Sagas

Have you been to the Faroes? If not, maybe you have an idea of what you will find on these Viking isles? Perhaps you’re thinking steep green hills, wooden houses, grass roofs…? You would be right.

The photo above shows Kirkjubøargarður, once the home of a Viking king. The oldest part of the building is 1000 years old, so it’s actually one of the oldest inhabited wooden houses in the world. The Patursson family has lived here since 1557, now on the 17th generation.

Sagas abound in the Faroes. Tórshavn, the tiny island capital, is home to the world’s first parliament, established by Vikings in 850 CE. However, the islands are older than that. When the Norwegians stopped by for the first time in 795, they stumbled upon hermit Irish monks. The monks probably arrived in 625, hoping to find natives to save. No such luck! Instead, they occupied themselves with keeping sheep and growing oat. The monks are said to have moved on towards Iceland about the time the Norwegians came along.

So much for sagas. Perhaps more surprisingly, Tórshavn is also home to a fabulous sushi restaurant and some colourful street art.

Sushi in the Faroe Islands – North Atlantic fish meets Japan

Perhaps you thought the Faroese mostly ate puffin and whale meat? Not so.

With funky decor, location in the heart of Tórshavn, excellent food, and a sleek wine bar, Etika is a local highlight. As you might guess from the name, Etika is also an ethically and environmentally aware establishment, offering locally sourced fish and green gift items for sale. Freshly caught North Atlantic fish meets Japanese philosophy.

I’m hardly a raw fish connoisseur, but my daughters adore sushi above all else. During our three days in the Faroes, they visited Etika four times!

Faroe Islands public art

So you thought street art was a big city phenomenon? The 13 000 residents of Tórshavn might disagree. Here’s a small selection.

To see more travel photos, visit Budget Travelers Sandbox

Torshavn

Faroe Islands: Sagas, sushi and street art is a post from Sophie's World

A: Age of first international trip: At 11, I went to New Orleans with my mum and brother to visit our aunt. It was a long, arduous journey, involving 4 planes and 5 airports each way. We had heaps of fun though. And unlimited sodas.

B: Best (foreign) beer: I’m hardly a beer connoisseur, not even that keen, actually. Maybe I had too many, too strong German beers on my first parent-free holiday at 15. Sick for days. I prefer light beers, like Corona, with a bit of lime in it.

C: Cuisine (favourite): Arabic (fondly remembering a summer in Jordan more than 20 years ago).

D: Destinations, favourite, least favourite and why: So many faves: London, Australia and our once temporary home in New Zealand are just a few. Heaps of beauty spots at home in Norway, too. And the Middle East continues to fascinate me.

Our backyard in Takapuna, NZ

I don’t really have any least favourites: But if someone held a gun to my head, forcing me to choose, I might say I can probably live happily even if I never saw Belarus again. I was in Minsk in 1994. It was a short business trip, just a few days, with very little time to explore the city, let alone the country. And yet…

E: Event experienced abroad that made you say “wow”: Frau Greber’s cooking. When I was 15, I spent a summer in Bregenz. Even though much of that summer was spent experimenting with too strong German beer (see above), I still remember my Austrian host mother’s cooking. As far as I’m concerned, she’s the best cook in the world. She could make a gourmet meal of anything. And she made a cherry yogurt I still dream about now and then.

F: Favourite mode of transportation: My cool, quick little Citroën, boats and trains. (Considering the somewhat tedious train journey I take every day, I’m surprising myself). And boats? I dream of taking the Royal Mail ship to St Helena, a 31-day journey from Britain. Now, to get the kids to come along.

G: Greatest feeling while travelling: Being completely free to let the day – and fate – be my guide.

H: Hottest place travelled to: June 1992, Cairo, 45 C. Still remember. So does my oldest daughter, then 4.

I: Incredible service experienced and where: Aggie Grey’s in Apia, Samoa, one of my favourite hotels.

Aggie Grey’s

J: Journey that took the longest: Oslo to Auckland always seems to take a while.

K: Keepsake from travels: I’ve lugged around ridiculously heavy souvenirs too many times to count. But I do like that Malawi chair. And the huge wall hanging from Jaipur. And the curtains from Windhoek. Even the bird cage from Lucca.

