Wake of the Vikings: Vikings in the Faroe Islands
We can’t say enough good things about the Viking business model, and we are critical travelers. We headed out on a tour this morning, we who are not good at touring in groups, and had to give our admiration to the facility with which Viking gets large numbers of people on the ground and going out and learning something. When you book a cruise, there are always “included” tours, included means you don’t pay extra. The included tours are usually overviews, often panoramic, i.e. you get in a bus and drive and stop now and then for a photo. Everyone who wants a tour gets a tour.
Having lived overseas most of our married life, we know that it is so much easier to stay comfortable than to go out and see something and learn something. About 10% of people will make it happen for themselves, another 80% will go if it is made easy enough, and 10% will never go. In the Embassies, that 10% will hang out at the American Club or the Marine Bar, and if military, shop almost exclusively at the PX (BX, Navy Exchange) and commissary.
Viking makes it easy. The night before we reach a port, there is a Port Talk, where the local currency is explained, a few good phrases (usually like “good morning” and “thank you”) taught, and photos and videos (all very full of sunshine) are shown to give you an idea what to expect. The daily newsletter always tells you how to say “Please take me back to my ship” in the appropriate language. Buses show up on time. There are enough guides for all the passengers. The guides have the patience of Job.
Our guide for Vistas, Vikings, and Village Woodturner was very very good. I don’t really know that I learned a lot about Vikings. Really, Vikings raided a little, intermarried a little, and are just a part of the history of the Faroes, the way Angles and Picts and the Norse are a part of the English. We had a very good guide, a funny man who often broke into song, and who has probably attended to more tourists than is good for him.
There were sheep everywhere, including sleeping alongside the road. Drivers are all very careful, because if you hurt a sheep, you pay the owner like $500. for his loss. The sheep were every color from white to brown, and black, and spotted white and brown and black. If I lived in the Faeroe Islands I would learn to sheer and card sheep wool, and spend evenings spinning the raw wool into threads for weaving into cloth and yarns. I’ve always wanted to learn to spin. LOL, too late to be a spinster 😉
What do I think is a good guide? This man told us a lot about life on the Faroes, about choices people make. Do they want to be a part of Denmark or not? It would require an election, and people can figure about half want one thing and half want another, and no matter who won, it would be narrow and cause turmoil, so why spend all that money on an election, just leave things as they are.
We head to the village of Kvivik to see the Viking longboat remains, or where they once were, and then to Leynar to visit the Village Woodman.
Below are stone built salmon jumps, old technology, but with devices which keep count of each salmon who climbed the steps, new technology. Can you see how green and lovely everything is, evan as fall approaches?
Drama Drama Drama! Who could be bored when the weather changes every minute with such verve and gusto?
We are always interested in how people choose to live. Our guide explains that houses often contain three generations, the grandmother, the mother, and the daughter. Isn’t that an interesting way to describe it? We tend to think in male-ownership terms, but these houses are communal based on matrilineal lines.
I wonder where daughters-in-law fit in?
Look closely here, a man is up on his turf roof, trimming things down for the winter.
Viking longboat site
They teach their children three important rules. 1. Be kind. 2. Be kind. 3. When one and two fail, be kind.
He told us how houses are built, and how people help one another get their houses built. They are taught “better that many are not poor than that a few are rich.” We did not see a single dump any where in our journey took us; everything was clean and well-kept. People are fined heavily for dropping trash. There are only two policemen in the Faroes, and there is no prison, there is so little crime. “Where would you run? Where would you hide?” he asks. “Everyone would know you, so you don’t do it.”
He told us that many of the families of the Faroes were started by Norsemen who found local girls and were afraid to go home and face their wives, who were waiting for them with big sticks. He made us laugh, and laughter always helps us understand.
He took us into a beautiful little church, beautiful finished wood on the inside (see below) and he sang to us a familiar hymn, in Faraoese, Nearer My God to Thee. It was so sweet, and so beautiful, my eyes teared. He told us he waited 30 years to get married, and was the first one to wed once the Danish stopped insisting on state churches. (The church is now Lutheran.)
The Faero Islands reminds me of where I grew up, in Alaska, where neighbors held that same kind of concern for one another and for the communal life. We lived on an island full of Scandinavian immigrant families, along with the native Haida, Aleut, Tlingket, and occasional Inuit. It never mattered that we differed, when someone needed help, we helped. A neighbor didn’t go hungry, their children didn’t go unclothed. I remember the delight when our neighbor passed along her daughter’s lightly used clothing they had outgrown, and we could wear it. I remember one skirt in particular, a grey and yellow plaid Pendleton skirt which I wore for years, and maybe fifteen years later my old neighbor saw me wear it and said “I used to have a skirt just like that!” and I laughed and said “This is your skirt!” When you have a Pendleton skirt, you can wear it for the rest of your life; they wear so well. We were frugal people, and we never wanted for anything. We shared what we had.
