Travel Impressions from the Faroe Islands

In the summer of 2018, I visited the Faroe Islands with my family for about three weeks.

The Faroe Islands are an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark and consist of a group of 18 islands in the North Atlantic between Scotland, Norway, and Iceland.

We traveled there on the Norröna car ferry, which is the lifeline of the Faroe Islands. Many tourists use the ferry to travel to Iceland. We disembarked halfway through the journey, after a roughly 30-hour crossing from the Danish port of Hirsthals. During the ferry ride, if visibility is good, you can see Fair, the southernmost island of the Shetlands. We spotted the island’s lighthouse.

In the Faroe Islands, we stayed in Leirvik, on the island of Eysturoy. The central location and our car made it possible for us to visit many of the 18 islands. The largest islands are connected by undersea tunnels and are therefore easily accessible.

The photos show stunning natural scenery from our hikes. Most of the hiking trails are the old postal routes between the individual towns. Before the roads and tunnels were built, these paths were the only connection to the outside world.

One of our fondest memories is the trip to the northernmost island, Fugloy, on the mail boat “Ritan” from Hvannasund. During the trip to the island, we struck up a conversation with the captain. He told us that his daughter had worked in Germany. Since it was the last ferry of the weekend, many locals were on board. They had been visiting their families on the islands. On the return trip, the captain made a detour to the bird cliffs at Stapi and showed us this magnificent view.