L: Let-down sight, why and where: None. Not a place’s fault if I have faulty expectations.

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel: Bente, a school mate, always travelled everywhere and brought home the most exotic souvenirs. Exotic through the eyes of a kid during the 70s, at least. I was madly envious – and spent many happy hours playing with her plastic Venetian gondola and munching on tangerines from Costa del Sol with leaves still on them…

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in: One that springs to mind is the Polana in Maputo, Mozambique.

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?: Everything: animals, people, buildings, parks, trees, sculptures, landscapes, details…

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where? Over the years, there’s been a gazillion stamps from more than 100 countries. When I first began travelling, we were given passport stamps even in Europe. Not anymore, sadly.

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where: The dead monks in Kiev’s Persch-Lavra, maybe…

R: Recommended sight, event or experience: Any memorial or museum to human cruelty is worth seeing, to solidify our stand against it, for when it next occurs and we’re given an opportunity to make a difference.

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling: Transportation. Also, sometimes I can spend an indecent amount of money on a hotel room, if it’s quirky or interesting enough. I’m so staying at the Pera Palace next time in Istanbul.

T: Touristy thing done:

Nuff said.

U: Unforgettable travel memory: Hmm…, probably riding a camel through the Great Rann of Kucth in the Indian province of Gujarat, more or less scotch-guarded by camel pee, with no toilets and no showers for days, sleeping in hay in a shed and waking up next to newborn lambs on Christmas Day.

V: Visas, how many and for where? I’m lucky – Norwegian citizens can get around most of the world hassle-free and without visas. But I do have a few, several US student visas among them. My favourite is the Chinese visa I was given to go to Fujian to get my youngest daughter.

W: Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where? Visciola, under the trees in Giovanni Giusti’s vineyard in Marche.

X: eXcellent view and from where?: Seeing the misty and mysterious Faroes appear before me from the deck of M/S Norrøna was pure magic. I can just imagine how the Vikings must have felt, when first setting eyes on those ancient isles.

Iguazu Falls are a close second. I hung back after closing hours and had a few minutes all to myself before I was spotted and very politely told to leave. Imagine just coming upon such a sight (and sound), completely unaware it was there, as the first visitors must have been, thousands of years ago.

Y: Years spent traveling?: Decades!

Z: Zealous sports fans and where: The annual cross country races at Oslo’s Holmenkollen, especially the 50 km. Norwegians are absolutely mad about cross country skiing, doing and watching.

Passing the baton to you,

• Jeremy of Living the Dream
• Mariana of Travel Thirst
• Monique of Mo Travels
• Thomas of Top Backpacking Destinations
• Laurence of Finding the Universe

A to Z of Sophie’s World is a post from Sophie's World

Oyggjarvegur, the old mountain road from Torshavn, the tiny capital of the Faroes, towards the northern islands, is spectacular. But then, nothing less is to be expected in the world’s best island-destination. In places, there are no barriers between us and a 1000-foot drop into the chilling waters of the North Atlantic fjord. We edge slowly towards the deliciously dizzying chasm.

Taking a step back, I almost stumble over a ram’s skull, tufts of grass protruding through the cavities where its eyes once were. All along the road, sheep graze, oblivious to traffic. This is the Faroe (meaning sheep) Islands, after all.

With verdant, stunning scenery, shaggy sheep in the middle of the road and plunging gorges; these ancient Viking isles are quite literally drop-dead gorgeous.

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Flirting with Fate in the Faroe Islands is a post from Sophie's World

In January, I was in Geneva. It was mostly business, visiting ILO. But I always enjoy visiting Switzerland. For a change, I didn’t make the tiniest effort to discover anything new. Lazy and relaxing.

The long hallways of ILO

I spent a few ice-cold days in Helsinki in February. The Finnish capital is such a stylish city and I enjoyed it heaps, even though it was snowing horizontally.

Helsinki, freezing

In spring, what was meant to be a 3-day walking holiday in Norfolk, sans kids, turned out to be twice as long, courtesy of the little tease Eyjafjallajökull. Instead of the usual 1.5 hour flight from London to Oslo, it took a train, an over-night international ferry, more trains, another international ferry and yet another train before I managed to get home.

