if you can't find an official camping spot, the locals are ok with a tourist or two in their field for the night, or so i've convinced myself.

Elizabeth had a great time, and it was a bonus having a car, which for her is a big magical sleep machine. She's started to walk about with help to balance provided by a stooped down parent and seems to be enjoying her new found height. 

But for now... it's back to work for us both... and I'm staring into a computer screen again for 8 hours a day, whilst Katya is actually helping people.

There you have it in a nutshell.

The Faroes - go there, it's great!  

Here's a nice filmclip of the place....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69huWkZs034