bookbinder's

back from the faroe islands friday night, 12h in london then off to the country! this city mouse is increasingly disenchanted by the pollution in london. stopped for a bacon butty before traversing london to paddington (ok not really that far) and hopped on a train to h&thames parkway. 

linked up with folks (they're not fans of london either and had gone straight from heathrow earlier in the day) and we found a cute little pub that served french food. fish soup and crepes? sign me up!

sweet crepes too :)

faroe day 5

stayed just outside torshavn (capita) upon return from south island and did a bit more driving before heading back to the airport. flight to copenhagen, short layover then onwards to heathrow. 

feels like such an ingrate to say it but by this time i was sorta waterfall-ed out. but more walking, some sunshine over the window seat at breakfast.

faroe day 4

i tell everyone who asks that if they were to hazard the faroes, they need to give it at least a week because the weather was so hit and miss. if it were bad, they'd have to accept being cooped indoors, or make do with driving through the pelting rain staring morosely at waterfalls through the rain splattered windscreen. gimme clouds over sunshine any day but rain isn't my favourite unless i'm warm and cosy about to nap. 

so naturally when the weather cleared up, it was a race against time to revisit the whole island and all the view points before the ferry back to 'mainland' (which was still islands).

think these were the cliffs we were meant to see from the white-outed radio station the day before (but didn't)

and this has got to be the most "bang for buck" walk i've ever been on. 30min each way but the views were magnificent. easy walk, at that. up a farmer's field (as you do) and then it was a gentle incline before getting to the breath-taking cliffs with unfazed sheep.

would've loved to linger and contemplate life while watching the waves but there was a ferry to catch.

faroe day 3

post storm, the weather cleared up somewhat and we made hay while the sun shone, kinda. lots more driving (this time around suduroy) and random stopping to tromp through farmer's fields. thankfully no more crazy wind and i shook off the PTSD after the harrowing hike with the cliff. to be honest, all of the walking was cliffside so i'd to be extra careful and pick my way uphill on firm footing.

these basalt columns reminded me of the giants causeway in belfast, and the other end of said causeway on the isle of staffa just off mull in the highlands. i know they're meant to be a big deal and all but, really, it's not that rare. alas no puffins because they hatch their young inland then all leave mid-aug for rafts at sea that they live for the rest of the year.

stopped by a hotel in the second largest town and it felt like going back in time to the 60s. the owner happened to have been a radio / signal (?) engineer for mersck (?) and been to singers twice, once in the late 60s and once in the 80s. he was only too happy to reminisce about his time there and how surprised he was at the massive improvement it'd undergone between his visits. what was cool was he knew the cottage despite me only showing him a photo and knew the whole history. which made me think that it was really a very small place and i refrained from asking him how one avoids marrying their cousin. he also had whaling pics up on the walls that i felt best to avoid discussing. 2 out of 3 conversation OB markers narrowly averted ;)

he'd a great tip about going to the radio station the british used during WWII and the weather miraculously took a turn for the better so we'd some blue skies. maybe the hotel bossman knew ;)

faroe day 2

started in gjogv and continued to suduroy (south island). this was the day of my meltdown after being almost blown off a cliff. now i'm no featherweight to begin with, and even less so at 22 weeks pregnant and more kg up than i'd care to admit, but omg the rain and wind was merciless. made the mistake of being a hero and attempting a hike in horizontal rain. silly :( mega moment of self-doubt and questioning my life choices, plus of course the mama-to-be guilt that i'm already incapable of caring for this child in utero, what more when he's born.

but nothing a swiss hot chocolate with extra whipped cream couldn't solve as we almost missed the ferry because someone misread the time. cue another bout of omg i can't even get on the right ferry, how am i going to raise a child?! fun times, i assure you.

the cottage on suduroy was too cute for words and despite the storm was safe and inviting. cosy (and even hot!) with the heating off and when it sounded like gale force winds outside, all calm inside :)