I got the impression that actually the guide doesn’t much like Americans. It didn’t matter, he was kind, he was professional, and I believe he gave a great value for the money. He shared the truth of his culture as he lives it and was fair to us. That’s good enough.
I can’t give you a lot of information about the photos, only that I took what I thought would give you an idea of what life on the Faroe Islands might look like. For me, this was a great day, very little rain, even some sunshine, and I learned about a culture I really like. I like that they teach their children: Be Kind. Be Kind. Be Kind.
Wake of the Vikings: My Favorite Places Aboard the Viking Sky
I have a dear friend I met on a previous Viking Trip. We met outside a museum of Archaeology in Zadar, and we were astounded, watching the Viking Tours go by and not one mention of this really good museum for the bargain price of 4 Euro.
Every time we saw one another, we had very quick but high quality conversations. It might be we’d pass at a restaurant in Dubrovnik, and they would tell us about a purchase and we would tell them about a cauldron of mussels. It might be in a quiet corner outside the WinterGarden. Even aboard ship, we led very different lives, but have developed a lively friendship via correspondence, greatly about books and politics and efforts to create a better world.
We laugh at how different we are. I told her about yesterday, the rolling waves and going to the spa and laughing as we rolled around in the hot pool, the waves sloshing back and forth and front to back. She wrote back that not only does she not believe she will ever see her husband in a spa, but that he would also be “knee-walking sick” in those “rollicking” waves. She makes me laugh, and I make her laugh, and part of our friendship is respecting our differences.
So my favorite parts of the ship may not be your favorite parts of the Viking Sky. I am an introvert. I would rather pay more for a room, and spend time there, than in most of the public spaces, no matter how lovely they are, and the Viking Sky truly has many lovely and serene spaces.
Here are mine: the room
The spa:
Below is the snow room; there really is snow underfoot and snow falling, you go there after the wonderful hot pool
The wonderful hot pool, above
Where you rest before you go back to real life again 😉
A quiet corner just outside the Winter Garden
I would have also taken a couple photos in the Explorer’s Lounge, but . . . it was full of people! On our last cruise, it was rarely full, not even close, only some people would come, for Mamsen’s, for the view, for the quiet and privacy. When the bar is open, it is more crowded and noisier. You can see photos of the Explorer’s Lounge from our last trip, on the Viking Sea.
The Wake of the Vikings: Dawn in Torshavn, Faroe Islands
Our wake up call comes at 0730, and we have slept through the night! We celebrate even minor blessings 🙂 another of which is that despite the heavy clouds, it is not raining, and rain is not expected until late afternoon. We’ll take that 🙂
In the Wake of the Vikings: Unexpected At Sea Day Instead of Lerwick
Today was actually a bonus for me. We were supposed to land in Lerwick, Scotland, and AdventureMan had been really pumped. He’s watched a mystery series set in the Shetlands, and has read up on some of the things we were going to see. The plan for the day was to be OK’d by British immigration to visit at 0700, all of us lining up through the Chef’s Kitchen, and then our trip would leave to visit ancient civilizations of the Shetlands.
As we stood in line, a rumor spread that the days outings were cancelled. Within a few minutes the captain made an announcement that with the angry seas, he and the pilot had decided it was too dangerous to take us into port and we would have an extra sea day en route to our next stop, the Faroe Islands and Torshavn.
Even AdventureMan was glad. It was really rainy and windy, and he needs another day of sauna and sleep to help him get rid of his terrible cough.
The photos I took ARE in color! The day was just a black and white day!
So we hit the spa at nine, when it opened, and with the pitching and yawing and rolling of the ship, the waters of the pool bubbled and rolled and swished, and it was very hot and great fun. We stayed there about an hour, visiting the snow room and the steam room and the sauna between romps in the pool. Around ten, more people started coming, so we vacated the area. I had a lecture on Viking history in the Shetlands I wanted to attend, and AdventureMan started sleeping.
For me, it was a chance to catch up with the blog. On the busy days, it’s so easy NOT to blog, so this day was a gift, a day I could upload my photos, choose some photos, put them in the blog, and write up the days, as best I could remember them.
AdventureMan went to a lecture on German wolf packs interrupting trade in WWII, and then came back and slept some more.
In the hallways are some very green and very unsteady people, who are more affected by the motion of the water than I am. I have been seasick, but only once, when it was hot and I felt like I needed fresh air. Once I got into the fresh air, I was OK. Mostly, motions sickness doesn’t affect me. One woman at the foot of a stairway was standing stock-still, looking petrified. I am guessing she was afraid she was going to throw up and didn’t want to be embarrassed. We’ve all been in similar situations, and the ship was full of similar situations today.
Our waiter told us a lot of the new crew are sick, and in bed resting; those who are not affected are taking on extra chores. Love that teamwork.
Wake of the Vikings: The Fantoft Stave Church
People are irrational, or anyway I know I am irrational. I think I am logical and make decisions using my mind, but I know that I often make decisions based on an emotional tug, and I rationalize my decision to make it seem logical. Such is the Fantoft Stave Church just outside of Bergen.
