Homeward journey via the Faroe Islands

Saturday, 04/09/2021

After almost a month on the road, we are just feeling lazy today, so we take a day off from traveling. We spend the whole day in the cozy communal area of the campsite, cooking, sorting photos, lounging around, and most importantly, not having to worry about freezing. We are not drawn to any sights, waterfalls, or hikes. In the evening, we take a short walk in the village just to stretch our legs. For the first time, we spend two nights in the same place because we feel at home here. We are almost alone, the village consists of only a few houses, there is absolute silence, and for once, no urge to do anything.

Sunday, 05/09/2021

The drizzle has now subsided and in the morning we take a small ferry to the island of Kalsoy. The ship can accommodate 12 cars and the journey takes only 20 minutes, with some nice views. On Kalsoy, there is only one road that we drive to the end and then take a short hike to the lighthouse. Luckily, the weather takes a break from the rain and we can relax and take photos. In the afternoon, we drive back and take a short stroll through Klaksvik until it starts raining again. For the night, we drive to Vestmanna to a campsite that is closed according to the signs. There is no one else there, but the bathing houses are still open and the WiFi is still working.

Monday, 06/09/2021

In the morning, I work in the bus for a while until someone comes and locks the facilities of the campsite. We were lucky to get here just in time, as the season seems to be over now. We find the next campsite in Sandavágur - it is open all year round. Since it is still raining and we have a lot to do, we continue working in the communal area there. We actually wanted to do a hike here, but with the fog and rain, we can't see anything of the beautiful landscape. In the evening, we still take a short sightseeing trip to Gásadalur - a small village where a tiny river forms a beautiful narrow waterfall that plunges down the over 30-meter-high cliff into the sea. Since the waterfall is very thin, it is easily blown by the wind and sometimes flows upwards instead of downwards in strong winds. We take a walk in the drizzle to get some exercise, but we would rather sit in one of the cute black houses in the village with a cup of hot chocolate in hand.

Tuesday, 07/09/2021

We work during the day, and the weather remains lousy. In the afternoon, according to the rain radar, a short break in the rain is supposed to occur, so we try our luck with the planned hike. The trail runs along an elongated lake that plunges into the sea as a waterfall at the end, with dramatic views of black, sheer cliffs. Unfortunately, we can't see any of it because the fog is so thick in the landscape that we can't even see from the cliffs to the sea level. Despite wearing rain pants and Gore-Tex hiking shoes, our socks are soaked in puddles in no time and after two hours of walking, we are wet to our underwear. This kind of weather is okay occasionally, but we are slowly getting tired of it.

Wet and freezing, we drive back to our first campsite where we have already spent two nights and warm up inside the bus.

Wednesday, 08/09/2021

After a slow morning at the campsite, we take a sightseeing tour by car. Surprise - it's raining. As a little highlight for me, we visit a pretty big yarn shop with a huge selection of yarns in all imaginable colors. Most of the wool is local from Faroese sheep and I stock up on a whole bag of skeins for knitting projects in the winter. I've taken on quite a task, but I really want to learn how to knit an Icelandic/Norwegian sweater.

We visit a few villages for the rest of the day, but only briefly get out of the car, look around, and get back into the dry bus. In the evening, the sun finally comes out again after days and we cook in Eiði while watching the sunset. Immediately, the colors of the hills over the fjords become beautifully colorful and vibrant. We spend a fourth night at our favorite campsite.

Thursday, 09/09/2021

Just like in Iceland, the weather wants to impress us one last time. On our last day here, we finally have good weather, so we decide to do the hike to the lake that falls into the sea again. Despite the good weather, we are almost alone on the trail, and it was definitely worth walking the route twice. The lake above the sea, the black cliffs, and the waterfall at the end make up for a lot.

In the evening, we drive to Tórshavn and once again spend two nights on the ferry. This time we have a simple room with three single beds, one of which is a bunk bed, so we can use one bed as a couch and storage.

Friday, 10/09/2021

We take it easy, watch most of the day on Arte on the TV in the room, and have a pizza for lunch in the restaurant. To avoid going stir-crazy, we walk the entire ship from top to bottom and from front to back. There is even a small pool, a gym, and a sauna on the lower deck, three restaurants and two bars higher up. There is also a small cinema. Not much else happens, and a day without cell phone reception and internet is also nice for a change.

Saturday, 11/09/2021

We arrive in Denmark around noon and drive a few hours south to meet up with a friend of Ben's. She and her family are staying in a vacation rental near Hvide Sande, and we are allowed to camp in front of the house. Temperatures above 20 degrees are now totally unusual for us, but they also feel really nice.

Sunday, 12/09/2021

Since good wind is forecasted today by chance (the whole last week seems to have been calm), we decide to stay here and look for a spontaneous kite surfing course that builds on our lessons in spring. We want to take advantage of the opportunity while we are in the windy north. We ask at the nearby windsurf school, but the kite surfing instructor is fully booked for the whole day. We are not quite ready yet to just rent equipment and go out on our own, but we agree with the school to rent a kite for two people and supervise each other. This works well and we spend the whole day together in the water until sunset.

Quite exhausted, we are allowed to shower in Ben's friends' vacation rental and cook something quick in the kitchen while we end the evening in the living room with super nice people and wine and homemade beer.

Monday, 13/09/2021

Since the wind is calm again, we continue our journey home in a relaxed manner. Our last overnight stay is in Hildesheim, where we meet another friend and cook and philosophize about God and the world until late at night in her tiny old town apartment. It's nice to be around people again after over a month of being just the two of us.

Tomorrow we will drive the final stretch home to the Oberpfalz region and spend the evening unpacking the bus, harvesting potatoes, and doing laundry.