Norfolk Coast Path at low tide

Next was a drive to Trondheim, city of the Viking King. A lovely drive across Mt Dovrefjell, it was.

Dovrefjell in May

In June, work took me to the West Country, to Molde and Ona Light House. Such a tiny, windblown island, yet so beautiful – with a whopping 30 inhabitants. The local potter told me her daughter lives in London!

Ona Light House

View from Ona Light House

Such a busy work year, I first found time for a proper family holiday in July. This time, we focussed mainly on Cornwall, which is now our favourite part of Britain. We stayed at the spooky Jamaica Inn on the even spookier Bodmin Moor. We visited Truro, St. Ives, Land’s End, Mousehole, Penzance, Fowey, Looe, Polperro, Newquay, Tintagel and Port Isaac, which we adored so much we visited twice!

Leaving Cornwall, we explored Dartmoor and some great seaside towns along the Jurassic coast of Devon. We discovered Hayling Island, stopped in Portsmouth, had ice cream and did not visit the castle in Arundel, spent three great days in Brighton, had a look at Battle (by Hastings), a stroll through Windsor and a Sunday stop in Andover (msotly because Poirot was here for the ABC-murders – my oldest daughter adores him). Each city is worthy of a post, good and bad. Meanwhile, here is Alex’ summary on Cornwall and on the other South England spots.

Pt Isaac

At the end of the month, we went to the Hvaler Archipelago. So close, yet it was my first visit. Lovely place; the skerries are typical of the southern Norwegian coastline.

The skerries at Hvaler

In Port Isaac, we met a lovely Faroese couple – and so, we were inspired to hop on the ferry to Jutland, then drive south to Hanstholm, the sleepy Danish town that is the departure point for ferries for the Faroe Islands. On the M/S Norrøna, we sailed past the Norwegian coast towards Torshavn, capital of this stunning North Atlantic archipelago. It was absolutely magical to slowly see these green, vertical islands appear slowly before us through the mist – much like the Vikings must have felt, I imagine, when first spotting these isles 1000 years ago. Posts and articles are in the pipeline. Meanwhile, here’s Alex’ take on the Faroes.

Funningur, an ancient Viking settlement

In September, work brought me to London yet again. Tacking on a week or so, I met the girls, hired a car and drove to Wales to see my oldest daughter off to uni in Aberystwyth. We found lots of lovely spots in Pembrokeshire National Park and Ceredigion in Western Wales, many with names beginning with Aber.

The lagoon at Abereiddy

Copenhagen in November meant TBEX and the opportunity to meet lots of fellow travel bloggers. Look forward to seeing some of them again in Manchester in March.

Sorry, no photos – courtesy of the mad man of Nørrebro.

Work again in December, back to London. And another few days tacked on for Christmas shopping, Harry Potter exploration – and a visit to one of our favourite restaurants in our favourite London neighbourhoods: Carluccio’s in Hampstead.

Platform 9 3/4, King's Cross Station

But the travelling year 2010 isn’t over yet. We’ll end it this Friday, by celebrating New Year’s in Los Angeles. Not sure how, yet. It may well be just by sleeping off jet-lag.

…and 2011
As 2011 begins, we’ll leave – 25 degrees C behind (about -13 F) and spend about a fortnight on a boat, travelling down the Pacific coast of Central America, through the Panama Canal, then up to Key West, where I haven’t been in more than 20 years. We’ll be mostly offline, I think, as shipside wifi is rumoured to cost a king’s ransom. We’re anticipating this journey with great pleasure; my 9-year-old wants to swim with dolphins and zip line in Costa Rica. No doubt, the frisky Nordic winter weather will be here waiting for us when we return.

Further into 2011, no plans are set in stone. There’s Manchester. I’m also thinking Kaliningrad. And Caucasus. And Lebanon. And Libya. And and and…

So, what fun spots did you see this year?

Travels of 2010 is a post from Sophie's World

Easy, right? Well, you’d think. But not so. Most found it a bit of a challenge, rating one spot above all others. We all adore so very many places, and favourites may depend on any number of factors. My favourite place often tend to be where I visited last.

