Trips
Wed., 7/28/10 - Runavik, Eysturoy Island, Faroe Islands (Denmark)
We docked in Runavik this morning in a very thick fog. It was an interesting dock in this little town. Our ship is 200 feet longer than the dock, but since we were alongside, we did not have to tender off the ship.
We took a morning bus excursion through the countryside on the island of Eysturoy, one of the 18 Faroe islands. Our first stop was at a reconstructed farm in Gota, that once belonged to a famous Viking chieftain, Trondur i Gotu. A local guide (docent) conducted our tour of the church, boathouse, and farmhouse.
A Faroese license plate |
Statue of Trondur i Gotu, a Viking chieftain, stands horizontal on the vertical image of the Faroe Islands.
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House with turf roof |
New church
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Old church with windows only on the south side
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North side of the church with no windows because of the severe north winds |
The boathouse contained many artifacts used by these Viking inhabitants. The church was a crude wooden structure with a turf roof. The pews were narrow boards with a shoulder board that make you sit up very straight and is very uncomfortable. (No falling asleep during the sermon!) The Lutheran minister would come by every several weeks and a deacon would lead the two-hour service on other weekends.
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Viking rowboat - model is still used today. It has a point at both ends and is rowed by six men (or women) with very light, thin oars.
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Harvesting hay by hand because of the very steep slope |
Present-day rowboat |
Hiking trail sign - we did not hike to Leirvik
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Next we stopped at Leirvik to look at the 1000 year old remnants of a Viking farm. The original settlers built their "long house" of stone up about four feet and then stacked turf to raise the walls to ceiling height. They would have used driftwood to create a roof. The ruins of the stone walls of the house with its long heart in the middle and the barn with stalls for the animals, have been excavated. The site is very near the water’s edge.
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Leirvik |
Map of Viking farm ruins
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Viking farm ruins
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Viking farm ruins - Long house |
Viking farm ruins
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Next stop was the very rural village of Rituvik. The pictures show the usual state of the weather, but it did not rain on us.
It was very interesting to ride around this island and see the unique landscape. Sheep graze everywhere. Grass grows on every slope and is cut and racked by hand to feed the sheep in the winter. Grains don't grow well here, so potatoes have become the small farmer's choice. They dig up a square of turf, put in the seed potatoes, and replace the turf grass side down to make harvesting easy!
The last stop was at the Navia woolen mill that manufactures Faroese woolen wear. The young man has turned a simple beginning (as a college project) into a worldwide operation. The sweaters are still hand knit to a few specific patterns and there seems to be no variance in the quality regardless of where in the world they were knitted.
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Rituvik
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Rituvik |
Runavik
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Runavik Harbor |
After lunch we walked a little in the town of Runavik. I bought a souvenir fork/spoon with the oystercatcher bird on it. Town was very quiet. Most people are at Torshavn, the capital, for an annual festival.
We enjoyed this port-of-call. It was both historic and picturesque.
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Runavik - park in town
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Sailing away from Runavik |
The hillsides are alternating basalt and tuft that gives the effect of a many layered cake.
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On the sail-away we passed Torshavn, capital city of the Faroe Islands
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Tonight's entertainment was a Russian classical pianist, Vladimir Zaitsev. He was also very talented and we enjoyed watching and listening to him. So far the guitar, soprano, and pianist all were young enough to still be in their prime. On other cruises some of the guest soloists have been definite has-bens.
The North Sea was a little rough. I put on a dramamine patch and my stomach settled right down. (We later discovered that this was the only time the seas were not a calm as a lake. We were very fortunate!)
Thurs., 7/29/10 - Day at Sea
We ate breakfast in the formal dining room this morning. I had eggs Benedict and Marge had banana pancakes. Both were very good, but far richer than we are used to.
We had to turn our passports over to the ship's office so that Iceland will let us off the ship. It is interesting how the different countries on board are handled. People from the European Union did not have to surrender their passports. We were also interested to hear a couple from Canada talk about vacationing at a beach resort in Cuba.
At 11 AM we listened to a presentation on "What to See and Do in Iceland." We are hoping that our excursion out of Reykjavik tomorrow will let us see the Almannagja fault (or rift) between the European and North American tectonic plates. The fault goes down the middle of the island and is stretching east and west. We also should see some geothermal phenomena.
In the afternoon we heard the lecture on the tectonic plates. We think we have heard about island formation enough now to appreciate what we will try to look at.
The evening entertainment was a return to the stage by the classical guitarist, the Irish comedian (we did not go to his first show), and the classical soprano. Good music puts us in a pleasant mood before going to bed.
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