Schmidts in the UK!: Anniversary Cruise--Faroe Islands

The biggest surprise of our trip was our stop at Klaksvik in the Faroe Islands! Voted the most "authentic, unspoiled, and likely to remain so" island by National Geographic Traveler magazine, this group of eighteen mountainous islands surpassed all of our expectations! The Faroe Islands are a self-governing country within the Danish realm whose inhabitants are of Scandinavian origin, descendants of Vikings who came from Norway.

We had wanted to make the most of our day in the Faroes so we booked a "Scenic Faroes and Pancakes" tour through Royal Caribbean. We had some time before our tour left so we took the free shuttle into the town of Klaksvik, where we checked out a craft fair that was going on and Wayne visited the Føroya Bjór brewery, which brews the most popular beer in the Faroe Islands. He was even able to bring some home to England! I would recommend booking a tour through Royal Caribbean or the tour company 62N (which we heard was good) while making sure to leave some time to explore Klaksvik before your tour...we wish we had disembarked sooner!

The girls posing with a Viking Ship in Klaksvik

Then it was time to board the bus for our panoramic tour of the Faroes! Some people were tired right off the bat...

Snoozing through the beautiful scenery!

But they woke up when the bus went through a very cool subsea tunnel between Klaksvik in Bordoy and Leirvik in Esturoy. The tunnel is 6.2 kilometers long and is 150 meters beneath sea level. The Nordoya Subsea Tunnel is a single tube dual-lane tunnel which opened in 2006 and is the longest in the Faroe Islands. This tunnel made it possible to quickly visit multiple islands without relying on ferries....awesome! The girls were very impressed driving through it and decided it might be worth staying awake for a bit!

We then drove along some very windy roads through the mountains before stopping by Funningur, a beautiful village located next to Slættaratindur, the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands. It was really the definition of unspoiled beauty!

So unexpectedly beautiful!

The roads leading to this spot overlooking Funningur were very very windy and we were told they were nearly impossible to navigate in the winter. I can't imagine living here but the views sure are fantastic!

A quick pic!

She woke up happy and approved of the views

The bus then continued on torwards Gjógv, a tiny village (population 53!) located on the northeast tip of the island of Esturoy. Once there, we stopped for a yummy pancake snack and some more beautiful pictures. We had plenty of time to explore there, although I could have stayed all day. Despite these gorgeous sunshine-filled photos, it started raining the minute we reboarded the bus!

Gjógv, Faroe Islands

Many of the homes has grass growing on the roofs, which help insulate the house and are traditional, dating back to the Viking Age (Read more about Faroese homes)

One home had a beautiful charming garden filled with these little guys

The girls were in heaven!

I love this family photo!

Amazing views!

We couldn't resist another family photo

The girls

King of the World

More grass roofs

Taking a little walk around the village

Proof that time outs happen everywhere. ( : Lyla taking a break while Daddy and Riley check out the monument to the men lost at sea

We visited a church in town

Prettiest cemetery I've ever seen

Then it was time to say good-bye to one of the prettiest places we had ever seen and do a bit more exploring before returning to the ship. We stopped to see Risin og Kellingin (The Giant and the Witch), two sea stacks just off the northern coast of Eysturoy. Legend tells that, once upon a time, the giants in Iceland decided that they wanted the Faroes and sent the giant and the witch to bring them back. They tried pulling the islands with a rope but were unsuccessful, causing the mountain to split. They lost track of time passing and the sun came up, causing them to turn to stone. Now they stare longingly towards Iceland for all eternity.