I remember reading about this on board of a flight with Atlantic Airways, while heading for the Faroes in May 2008. I was reminded once again about its pristine condition while reading this article Tread carefully on the pristine landscape of the Faroe Islands on metronews.

The article also mentioned the town of Gjógv, 67 kms from the capital of Tórshavn. In Gjógv, traditional dishes, such as the ones made with pilot whale meat, will soon be history.

A bit of Faroese paradise in Gjógv

The Faroe Islands, only accessible by plane or ship, are the most untouched destination I have ever been to. 75,000 sheep grace the islands compared to a population of about 50,000 Faroese.

The capital city of Tórshavn around 8:30 p.m. in May

For more about life on the islands, I also conducted an interview with my longtime Faroese friend, Mariann, before my trip.

To see the complete list of destinations rated by National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations, which conducted this fourth annual Destination Scorecard survey (aided by George Washington University), visit National Geographic.

Smyril Line is a Faroese shipping company, linking the Faroe Islands with Denmark and Iceland. Previously, it had also served Norway and the United Kingdom. But due to financial difficulties, the ship line had to change its schedule. During off-season, the route is Esbjerg (Denmark) – Tórshavn (Faroe Islands) – Seyðisfjörður (Iceland), and during peak season Hanstholm (Denmark) and return. Routes to Norway and Scotland have been taken off the program and during winter season, it is possible for only cargo to be transportated on the route Esbjerg – Tórshavn.

Take a look at Smyril Line’s travel brochure and sailing schedule for more up-to-date information.

Smyril Line ship docking at Tórshavn

On a slightly different note – these islands can also be reached by plane.

Visiting the Faroe Islands is a great experience, either way. Two years ago, I had traveled there by plane from Frankfurt via Kopenhagen using Atlantic Airways to get to the Faroes. To learn more about Atlantic Airways, I want to recommend  this podcast with Magni Arge, the CEO of Atlantic Airways, the Faroe Islands’ only airline.

Flying with Atlantic Airways was a very positive experience, and for once I even enjoyed the food. Of course, the safety factor always prevails and I enjoyed my flight with Atlantic Airways.  Nevertheless, seeing this mighty boat has me dreaming now of a trip by ship to the Faroes…

For more podcasts and other interesting tidbits about the Faroe Islands, you should also visit the Faroe Islands Podcast blog.

I have a large interest in the Faroes as I spent some memorable days there this past May. I understand they value their old traditions, but that does not fully justify this slaughter of pilot whales in modern times. But the Faroese are islanders and I believe their approach to killing and survival are very different from ours – the mainlanders. (I have experienced a bit of island mentality as I had spent some years on Kyushu, the most southern Japanese main island.)

In an interview with a Faroese which I had posted last year, my Faroese friend stated most people work in retail and fish factories, which explains their livelihood comes mostly from fish and sea food.

The slaughtering is cruel, but who are we to impose our culture and ethics on them? Some cultural differences cannot be understood, only accepted. And my acceptance does not mean I condone it – it only means I have to get more understanding of the matter. I personally would not like to watch this like some Faroese women do by looking on from the shore. How awful! But unlike them, I did not grow up believing this slaughtering is a natural thing to do.

Wait! I grew up on a farm in Germany and I recall our pig-slaughtering event every November. The butcher would come to our house and I was a four-year-old girl given permission to chase the soon-to-be slaughtered pig around our mini-courtyard until it dropped from exhaustion. Then the butcher would cut its throat and I would be handed a bucket with a wooden spoon and told to catch the blood while stirring quickly. I was then instructed – after the pig had lost all of its blood – to bring it down to the cellar where this blood would be turned into blood sausage a little while later.

I could not do this anymore, but back then it was a normal thing to do. For the Faroese, this slaughtering is  still a common practice to ensure their traditions and food supply are kept up.

And if you think other cultures should live up to our expectations, then you should also protest against the bull fights in Spain, the cock fights in the United States (among other places) held for gambling, or the slaughter of dogs for food in parts of Asia.

If you want to protest, then direct it at the Faroe Islands and not to Denmark. The Faroese have their own language, their own Faroese money, and their own culture. You may also contact Roy from Framtak if you have any questions about the islands.

While it is true that traditional slaughtering has been practiced for centuries in most countries, some of these old customs might be in opposition to animal rights today.

Down here in Germany we basically live on potatoes, so this dish makes a nice variation to the many other regular potato dishes we already now…

Ingredients:

* potatoes

* paprika seasoning

Instructions:

*Preheat oven to 170C°

*Peel potatoes and cut them – like a grid -  but don’t cut all the way through the potato, so the potato bottom still stays together.
*Add some liquid butter or oil with a brush and season with paprika powder.
*Put in the oven for 45 min. at 170 C.°

Tip: Take only big potatoes as their unfolding weight will keep them open and this helps to bake them evenly.

Hassel bakaði eplir or French fries, the old-fashioned way

They can be served with meat and gravy and they are more pleasing to the eye than regular cooked potatoes!

