{"id":18719,"date":"2024-05-30T21:02:36","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T18:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/?p=18719"},"modified":"2024-05-30T21:02:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T18:02:36","slug":"faroe-islands-experience-the-paradise-of-the-magical-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/?p=18719","title":{"rendered":"Faroe Islands: Experience the paradise of the magical North"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A diverse amalgam of cultures and history unfolds at the crossroads of the North Sea and fascinates with the majesty of Nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Sheep Islands” the tiny island complex – the Faroe Islands are still full of surprises and secrets for those brave enough to travel to this original destination. And we may be talking about a handful of people – just under 55,000 inhabitants – on a cluster of 18 islands, of which only one is uninhabited, but the autonomous area of \u200b\u200b1,399 square kilometers enjoys the protection of the Kingdom of Denmark and the wild beauty of the North Atlantic ocean, in the archipelago between Scotland, Norway and Iceland, with all that entails.<\/p>\n\n\n

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M\u00falafossur waterfall and Gasadalur village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Here the climate is characterized by cool summers and mild winters, thanks to the warm masses of the Gulf Stream. The islands are generally rocky with low peaks, while the coasts are generally steep – we’re actually talking about the highest rocky coasts in all of Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Lake S\u00f8rv\u00e1gsvatn, in the south of Vagar Island, “hangs” over the ocean.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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The island’s tiny capital, T\u00f3rshavn, stands out for the colorful houses of its 13,000 inhabitants which create a pleasant contrast to the usually hazy landscape but also for Tinganes, the Faroese Parliament and one of the oldest in the world, on the edge of the bay . Because no matter where you are on the islands, you won’t have to travel more than 5 kilometers to get to the coastline. And if you’re wondering if Parliament is open to the public, just think that the Prime Minister’s phone number is available in the phone book. Family affair!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viking fishing villages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’ll only take an hour’s drive to reach the westernmost tip of the islands, thanks to the modern tunnel and admittedly neat, if provincial, road network, and enjoy the most photographed spot in the Faroes all to yourself – and with good reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Mulafosur Falls are the most famous among the countless waterfalls in the complex, thanks to the fact that the water falls from a 30-meter drop straight into the ocean, the volume of water “fanning” upwards as the nor’easter swirls the tiny drops. The access to the waterfalls of Mulafossur remains one of the most popular walking paths and it makes sense as the view towards the eschaties – from where the Irish monks arrived here in the 6th century, much earlier than the Vikings who left their mark on the Islands much deeper – breathtaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And it may be to them that the cultivation of the fertile lands of the island is due, but it is fishing that feeds the population, covering 50% of the GDP, with almost all of the production being exported. It is one of the few nations that still allows whaling and, as it is not done for profit, does not run afoul of the global ban on commercial whaling, which has been in place since the 1980s. The islands’ government describes it as “an integral part of the life of the Faroe Islands” and their inhabitants continue to hunt whales that are not threatened with extinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second most important source for the economy, of course, is tourism. And how could it not be, when here visitors witness the most beautiful contrasts, such as S\u00f8rv\u00e1gsvatn lake, in the south of Vagar Island, which is very close to the ocean and is known as “the lake above the ocean”. It owes this title to the fact that if photographed from a certain angle, it appears that the lake is on the rocks high above the ocean, while in reality, it is behind the rocks, only 30-40 meters higher than the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before saying goodbye to the west, you must definitely find yourself on the island of Mikines, with an area of \u200b\u200bonly 10.3 sq. km. On the west coast of the island there is the only settlement, which is also called Mikines and has a population of only 10 inhabitants, but the magic is all it is gathered by the multitude of different rare birds that flood its slopes and make every true birdwatcher happy.<\/p>\n\n\n

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On Streimoi, the largest island of the complex, attention is focused on the Foosa Falls, which reach 140 meters in height and, on rainy days, exceed 30 meters in width! The almost otherworldly landscape of the island is once again adorned by the colorful facades of the few houses, but it is the turf-covered roofs of the mainly monochrome buildings that impress, as it continues a tradition that is more than 1000 years old and aims to provide thermal insulation and protection from the rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart and economical proposal to save energy, among other things, although we are talking about a place where 50% of electricity comes from renewable sources – with the goal of reaching 100% by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turns out that the locals are also ecologically aware, as well as peaceful – yes, despite their\u2026 heavy Celtic-Viking past, the law-abiding inhabitants of the Islands live so harmoniously that there are no official prisons. There is only one detention center in Mj\u00f8rkadalur, which is used for non-violent offenders serving short sentences – those sentenced to 18 months or more are sent to prisons in Denmark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A diverse amalgam of cultures and history unfolds at the crossroads of the North Sea and fascinates with the majesty of Nature. “The Sheep…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3002,2993,2999],"tags":[5496,5497,5498,1602],"class_list":["post-18719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-destinations","category-life","category-travel","tag-faroe-islands","tag-islands","tag-north","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18719"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18729,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18719\/revisions\/18729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liberalglobe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}