Nevertheless, most of the contributing bloggers managed to choose one place. What follows is a long, delicious list of wonderful spots around the world: a market, several cities and towns, music, beaches, a hidden corner, a temple path, a castle, a fountain and a garden, a busy city square, islands, landscapes, a mud festival even. So grab a cuppa (or an apple), sit down, relax and enjoy all these great posts:

Julie Falconer, known as A Lady in London, loves Beijing’s 798 Art District.

• Tucked away in the northeastern corner of the city, the 798 zone is a former factory complex that is now packed with contemporary art galleries, chic cafes, boutiques, and exhibition spaces. Interspersed among the converted warehouses and modern buildings are massive sculptures and public art displays, making every street a surprise for the visitor… Giant red dinosaurs in cages gave way to cavernous warehouses full of thick red paintings. An exhibition of Socialist Realism from North Korea transitioned to a courtyard full of menacing clay wolves.

Sounds fabulous. I had never heard about it before Julie described it so temptingly, but now it tops my Beijing bucket list.

David Hogan jr of the snazzily-named website Malaysia Asia adores Luang Prabang. So does UNESCO, listing this former Laotian capital among World Heritage properties particularly worthy of preservation and protection. David says:

• Luang Prabang was built by the European colonials in the 19th and 20th century era and houses one of the best collection of French provincial style homes which many have been converted into cafes, restaurants or even boutique hotels. The beauty about Luang Prabang is that due to the UNESCO status (which was awarded in 1995), is there are absolutely no modern buildings here making it a perfect place to enjoy the natural culture and heritage of Laos. … When I was walking around the main town of Luang Prabang, I could not help notice the pure French Indochinese architectural marvels of that era. Some of them stand out in the night as they are beautifully lit.

Suddenly, I can’t understand why I haven’t I been to Luang Prabang – or indeed, Laos – yet. Definitely time for a visit.

In Home, Sweet Home, Ragne from Destination Anywhere shares her love for Morocco. She does make this North African country – and magical Marrakech especially – sound very enticing.

• First time i visited Morocco was in June 2008. I would never have guessed that this noisy, loud, hot and difficult country will have such a hold over me that even before the year passes i’m going back for the 3rd time. And i feel so pleased to be back – amidst all that roller-coaster of color, art and people. It feels like i’ve been away for way too long already, though it’s only been 5 months since my last visit. I can’t explain the hold Morocco has over me. It’s like a love-story that keeps burning with a bright flame, enticing and intoxicating me. I feel so unbelievably comfortable here.

Sounds dreamy, doesn’t it?

Kerry Dexter of Music Road shares this evocative post about music and hope in Derry.

Reminding us of the events of Bloody Sunday 38 years ago, she writes:

• People lay dead on the streets of Derry then, and it is one of the events which deepened the divisions and struggles across the political and personal landscapes of Ireland… Music has always been a part of the conflict, and the grieving, and the reach for reconciliation

before optimistically concluding:

• when people sing together, there is the possibility of hope.

Beautiful post. Also, check out this post for a video of local Derry girl Cara Dillon singing There were Roses, Tommy Sands’ haunting song, setting the political struggles in the context of everyday life.

Over at LeX Paradise, LeX Tan Yih Liang has an unusual favourite: The Boryeong Mud Festival

• The mud is dug up near Boryeong, trucked to the Daecheon beach area, and dumped at a ‘Mud Experience Land’. The mud is considered rich in minerals and used to manufacture cosmetics.… Some of the final weekend participants are foreign tourists, and especially American GIs, but most of the participants during the week are Koreans, attracted by clever marketing by the town. The town fathers and mothers discovered that the mud is more lucrative as a tourist attraction than using the muddy fields for agriculture.

LeX tells us about his experiences at this action-packed Korean festival and gives useful information on how to get there. The festival attracts a whopping 1.5 million visitors every year! Looks fun. Dirty, but fun.

Claire Algarme of First-time travels shares her favourite place, lovely Coron Island in the provice of Palawan in the Philippines.

• Though not as hyped as Bali or Boracay or Phuket or any beach destination in Southeast Asia, Palawan is a favorite among foreigners who come to this tropical country of 7,107 islands because of its beauty and serenity. Tourists get a close brush with nature, exciting adventures, and a large dose of peace and quiet.