We had spent four days at Mariann’s place and my daughter and I loved the house. All, but the bathroom, have been completely redone and it is a nice and welcoming house. There is a supermarket in walking distance and the school is right across the street.

Strange to think this house will change hands and title soon.

If you are thinking about getting a house on the Faroe Islands, then take a look at its location and interior: 

real estate

then click on Eysturoy, then click on Skála, then on Vis úrslit for Sethús: Skálavegur 235, 480 Skála

Enjoy taking a pictorial stroll through a beautiful Faroese home.

While I was staying with a friend on the Faroes, she gave me two jars of Leverpostej and the following liver pâté recipe to take back to Germany.

Ingredients:

- two jars of liverwurst (one jar at 180 gr net weight)
- a topping of finely cut onions, mushrooms, bacon bits, and apples; sautéed in a pan
- a small bake-proof dish (about 20 cm in diameter)

before and…

Instruction:

- preheat oven to 170 C
- place liverwurst into the bake-proof dish
- add sautéed topping and put into the oven for 20 minutes
- serve with potatoes or bread

and now ready to eat

Thanks, Mariann, for sharing this wonderful recipe!

On our way back to Germany, we had another four-hour layover in Copenhagen/Denmark and still some money leftover to spend.

At World of Delight, a fine food shop at the airport, I bought a bottle of Ice tea and tried to use one of the banknotes I had been given as change on the Faroes. The clerk refused to take it by telling me: “It is no longer good. Please go to the bank.”

Having more than enough spare time on my hands, I went to the bank and inquired about it. The bank clerk was very eager to take the note out of my hand… I actually had to pull the money out of his hands again. Anyway, up until then I had not realized that the Faroes have their own banknotes. Since it was only a 50 Faroese DKK banknote (about 7 Euro), I decided to keep it as a souvenir. Had the World of Delight sales clerk accepted it (which he was supposed to by law), I would have never realized the Faroese carry their own DKK banknote.

From banknotes.com I learnt one 50 Faroese DKK banknote – like the one I have – is being offered for sale at $ 25.–

In October a panel of 522 experts were asked by National Geographic to vote on which islands avoid the danger, which are succumbing to it, and which hang in balance.

The winner – totally unanticipated, at least by the Faroese population – were the Faroe islands.

If you want to know more about this gem in the sea, then visit my favorite Faroese website Framtak, which gives a comprehensive introduction to the Faroes (Faeroe Islands). It also serves as a useful resource for tourists, schools, businesses and individuals. It offers translation services, weather reports, shopping, and all kinds of other information like the following quiz:

What do you know about the Faroes?

I am happy to report I scored 100%!

How well did you do?

As my trip to the Faroes is only five days away, I am beginning to make a mental list of things to take. I have bought my souvenirs, got my ticket printed out, and of course consider my rain jacket to be the most valuable piece of clothing.

Check here for the weather update

Well, then I realized I had left my husband’s old rain jacket at a friend’s house on my last trip to Japan, so I asked my husband if I could borrow his. Then he confessed he had left his in Paris at his brother’s house, where he stayed for a few days while I was in Japan.

By now you might think we are globetrotters, which we aren’t. I had not been to Japan in 13 years after having spent the best three years of my life there (1992 – 1995) and my husband only went to Paris to visit family….

Well, I will be daring and go to the Faroes without one – a fleece jacket and an umbrella will have to make do.

I had met Mariann in 1991 when we both lived in the United States of America. After that our ways separated as she moved back to the Faroes and I moved to Japan. We shared some good times together – mainly Happy Hour at the Westminster Inn – and developed a long-lasting friendship.

- So Mariann, after having been an Au pair in the U.SA., what made you decide to move to Denmark after another year on the Faroes?

I moved to Denmark to take part in a six-month travel agent course, which was not available on the islands.

- Do a lot of young Faroese do the same in regards to leaving the islands?

No, not a lot. Some go to Denmark for schooling and other forms of education. Some do come back, while others stay in Denmark.

- How long did you stay in Denmark before you decided to move back to the islands? What prompted you?

Like I had mentioned earlier, I moved back when my vocational training was done in Denmark.

- What kind of jobs do young people do on the islands?

Young people mostly work in retail and fish factories.

- Do you get many foreign tourists? Where do they come from?

We get more and more tourists, mainly from Germany. There are also others from Denmark, of course, and Norway. But mostly Germans, I think.

- What one piece of advice would you give the young ones fleeing the islands?

I would advise the young Faroese to get more education by going to Denmark, which will provide them with much better opportunities when they return.

- If you could change one thing about your working life…

Like most people, I would like to work fewer hours for more money!

- The thing you like most about life on the Faroes is…

There is more freedom for children and hardly any crime.

-When Faroese dream of moving away, what are popular destinations?

A very popular destination is, of course, Denmark, because we belong to it (autonomous province of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1948).

-Would you like to move to another country/island? If yes, where?

I guess I would move to Denmark or Sweden.

Thanks for your time, Mariann!

To all the readers: feel free to comment!