Going back to the Faroe Islands

I am headed to the Faroe Islands for the first time in forty years. I thought it would be nice to resurrect this blog to record this trip. I hope I can provide everyone with some entertainment on this blog about our trip.

More will be posted soon.

New App??

Ok i am trying out a new app. Maybe I will be able to keep up with this blog.

TÝR in America

OK I am getting excited. Týr has come to America and they will be in Seattle this weekend. If you are not familiar with Týr they are a Faroese metal band. But it is more then your typical metal band, their music is what is called by many as viking metal. This is a mix of traditional Faroese folk music with the metal influence. The mixture produces a unique sound.

Here is a video of them.



So if you are in the Seattle area check them out.


They will be in the United States through the end of March. Check out their MySpace site for additional shows. I will let you know how the show went in a future blog.

Barack Obama and the Faroe Islands

This is just a quick update but I thought it was important as a Faroese American. Kaj Leo Johannesen the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands had sent a congratulations to President Omama on his victory. And low and behold he responded back.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONGRATULATIONS ON MY ELECTION AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. YOUR THOUGHTFUL MESSAGE IS MUCH APPRECIATED.

I AM CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER IN A SPIRIT OF PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP TO BUILD A MORE SECURE WORLD DURING THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU IN THAT EFFORT AND IN PROMOTING GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN OUR PEOPLES."

I know this isn't much but I think that for a country the size of the Faroe Islands, to be acknowledged by the President of the United States is something that all Faroese people should be proud of.

Source: portal.fo

Saltfisk

So you are probably wondering what this image is. I thought the same thing. This happens to be a mountain of SALT. I found this tidbit of information about salt and the Faroe Islands on the website Ibiza Spotlight. It seems that the island of Ibiza, Spain produces an average of 37,000 tons of salt annually. Of that 37,000 the Faroe Islands uses 20,000 tons to salt the fish they catch.


Now that is a lot of salted fish. One of the foods that I remember from my trips to the Faroe Islands is just that, Saltfisk. It is a very popular dinner choose in the Faroe Islands. I know there has to be many ways of fixing saltfisk but the way I remember and enjoyed the most is made somewhat like a stew. I am not a cook so please don't ask but basically everything is put into a pot. The saltfisk and potatoes are put into the same pot with a white cream gravy and let to cook until it is ready to eat. And after a day of fishing on the ship there is nothing better to fill that empty spot in your stomach. If you get a chance make sure you try some.



Here is a recent picture Nólsoy and the snow they have received this last week. What a beautiful image of the mountain and the village. I wish was there. I have never been to the Faroe Islands in the winter that I am able to remember anyway.

Panoramic View of the Faroe Islands

view Panoramic photography of Europe

I found this website that has panoramic images of Tórshavn. The one I posted here is one that has Nólsoy in the background. This is some cool technology and makes you feel that you are truly there.

Here is the link to other 360 Cities in Faroe Islands.

Faroe Islands on Facebook

Well it is sometimes hard to find news on the Faroe Islands but one area that I use and that I would suggest to anyone that is interested in the Faroe Islands is Facebook. For me it is a way to keep in touch with family and friends in the Faroe Islands but for others it is a way to make new connections with people from the Faroe Islands.

There are many groups about the Faroe Islands and many that are in English for those of us that can't read Faroese. A couple of the English groups I would recommend are Føroyar and Faroe Islands.

Føroyar is described as group for those with connection with the Faroe Islands. It has a lot of links and information about the Faroe Islands. And with all of the groups there is discussions and what Facebook calls "Wall" postings. There is also the oppertunity for you to make your own connections with friends in the Faroe Islands through the members list.

Faroe Islands is described as group for anyone interested in the Faroe Islands. This group is basicly all in English and as I explanded above you have many ways of making connections with people in the Faroe Islands.