Claire is not the only one who loves this spot:

• Famous international personalities and celebrities privately sneaked to this part of the globe to get away from the maddening crowd and enjoy the sun and the sand without the threat of paparazzi.

I haven’t been to the Philippines yet, but when I go, I’d like to hit one of those Coron beaches.

Vibeke Montero of Photito’s Blog has fallen in love with Oslo all over again. In Oslo for free, she recounts a lovely summer day full of pleasant surprises. In the most expensive city in the world, she encounters a bus driver who lets her ride for free, an Italian cafe owner who offers a latte on the house, a fruit seller charging only a symbolic sum for his apples…

Vibeke writes:

• … I was made to feel so welcome by a city I haven’t lived in for a good few years. It was as if Oslo herself wanted to remind me that she can indeed be a charmer, a real sweet talker with plenty of charisma. And I know exactly why. Look to the sky for the answer. If it is full of grey skies and drizzle you don’t get this kind of treatment. When the snow is inches deep and people are freezing and cars have to be undug to be used, I can assure you there are no free rides. You’ll be lucky to catch someone smiling from the depths of their scarves and woolly hats. However, when the sun is shining, magic happens.

So true! At the first sign of summer, Norwegians cast off their inhibitions – along with most of their clothes – and magic does indeed happen!

Oh, and by the way: Norwegian apples – best in the world! Totally objectively speaking, of course

Renee King of the cleverly named A View to a Thrill shares her love affair with Prague and heaps of great photos. Renee calls this city on the banks of the River Moldau one of the rarest jewels in the European Union.

• I managed to leave enough of my heart in Prague which would necessitate my going back someday to reclaim it, says Renee. Prague promised not only to court my senses to sublime ecstasy, but to ensure that I would fall hopelessly in love with it. So who was I to refuse?

Who indeed? Prague is like a fairy tale, drawing you in.

Liz Borod Wright from Travelogged tells us about Red Beach: The Best Beach in Santorini near the ancient, Minoan site of Akrotiri.

• We were intrigued by the name of the Red Beach and by the idea of red sand. We didn’t know much about it beyond that and we didn’t want to get our hopes up because of Kamari. However, it turned out to be among the most spectacular beaches I have ever seen. It has to be best beach in Santorini.

Check out Liz’ great Red Beach photo gallery, too.

No wonder you like it, Liz. Santorini is already high on my go-to list. I’m thinking Greek island-hopping (with kids), definitely including Santorini. After all, it’s said to be the last remnant of mythical Atlantis. Heaps of interesting history, philosophy and mythology here. And with this unusual red-sand beach near Akrotiri, I’m even more intrigued.

Jason of Alpaca Suitcase loves the Tuscan countryside, specifically the Val D’Orcia region around Pienza between Montalcino and Montepulciano. Jason says:

• We recently drove through the Val D’Orcia and marveled at the harmonious blend between natural beauty and man’s best efforts. The green rolling hills were so lush that the texture resembled a soft baby’s blanket, fresh out of the dryer, left to fall gently on the terrain. From that blanket a patchwork quilt is created. Start with a square of twenty-five trimmed olive trees standing in a perfect 5-by-5 formation, then a wild section of pine, chestnuts, cork oak and myrtle, and then patch in a small vinyard of grapes, the parallel lines wrapping tightly over a small hill. Everywhere you look, man has added to the natural beauty. We saw many straight gravel driveways with perfect lines of trimmed cypress trees on both sides leading to stone farmhouses with vegetable gardens of tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, basil, and sage. And wheat fields everywhere…manicured to perfection.

La bella Toscana: she does indeed inspire poetry.

Erin Ridley of La Tortuga Viajera proves choosing only one favourite is very difficult indeed. In there’s no place like …, she gives us two faves. The first is a perfect vista in San Francisco. Erin takes us to a little spot on the water side of Broderick Street, from where you can see the Marina, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.

