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The Faroe Islands – The next-door neighbor and lost relatives by Áslaug Guðmundsdóttir

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Last week I was walking back to my rental house from the Uni here on the Faroe Islands. As I approached my house, I noticed an elderly man standing in his yard next door. He walked towards me and said “Good afternoon” in Icelandic! I was pleasantly surprised, and we started talking. He must have known forehand that I am Icelandic since he only spoke in Icelandic. The man told me he had traveled to Iceland many times and that’s how he learned Icelandic. He told me about his childhood in the Faroe Islands and that he had worked at the harbor in Tórshavn. He asked me what I was doing in the Faroe Islands and if I had been here before.  After answering his questions, I told him that I remembered hearing about me having a relative who had moved to the Faroe Islands in the 1920’s but I did not remember any names. The man was so excited to hear that and asked me to find out the name of that relative.  Today I met him again and luckily, I had just found out the name of t
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Home away from home by Frederico Da Silva

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Having visited the Faroe Islands twice before, my expectations on hospitality and local engagement were high. Needless to say, these were yet again exceeded, from the moment I got in the taxi at the airport. It was extremely exciting and amusing to listen to the driver’s stories, from his previous life at sea as a fisherman, to local folk stories, as well as his own interpretation of many Faroese cultural aspects associated with these islands’ day to day life. The driver was also extremely keen to learn about what the Community Energy Challenge was about. Following a brief explanation and some information on my studies in Orkney, I was surprised with an extensive summary of the current, and future, renewable energy developments in the Faroe Islands. Throughout the week, we have been submerged in the local Faroese culture, it has been very exciting to regularly socialise with other students, and the locals, who have told us many stories and explained their culture from t
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Unintended Consequences by Árni Þór Þorgeirsson

“In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.“ ~Douglas Adams I find it interesting that in early days of the universe it was mostly Hydrogen, Helium and Lithium. Hydrogen and Helium the building blocks of the universe and Lithium because intelligent lifeforms will at some point realize that in the time and size scale of the universe, everything you do, whatever you may accomplish and whoever you are is utterly insignificant, and so lithium will at least help to cope with the inevitable existential angst. So contrary to popular belief, the universe is not completely indifferent to your suffering.   For billions of years the formations and the subsequent collapse of countless stars have slowly given us the universe we have today. Our own earth is the result of countless dying  stars being made anew in another form, every fish in the sea, every bird in the sky and even the French stand as a testament
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Boat Ride to Vestmannabjørgini- Catherine Kennedy

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After a morning of working hard on our projects, we ate lunch and headed downstairs to board a tour bus heading to Vestmannabjørgini. The drive to Vestmannabjørgini took an hour and, to no one’s surprise, the most common sighting were the sheep. We traveled through several tunnels to reach our destination, and each tunnel was fascinating. The manpower to create even one must have been great, given the fact that tunnels go through mountains in order to allow for short straightforward travel. Once we finally reached our destination, we came to a small boat that was waiting for us to board. We all hurried off the bus and onto the ramp that connected to the wharf and boarded the boat to begin yet another adventure on the Faroe Islands. As the engine started up, and we began to pull away, a voice could be heard through a speaker. The speaker told us to look to our left to see the open pen nets that held aquaculture salmon. We continued on cruising by the steep cliffs, and many sheep and th
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Far Removed From by Sindri Heidarsson

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Right now, I am visiting Faroe Islands and having a great time getting to know my Atlantic neighbors. Walking around in the towns, fjords or mountains, I experience a strong sense of familiarity even though I have never been here before. Our languages obviously have the same origin but have evolved a bit separately. Reading the signs, advertisements and other miscellaneous Faroese text shows how close we are though our pronunciation is often quite different. Everyone in Iceland has heard at least one joke involving our two languages and I have heard to many. Discussing this with one of the Faroese student participants, I have learned that every single one of them is true! We make fun of Faroese tongue and the Faroese make fun of our tongue, in a friendly manner, mind you.  During this trip I have learned so much about Faroese history and culture and am surprised at how close we have been for centuries. The strong connection they still have with their tradition
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Culture of coincidences by Sigridur Fossberg

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Video:  Inception (Unusual chair at University of the Faroe Islands). Wednesday was the first really sunny day. The sea glistening from the rays of the sun. I stepped outside from the cylinder like room at Uni on to the fire escape on the fourth floor, trying desperately to think of what to write for my blog. As I watched the seamen working below me, I remembered how perplexed I’ve been, that the Uni here in Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, is located right in the mddle of the industrial harbour area.  Figure 1 The industrial harbour area of Tórshavn An area that can be pretty noisy and dirty. I was told that was not the original plan - rather a coincidence in fact. The building was originally intended for local businesses in the marine industry. It was no ordinary building however, it was an old salt storage tower that had been renovated and extended to accommodate office space.  As the population has been rising in the last few years and parts of the
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Deep Dive In The Faroes by Thibault Gras (Orkney)

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The Faroe Islands are synonym with travel and adventure. Isolated and hammered by the winds, far from our homes (for most of us) they are a challenge within the challenge. Such a place needs exploring and that what we went for on Thursday, May 16th. A walk through time, first stop: the birth place of the Faroese self determination and cultural awakening. In the middle of the mountains, we received an in depth narration of a milestone of Faroese 20th century, accompanied with a taste of the Faroese (not suitable for everyone though!). And then it all went down, litteraly, untll  Kirkjub øur. There we swam against the flow of time, back to the beginnings of Faroese settlements, all thanks to the narrative of our guide and host for the night. As we can see with this challenge, the Faroes are a meeting point for the people of the North Atlantic. Irish, Danish, Norwegian and even St Magnus of Orkney have history on these land, and Kirkjubøur was the epicentre of most political and
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