Sarah Pedersen We spent a little more than a week in Klaksvík and really enjoyed this town and the harbour. The dock here is very new and the electricity and water is easy to get to (no toilets or washing machine though). But that is not the only reason why we were were here for so long. fore several days we had had a lot of wind and rain and most of the days have been spent inside. We woke up one morning and most of the mountains around us had a good covering of snow on the tops.
Before the bad weather set in we had some nice days here though. We arrived on a sunny day and had lunch at a café that we also tried on road trip Café Frida. It makes very good burgers, open sandwiches and also had a great vegan chocolate cake. The coffee is also nice and strong.
We also went to the brewery Föroya Bjór to try some local beers and really like the one called Slupp, but the IPA is the most bitter IPA we ever tried. Here we prefer the one IPA from OY.
Saturday was the start of the Islands rowing races which ended with a spectacular fireworks display.
Christian’s Church
The church in Klaksvík is very pretty inside and has some interesting stories. It is a somewhat new church, but the baptism bowl is a 3500 years old sacrificial stone found North of Copenhagen and instead of keeping it in the national museum, they thought it could be used in the church. It was used to collect the blood of the sacrificed person or animal, so they could splash it on the pictures of their goods.
The huge picture in the back of the church was originally made for the church in Viborg (Denmark), but took damage on the material it was made on, so it was taken down and put away. But the architect of Christian’s Church knew of the painting and wanted to build a church for it. So they were allowed to borrow it for 75 years to start with.
All churches in Faroe Islands have a ship inside, because it symbolises the sea of life. This church is so big, that a model ship would be too small, so they put a traditional rowing boat there.
And last they have some very pretty wooden religious wall sculptures hanging below the church, which we were not allowed to photograph, so you have to go and see them.
The local bar
We finally found a local bar Roykstovan that doesn’t start at 1 am and people are very friendly in there. It is also the bar that has been open for the longest continuous period in Faroe Islands and have just celebrated their 50th birthday. Outside there are some great wall paintings.
Best kept tourist attraction
So now we’ve come to the best kept most secret Faroese experience, we have found. It is the Thursday night saunagus experience in swimming pool! Saunagus takes place in a sauna where aesthetic oils are poured on the stones to fill the room with heat and smell. It is around 90 degrees in the sauna. After 3 or 4 rounds of heat, we were given oily salt to rub onto the body in the steam room and in the end you come out all relaxed and soft. And it is all in Faroese so you just have to follow the rest of the group, that is very friendly and helpful.
Even if you are not there on a Thursday, the spa area is just fantastic and only cost 100kr. It has 2 saunas, 3 jacuzzis, a steam room and a cold water barrel. It is a brilliant way to relax.
Important information before going
So a Dane like me, was surpriced to learn, that in the UK you do not need to shower naked before going in the pools – many people didn’t shower at all. I think that in Scandinavian pools you will always have to have a real shower before swimming – but if any Scandinavian readers disagree, please leave a comment 😀
So for people who are planning on going to the pools be aware that
- You have to shower before entering the pools
- and you have to do it naked and thoroughly!
Waiting for wind in Fuglafjørður
After over a week in Klaskvík the rainy and windy days were taking their tolls on us, so we decided to go to the next harbour so we were a little closer to heading to Iceland. As the strike was still on the busses were still not running and the fresh food had been gone for weeks, but at Fuglafjørður we had a heard rumours of a washing machine, so we went there to do some laundry. Supermarkets here are close by and very good.
There is a very nice walk up to nice water fall and we also visited their local pub where we met some friendly and chatty fishermen and learned about life in Faroe Islands. After a few days there we could head up to Eíði passing the iconic cliffs and The Giant and The Witch for a last night in Faroe Islands before heading to Iceland.
Some useful tips for sailing in Faroe Islands
- It is a good idea to have loads of shore power cables as you sometimes have to be creative when finding an outlet. At times we needed over 50 Meters
- We also needed a similar length of fresh water hose.
- We used 5 different sizes/types of shore power plugs, so it is a good idea to have a variety.
- Have one or two good quality fender boards and different types of fenders. The harbours are very different – some are pontoons but many are just walls with tyres for fishing vessels.
- Understand the tidal currents and dangers that these present.
