Today, I officially achieved a major travel “bucket list” item – visiting the Faroe Islands! I’m not sure when they first crossed my radar (I remember one of the New York Times “50 Places” travelers visiting probably ~5 years ago and that piquing my interest) and still can’t believe I’m finally here. For those who aren’t aware, the Faroes are a tiny series of rocks in the North Atlantic, roughly halfway between Iceland and the United Kingdom (if you know where the Shetland Islands off of the coast of Scotland are, keep going north and west!). They are independently governed within the Kingdom of Denmark, much in the same way that Scotland and England are countries within the United Kingdom. The big draw: natural beauty (and of course for me, the incredible seafood and unique culture and history!). Below is a quick orientation, courtesy of Google Maps.

Of course, getting here isn’t easy. From mainland Europe, it’s typically a ~6-7 hour travel day, connecting via Copenhagen (this is unfortunately the route I have to take on my return to London). From Iceland, it’s fortunately a direct ~1.5 hour flight, although only ~1-2 flights a day, ~4 days a week. I elected to fly IcelandAir and took my first propeller plane in a long time!

I was quite anxious that it would be a bumpy flight, but it was actually relatively smooth and felt equivalent to the smaller regional jet flights I’ve taken to remote places like Wyoming in the US. The weather was actually good enough that we got to see most of Iceland’s incredibly beautiful and unique geography from above (and then, of course, it got cloudier the closer we got to the Faroes).

Flying into the Faroes felt like traveling into a mystical fairy tale – light, wispy layers of clouds give way to deep, dark blue water, and then suddenly, green cliffs appear below, spiking into the sky. You actually fly into a valley, which was a bit spooky but breathtaking. Upon landing, even our tiny little propeller plane needed to taxi to the full end of the very short (but recently lengthened to accommodate ‘real’ jets!) runway.

Immediately upon entering the airport, it smells like earth and sheep. As soon as my shared taxi departed I saw why – the famous Faroese sheep and horses truly do just roam free and are pretty much everywhere. I didn’t get any pictures of them since we were moving pretty quickly, but I have a couple tours planned for the remainder of the week that should give me the opportunity to see them up close.

On the ride to the capital city, Tórshavn, my fellow passengers (an older couple from Pennsylvania) and I learned a couple interesting facts from our driver, who was terse but friendly. Apparently, Denmark does not overly involve itself in Faroese affairs (“I do not think about Denmark”) and housing / land prices are quite high (“I do not know why…let’s blame Putin, why not?” – this deadpan delivery cracked us all up!). He also shared a little about the geography – we drove through one of the 4 primary undersea tunnels that connect the islands (definitely a unique experience – we were underwater for probably ~5 minutes, given the low speeds) and he also showcased two salmon farms / hatcheries and a salmon processing factory. Our driver also mentioned that he works as a firefighter and frequently saves tourists who have veered off the road after being distracted by the natural beauty – a good warning for me later in the week!

The Vágatunnilin tunnel is a point of interest in and of itself. It was the first sub-sea tunnel made in the Faroe Islands, and spans ~3 miles with a lowest point of ~350 feet underwater. It connects the capital city (Tórshavn) on the island of Streymoy with the island of Vágar, which is where the airport is. According to our driver, they want to make an airport near Tórshavn, but have never been able to attract the investment for it. Our driver also shared that Norway is responsible for engineering the tunnels, digging in from both sides simultaneously and (somehow!) being able to connect in the middle with only millimeters of offset. Truly an engineering marvel! I’m hopeful to drive through some of the others – one is the famous “roundabout” under the sea, which is actually painted with all sorts of beautiful wall art.

Once we arrived in Tórshavn, the taxi driver was very kind and waited to ensure I was able to access my Airbnb before driving to his next stop. The Airbnb was still being cleaned, since I arrived a bit early, so I ventured into town to grab a bite of food.

Of course, it wouldn’t be two weeks in Europe without running into some time of holiday or celebration and it turns out that almost everything is closed here due to the “Hvítusunna” aka Whit Monday holiday (essentially the Monday that follows Pentecost, which in Christianity is the 7th Sunday after Easter). So, nearly everything is closed except a couple little bars by the waterfront – I was still able to grab a sandwich and enjoy a little walk through the main parts of the town. The waterfront is unsurprisingly beautiful, with lots of boats and ferries.

One of the key housing features here is the turf-covered roofs of the homes. In Tórshavn, there is one remaining “old town” neighborhood where these feature prominently, but I believe I’ll be seeing more of them over the course of my ventures here. I’ve also planned time to wander and see the museums / sights of Tórshavn later in the week once they’re open again. From a very high level, my understanding is that these roofs harken back to the Viking age (later in the week, I’m hoping to visit one of the oldest remaining Viking farmhouses, which dates back to the 800s and is still owned by a local family!).

I also liked the lovely Nordic architecture in both the public parks and the Cathedral, which I’ll visit later in the week.

Since most everything else is closed, I opted to head back to the Airbnb to rest a bit before heading out to a cafe to read and to grab dinner. For dinner, I figured I’d wander back into the Old Town area and ended up in a matrix of beautiful, fairytale-like homes.

I learned two valuable things about Tórshavn today: 1) most restaurants absolutely need reservations and 2) the nicer ones (aka anything that’s not a ‘pub’ or ‘takeaway’) are exclusively a set menu and they know how to upsell, hard. I ended up at Katrina Christiansen, which is a lovely farmhouse that’s been in use since the 1700s, where famed Faroese writer William Heinesen was born and raised. The three “course” menu had several lovely bites, including housemade rye bread with a delicious aioli, a smoked salmon over seaweed salad, shrimp toast, a fall-apart tender lamb served with a smoked cheese salad, and then a delicious meringue dessert. I was initially skeptical about the value for the price, but it was a wonderful meal and the restaurant itself was cozy.

Ultimately, this was a great first day in the Faroes! The only other thing I would say is a) if you’re a solo traveler, be prepared to be flexible (I’ve now rescheduled my entire plan for the remainder of my stay as we shuffle for weather / other bookings for the dates I’d originally planned – I’m always happy to accommodate given I know a party of 6 is a big win for local guides); b) book a rental car in advance, because the next day expense is steep! That being said, I can’t wait to get out and start exploring.