One of the new groups is Faroe Enthusiasts and Ambassadors which is group set to promote the Faroe Islands to the world. If you are interested in partisapating in promoting the Faroe Islands to those who are unaware of this beautiful country this is the place to be.

So for all you that are looking to become closer to the Faroe Islands the use of Facebook is one of the best ways.

And on a final note for Facebook there is a group called Faroese In America. It is a small group but is for those of us that are Faroese or part Faroese to make connection. Currently there is only 7 members and three of those are myself and my brother and sister. So if there is any of you Faroese that living in the USA please join and lets become friends.

Another Image of Nølsoy

Hopefully all the links to Facebook works. I am not sure how the links works if you don't have a Facebook account.

The Faroe Islands Podcast

OK this may seem like a cop out for not writing but I have to again promote another blog for everyone who is interested in the Faroe Islands. The first podcast from "The Faroe Islands Podcast" is uploaded for your listening pleasure. This project has been put together by the two bloggers I promoted last week. This world of blogging is amazing how people from around the world can become friends. Both Workman and Faroeman have become good friends through their blogs and this project has blossomed from that friendship. I am proud to call them both friends and hopefully one of these days we can all meet outside of this cyberworld.

Now about the podcast, they hope to have weekly broadcast that will cover news, culture, politics and music. This first podcast covers the economy, music and a little history of the Faroe Islands. The podcast is in English for those of us that have a difficult time understanding Faroese. Hopefully this weekly podcast will give everyone more information about this beautiful place in the world.

OK I thought I should post some more images. These are a couple that my brother took on his trip this last summer.



These images are of the ruins of the first settlement on Nolsoy where my family first came a thousand years ago. You can see in the background where the current village is now.

Blogs to Visit

I thought I would give you a couple blogs to follow about the Faroe Islands. I have been reading these for awhile now.

Workman is the one I would like to promote the most today. He has an article in the Mail Tribune from Medford OR today about him. He has been a constant promoter of the Faroe Islands with his Faroe Friday post. Every week he has an article of the Faroe Islands with images and news about the islands. He is always trying to promote the Faroe Islands and make more us aware of these islands.

Faroe Man was one of the first blogs I found with any news on the Faroe Islands that was written in English. He does a great job of updating the world on his blog Everything About The Faroe Islands about the things that are going on with the Faroe Islands.

The last one today is Jenny. She is like me, half Faroese. On her blog she traces her journey of discovering her family back to the Faroe Islands. On her blog Jenny's Year Abroad she lets us know of her journey and all the things that she has discovered. In all of this process she has written a book about this journey. Currently it is only written Faroese but hopefully one day it will be in English.

So hopefully these are few places you can find out a little more about the Faroe Islands.

A New Year and a New Start

Well I haven't been very good at keeping this blog up to date but it is a new year and hopefully I can do a better job in 2009. For now I will give post a new picture and I will be back with more information and news about the Faroe Islands.

This is the church I was baptized in.

Faroese Parliament (Løgtingið) Election Results

Well I guess you can call me a political junkie. I spent the day watching the returns of the Nevada caucuses, the South Carolina primaries and searching the internet for results of the Faroese Parliament. I'll let you find out about the first two outcomes on your own but just know that my candidate did not win. But I am still hoping that he will prevail.

But what I wanted to bring to you are the results of the Faroese Parliamentary election. This was a little more difficult to find information. I was able to get some result and some discussion through the forum Kjak.fo. In here I was able to get a live feed to the Faroese TV that had the election returns. It was a little difficult to understand (since I know very little Faroese) but it was nice to watch and see how they cover their election. They had remote reporters asking the voters what seemed to be typical question. They hand the normal newsmen trying to analyze what the results meant. And in the end it looks like the parliament will pretty much stay the same.


The three main parties of the coalition had no change in their seats in the parliament, so there doesn't seem to be any major shift towards or away from independence. And I suspect that the Prime Minister will still stay the same but I guess we will have to wait on that.

For more breakdown on the results you can check out the Faroese Radio but it is in Faroese. You can also find out a little more about Faroese politics from Wikipedia.

I hope this was helpful for anyone wanting to know. OK I know I am a political junkie but there must be some others out there.

Here is a hint on who I am supporting in our election.

Where in the World is the Faroe Islands

I have a few ask the question "Where is the Faroe Islands" so I thought I would provide some basic information.

When I was young I remember how difficult it was to explain the Faroe Islands or being Faroese that I quite often would take the easy way out and just say I was Danish and that my family was from Denmark. For those of you who do not know the Faroe Islands is an autonomous region of Denmark. But for quite awhile I have been promoting that I am Faroese and that my family is from the Faroe Islands. Partially in support of the Faroe Islands seeking total independence from Denmark and partially to let everyone know what a great and beautiful place the Faroe Islands are.

Anyway one to the games my brother, sister and I would play with maps or globes is to see if they would have the Faroe Islands on it. You wouldn't believe that 40+ years ago how many had nothing on the map about the Faroe Islands.

So lets get to it. The Faroe Islands are 18 islands in the North Atlantic. One of the best ways to describe where they are on a map is to find the Shetland Islands on a map. (The Shetland Islands are a part of Scotland and are located just north of Scotland.) Then find Iceland on the map. Draw a line between the two locations, and split it in half and you will find the Faroe Islands.


Of the 18 islands that make up the Faroe Islands, 17 of them are inhabited. Only Litla Dimun has no one living on it.


So hopefully this gives some of you an idea of where the Faroe Islands are. It also wouldn't be right if I didn't give you the location of the island that my family comes from which is Nolsoy. It is an island with only one village on with the same name. It is located directly east of the capital Torshavn.

Finally 2008 - Gott Nýggjár

The Church on Nólsoy where I was baptized.

Well 2007 is over and the New Year has begun. I wish everyone a wonderful New Year and that everyone gets their hearts desire.

2007 has had it's good and bad times and I hope that 2008 brings us all only good. For us we have had medical issues and financial problems but also new borns and graduations. Life is unpredictable but worth every minute. I also know that every experience good or bad shapes who I am today and who I will be tomorrow, so I take life as it comes and I have faith that in the end we will all be better for it.

My hope for this blog in the new year is that I able to bring you information about the Faroe Islands and that you will know of this little country that I hold so close to my heart. That you will let others know of this little jewel of the North Atlantic and that maybe you will consider the Faroe Islands when you are looking for a new place to visit on vacation.

Happy New Year!!!

Faroese Costume

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We have had a great time visiting with family and friends. One of my goals is to sometime in the future spend Christmas in the Faroe Islands. I have never been there during the winter and would love to experience the Faroe Islands during this time of year. Jenny has some wonderful pictures of what it is like during this time of year. There are times when sun will not come above the mountains.

Anyway what I wanted to share with you today was the Faroese Costume or Traditional Dress. I came across of a photo of my sister and I in the traditional dress which brought all of this up.

OK I know.... "How cute."

The traditional dress is something that the Faroese take great pride in. They will where it during holidays, weddings, graduations and other special occasions.

Now the headgear for the men will be worn alone without the costume.

A Couple Picture of Nólsoy

It is Christmas time and things have been busy so I thought I would take the easy way out and post a couple pictures. Now I have to give a lot of credit again Jenny. She took them and posted them on her site but they were such good pictures of Nólsoy that I had to post them myself.


I hope everyone is having a GREAT Christmas season.

Faroese Christmas - Gleðilig Jól

Well it is Christmas time again. (And as usual we are behind on getting things ready.) But I thought I would share some of the traditions that I grew up with. Now while I was looking for images and additional information I found out that many of the traditions that I thought were exclusively Faroese are celebrated throughout Scandinavia. This may be partially because we all share common roots. As far as for the Faroe Islands they were settled in the 9th century by Vikings mainly from common day Norway. The Faroe Islands were under Norwegian rule up until around 1380 when Norway entered the Kalmar Union with Denmark which evolved into Denmark taking complete rule. So as you can see the Faroe Islands has a lot of influence from other Scandinavian countries. And since the Faroe Islands is still a part of the Danish Kingdom, Denmark has a large influence on Faroese culture. I know for my mom she was 15 or so until they started teaching Faroese in the schools. (She always said that she could read Danish better then Faroese.) Another fact is the Church of the Faroe Islands didn't become independent of Denmark until this year. I guess what I am trying to say is that many of the traditions that I grew up with are shared by many Scandinavian countries.


The beginning of the Christmas season always started in our house with the Advent Calendar. I do not remember a Christmas without one. If you have never had one or know what they are, they are countdown calendar. Starting on the 1st of December we would open a window that would reveal an image or message about Christmas. The calendar would countdown to Christmas Eve. The days quite often would be hidden within an image of Christmas so it was always a game with us kids to see who could find todays window before the other. Today many of the windows are filled with candy. This was always something that as kids we looked forward to. Today we have passed this on to our kids but also to our nieces and nephews. It something that kids of all ages look forward to.

Some of decorations are unique to Scandinavia. One of them is the Julnisse. They are mischievous elves that tradition says needs to be bribed with Rice Pudding so they wouldn't be up to their tricks on Christmas Eve. So one of the things that many do is decorate their house with paper cutouts of the Julnisse. It was one of those things as a kids we loved to do because we could put them anywhere in the house. So they would hang on shelves, plants or any other place we could get them to stay. It wouldn't be Christmas with out those little guys around the house.

Now for the Rice Pudding that was mentioned. This is a traditional Christmas treat. This was always eaten on Christmas Eve or when we had guest over at this time of the year. The trick to this was that there was always an ONE almond put in the pudding and who ever ended up with the almond would get a little prize. Now mind you, you were never suppose to say anything until everyone had finished their helping of pudding.

A BIG part of Christmas like with most cultures these days is the Christmas tree. Now many things are the same, the lights, the garland, the angel on the top but there were a few touches that we always added that made it different and always made our trees stand out from others. We would put baskets on our tree. We had many different kinds but the most popular was the red and white heart baskets. My mother told us that when she was growing up that the baskets would be filled with candy and that when people would come over to visit that as they left the kids would get to take one of the baskets off the tree as a parting gift. Being in America we never had enough baskets to give away so that tradition was never carried over. The other item that would always be put on the tree were the flags. They are a string of flags that would go from the top to the bottom. For most of my life they were Danish flags but then the Faroe Islands started making ones with the Faroese Flag on them. I was even able to get some with the United States flag on them. So today my tree has an array of Danish, Faroese and United States flags on them. These items are a part of Christmas that I couldn't live without. If I have nothing else on my tree, I need to have the baskets and the flags.

Now that I have explained a little of the traditions that go on in a Faroese American Christmas I better finish this and get myself to bed so that I can get some sleep and finish the decorating of our house. I still need to get a tree and with a new puppy in the house I am not sure how we are going to keep her from eating the tree and all its decorations. If any of you have any suggestion pleases let me know.

27 Years and We Still

I know this has nothing to with the Faroe Islands but in some way it has everything to do with. We are all in this world together.

It was 27 years ago that John Lennon was shot and this Christmas his song "War is Over" is more appropriate then at any other time.

When will this madness end.

I pray that one day his message will come true.

Images of the Faroe Islands

From a suggestion I thought I would post some images of one the most beautiful places on the earth.






Pictures courtesy of G. Norðoy. Please check out his Flickr site.

Am I doing OK??

Image from G. Norðoy on Flickr of Klaksvik. Please check out his other pictures.

I have written 15 postings since starting this blog. It has been good for me to write things down and let everyone know about the Faroe Islands. I hope that everyone that reads my blog are enjoying it too.

I understand that it takes a while for the word to get around about a blog and I know I have had some readers. But what I don't know is "Am I doing OK?" I feel somewhat strange about this but I would love to hear your comments. Are the topics interesting? Is there something that you are interested in?

Let me me know what you think. Leave a comment.

Thanks

Grindadráp - Whale Hunt

WARNING SOME OF THE IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME PEOPLE.




I understand that this is a controversial topic but this is one of my earliest and best memories as a child. I was five years old and would have been one of these small kids you see in this picture.

I didn't think anything of it at the time. It was just a part of being Faroese. My mother even took a picture of me standing on one of the whales. (I wish I had that picture today) It was also the day I got my first knife. The funny thing about this was that it was a regular fishing knife with a red handle and a black plastic sleeve and my mother was afraid that I would hurt myself. Now she didn't what to upset me or my uncle who gave it to me so she made a swap. She took the fishing knife and saved it for me and gave me a folding knife under the condition that I did not open the knife. I still have the knife today and is one of the best knifes I own. Now I carried this on to both of my boys a gave them a knife when they were 5 years old.

There is a Faroese proverb:
Knívleysur maður er lívleysur - The knifeless man is a lifeless man.
Knifes are an essential part of Faroese life. It is used in every facet of everyday living.

Now I understand that images of whales being rounded up to shore and being killed can be hard to stomach for some people but for most Americans we believe that all the meat just shows up at the supermarket. We never think of the process it takes to get that a steak, chicken or pork chop to that supermarket. Slaughter houses are not pretty and are no more humane then what the Faroese do in a whale hunt. It is probably more humane. A whale is unconscious within seconds of the first cut being made, and dead usually in well under a minute. The image that seems to stick in peoples minds is the bays being full of blood but let me remind you that slaughter houses have the same situation and they just wash it down the drain. We never see the amount of blood that is being washed away. I think for people to get over these images it might do them well to take a look at images of a slaughter house.

Now I looking at these images how can anyone say that this is better for the animals then the Grindadráp.


Now I understand that a lot of people believe that the pilot whales are endangered but this is just not true. The amount of pilot whales in the North Atlantic is almost 800,000. The Faroese have also been keeping records of their catch as far back as 1584 and unbroken records that started in 1709. The average annual catch by the Faroese for the past 300 years has been around 850 pilot whales. This catch is a sustainable amount and in no way endangers these whales. The Faroese government keeps a close watch on all of the catches.

Check out their website for information. Whales and Whaling in the Faroe Islands

Another aspect of the whaling is that the whales are only hunted if the if they come close to the islands. They never go out of the inlets of the islands to hunt the pilot whales. They are also never sold. The whales are divided amongst everyone of the village that catches them.

Now I understand that many may think why do the Faroese need to do this. That they can get their meat from other sources. Well the pilot whale is a staple of meat for the Faroe Islands. The islands are not suited for most grazing animals. Now sheep are plenty but as far as cattle it can not be done. So most all of the beef on the islands are imported. The Faroe Islands' main source of food for over a thousand years has come from the sea and the pilot whale is just a part of it.

Now there have been many that have tried to stop the Grindadráp but this is ingrained into the Faroese culture as fishing. It is a part of their tradition and their lives. It is time that everyone in the village participates. It is a part of their identity. It is something that will not change.

The last thing I would like to share is what many people will ask and that is how does it taste? Well a whale is a mammal. It would be similar to many different mammals. It is not like beef or deer but it has a gaming taste and is dark in color. Now I have never liked the taste of the blubber but this is main part of the whale that is also eaten. There is not much of the whale that is wasted.

The first and last image I would like to give credit to Jan Egil Kristiansen. Check out some of his photos. He has a lot of GREAT photos of the Faroe Islands.

I would also like for you to also do some of your own reading on this topic. The more you know the more you understand.

Whales and Whaling in the Faroe Islands
Kate Sandersen General Secretary of NAMMCO
Wikipedia
High North Alliance