• Here, in this little piece of heaven on earth, you can just sit while your skin gets kissed by the crisp marine air, and everything around you seems to stand still. I’ve spent countless moments in this very spot, reflecting on a stressful day, pondering life changing decisions (to move to Spain or not to?), or simply just reminding myself how grateful I am to be at that very place with such a special city wrapped around me like a familiar hug.

Erin’s other favourite is a magical Moorish castle. You have to stop by her blog to find out more

Jeff Funnekotter of Big City Blog has numerous favourites as well: a beachfront cafe in Malaga, New Zealand’s Paihia and his parents’ kitchen (I love that!). But Jardin du Luxembourg – and particularly the Fontaine de Medicis – tops his list. Jeff says:

I’ve spent many happy moments in the Jardin du Luxembourg myself, away from the hustle and bustle of the boulevards. Next time I’ll have a closer look at this amazing fountain.

In How I Know a Favorite Place, John Houser of The Dotted Route, counts down to his number one spot. Runners-up include the stunning Tiger Leaping Gorge in China’s Yunnan province and Stuttgart’s lively Schlossplatz. But top billing goes to London’s Trafalgar Square.

• When I stepped into Trafalgar Square, I just knew that I was in London. The red double-decker buses drove around the streets, the postmodernist architecture, and the throngs of people all just spoke to me an immediate feeling that I was in London. This is no where else that this could be. It was as if the city said to me, “Here I am, John. Feel right at home.” And I did. London stands out, in my mind, as the cosmopolitan city of the world and the Trafalgar Square was the cross-section of where millions before me have come before.

London – my favourite city in the world!

Jennifer LoPrete of Orange Polka Dot lists Northern California’s Sea Ranch as her “favourite place just to be”:

• Created in the 1960s as a planned development that would have minimal environmental impact and a style that blended with the rugged natural surroundings. Sea Ranch is quintessential Northern California. Residential density is purposely low. Utilities lines are underground. Cars must not be parked in sight of others or on the streets. There are no fenced and landscaped backyards. But rather a simple deck over a common space of natural terrain, which is maintained by grazing sheep and deer.
  

I’ve never heard of Sea Ranch before, but it sounds absolutely wonderful. And very ahead of its time.

Over at Todd’s Wanderings, Todd Wassel’s favourite spot is the path behind the Iwayaji Temple, Japan Here’s why:

• The trail delivers the walker from a pristine wooded ridge line path into an ancient moss green forest with enormous cypress trees and age worn shrines and religious carvings. The forest is dark, damp and its enormity and silence creates an atmosphere were a Buddha or Shinto god could easily pop out from behind the next corner. It is also along this path that I came to a sudden realization about my life, where I want to be and what I love to do.… Not a week goes by that I don’t think about the path leading to Temple 45 and the effect it’s had on my life. I dream of going back, if for nothing more than to spend some time in that magical forest empty of humanity but full of gods, demons, enlightenment and bright green moss.

Todd provides fascinating background info and gorgeous photographs and is currently writing a book on the Shikoku Pilgrimage.

Wow, what a stunning secret temple path – almost enough to make one religious.

And finally, what’s my favourite, you ask? Well, perhaps you’re not asking, but I’ll tell you anyway. Like so many, I had great difficulties choosing – but finally settled on a short-list of two. Both are remote islands, neither of them tropical. One is a new aquaintance: the enigmatic, verdant Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic. The other is the haunting – and haunted – Norfolk Island. For the number one spot, I’ll choose the latter.

Once Britain’s worst penal colony, Norfolk is now a self-governing Australian island – and home to the descendants of the Bounty mutineers ever since Pitcairn became too small. Exciting history, stunning landscape, ghosts, secrets, mysteries; a most excellent little speck in the Pacific.

On this carnival around the world, we have covered 5 continents. We’ve been in China, Laos, Morocco, Ireland, South Korea, the Philippines, Norway, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, the USA, Spain, France, England, Japan and Australia/Pacific. I hope you’ve enjoyed all these wonderful spots around the world. I know I have.

The last Lonely Planet Blogsherpa Carnival was hosted by Claire of First-time travel and was all about first-time travel outside your country. The next carnival will be hosted by Kat over at Tie-Dye Travels and is about food around the world. Yum! See you there!

Blog carnival: Your favourite place on earth is a post from Sophie's World