Among the load of photos I had received from a Faroese friend, there was also the one below, featuring a Smyril Line ship.

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.

Just a few months ago my daughter and I had visited my good friend Mariann in Skála. Now she has just informed me that she has put up her house for sale. I guess it is time to move to the happening place, namely Denmark, again.

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.

A few years ago I had bought a plastic bottle at the Baltic Sea meant for sending a message per postal service or by water. Nevertheless, as it happens with souvenirs sometimes, it just lay around.
In April of this year I took it with me to Japan with the best intentions and I got as far as writing the message while in Japan. Not that Japan does not have enough shore… I just never got the chance to throw it in the ocean.
This time, going to the Faroes, would be different. I flew there, undid the plastic seal, wrote another message on the back of the original letter and had my daughter throw it into the ocean waves at Tjørnuvík. I imagined the bottle traveling for quite some time in the ocean before anybody would ever find it.
But the very next day I got an e-mail from the first finder and I quote her message:

“We found your letter in a bottle on the may 24. 2008, in Tjørnuvík on the Faroe Islands… at 18.30.. sorry it did not get so far. My son at 8 was the happy finder. We live in Thorshavn and was just walking on the beach in Tjørnuvík. If you don´t mind we will pass the bottle on??
from a family in Thorshavn”

I asked them to pass it on once more and I would love to hear from the next “message in a bottle” finder.

Margo holding up the bottle before she threw it into the ocean at Tjørnuvík.

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.

Right after I booked the trip to the Faroes, my next search took me to youtube.
If you would like to see some grand photos about the Faroes, accompanied by some local music, then watch this: