May 28-Tórshavn

We had a night of rocking and rolling seas as we moved toward the Faroe Islands. Made for great sleeping although some stuff in the bathroom fell into the sink! The Captain told us we’d had a pretty strong headwind and therefore we would be about 45 minutes late arriving in Tórshavn, but we managed to sail into port at 12:10…only 10 minutes late. We were escorted into port by a tug boat, but the tug didn’t tug and wasn’t connected to us in any way…we decided it must be some union or rule or something.

Before we docked we went to another lecture. This time the topic was the history and culture of Ireland. She believed the root of all the fighting that has gone on in Northern Ireland tracks back to Henry VIII and his break with the Roman Catholic Church. She explained the flag- the green for the Catholics, the orange for the Protestants, and the white stripe in the middle for peace. The three leaf clover- the shamrock- became the national symbol because St. Patrick so often used it to explain to the people the significance of the Trinity.

Tórshavn, located midway between Scotland and Norway, is the capital and largest town of the Faroe Islands and these islands are part of Denmark. The city was founded in the 10^th century and may well be the oldest capital in Northern Europe. The name of the city means Thor’s Harbor, named after the god of thunder and lightening in Norse mythology.

The city’s coat of arms shows Thor’s hammer.

The Vikings established their parliament on the Tingenes peninsula in Tórshavn in 825AD. All through the Middle Ages the narrow peninsula jutting out into the sea made up the main part of the town. The town didn’t really begin to build up until after the Reformation in 1539. Now it is the undisputed administrative, economic and cultural center of the Faroes.

There are about 17,000 people living in Tórshavn. In the narrow streets of the older part of town were interesting shops and restaurants. They say the new trendy bars reflect a new-look image for this once strait-laced capital. What we saw right from our ship were the brightly painted houses, built to withstand the rigors of the North Atlantic winters. The colors of the houses reminded us of Bergen, Norway with the red, yellow and white. There were even some houses with traditional grass roofs.

There was a trade connection between Bergen and Tórshavn, according

to a document from 1271. There were two ships that sailed regularly back and forth with cargoes of salt, timber, and grain. So Tórshavn had more contact with the outside world than the other villages on the island.

It was a charming place with the Danish flag flapping proudly in the breeze on the Tingenes peninsula.