I really wanted to see this church. I found a way to take a bus there, but it was a long way out and it was a Sunday and I wasn’t sure about buses running on Sunday. I signed us up for a tour.
I really like churches.
I really like being alone in a church, or being with other church-y people, people who respect churches as a place where people do their best to communicate with a God they can’t figure out.
This was not that kind of visit.
One group out, another group in. I never had a moment alone in this lovely church, built entirely of pegged wood. Imagine, putting an entire church together without a nail. Pretty amazing. The church is beautiful and unique. I just wish I had had time there to get to know it better.
The roof is stunning. They used the same technology they used to build Viking boats.
The tour was also listed as “moderate” walking, but several people were on the tour who had wheelchairs or walkers. The second part of the tour, visiting Grieg’s house, museum, studio, grave site, etc required hiking up and down rock paths and leaf strewn paths in wet, rainy conditions. There were places I just didn’t go; I didn’t want to take a chance on a slip-and-fall that could hold me up the rest of the trip. I did fine, but I felt really sorry for those who had signed on thinking it was ‘moderate’ walking and it was really some fairly dangerous turn for those with mobility impairments.
Back on the ship, we went straight to the safety muster, where we gather to be shown how to put on a life-jacket and to go to our life boat, when and if needed.
Best part of the day was Sunday church services held in the Torshavn Bar. It’s a light interdenominational service with inspirational readings, but it soothes my grumpy soul and sets me right for the week to come.
In the Wake of the Vikings Aboard the Viking Sky
Boarding the Viking Sky is a piece of cake. There is a line, but with several stations to check you in, it goes quickly. We go straight to our stateroom; we know exactly where it is. It looks . . . almost exactly as the last time we stayed in it. But actually, we have never stayed in it, we stayed in the exact same room when we did Empires of the Mediterranean on the Viking Star. The boats are very similarly built, but have some differences in art work, and perhaps some changes to improve functionality in design. Some little things look different, but I am not sure whether they really are different, or maybe I am remembering wrongly.
View from the Explorer’s Lounge aboard the Viking Sky: a double rainbow!
And blue skies, even just for a moment!
While I am unpacking and putting things away, AdventureMan goes to the sauna to help clear his head. He has a wicked bad cold. I know just where everything goes. I love this ship, and I love the familiarity.
Wake of the Vikings: Oslo City Tour and Embarkation
Here is what I so admire about Viking Ocean Cruises and their associates who have to deal with my demographic – they put up with us. The Viking company must be making a fortune, primarily on U.S. citizens, but also British, Canadian and Australians who travel. Viking Ocean ships are adult only, there are no casinos, no photographers, no annoyances, and almost everything is included. I don’t mind at all if they make a fortune, what I love about their model is that it seems to be mostly win-win-win. They do everything in their power to satisfy their customer, and they give great value for the money.
They are dealing with a group of spoiled big children, and I say that knowing I can be one of them. We are people who want what we pay for, and don’t hesitate to make a fuss if we think something could be better. The Viking staff is a good parent to the needy, whining, tired, confused and frustrated children we become when confronted with the strange, challenging or new situations.
I love how they treat their staff. When we ask how they came to Viking, most have been with other cruise lines. Our cabin steward, Hilda, told us on Carnival she had many more rooms and often four people in each cabin. She said “I work hard for Viking, and it is like a vacation.” She also mentioned, as do others, that Viking pays for her uniforms and provides the staff with free wi-fi so they can stay in touch with their families. What a very kind, very smart thing to do! To comfort your employees, to provide them with peace of mind, and to earn their loyalty through kindness. This is so civilized. They also offer opportunities for advancement.
What we marvel at is that they hire employees from many different nationalities, and teach a kind of team approach to customer service. One wine steward today told us he was handling more than one location because several of the staff are seasick (we have hit some heavy rolling) but that he can handle it, so he does. I’ve seen the senior staff bus a table where dishes have been left, without making a big deal about it. I am betting that they have a rule “If you see something that needs to be done, do it, don’t just tell someone else that it needs doing.” I am betting that, because that is what I see, and I like it. I see the employees looking out after one another, and that is a remarkable achievement.
Before we can board the ship, we have to take a tour of Oslo. Do I sound grumpy? Viking thinks through all the details, and has implemented wonderful procedures, but sometimes I am just tired of being funneled, and like a spoiled baby, I just want to rest, or sleep. But I am compliant, I board the bus, I tour the sites. I can’t really tell you much about what I saw because my attitude got in my way. Here are some photos:
This is like a King’s hall, called the Rosenkrantz, which cracks me up because I’m sure it has some meaning but I think it sounds funny.
This was a king’s residence, and can now be hired for social events.
I do know this one, it is the Starbucks building, built in the old city meat market.
A great old three masted sailing ship, used to train military and other sailors.
The kind of housing Norway used to have, dense, and all white.
Wake of the Vikings: An Evening in Bergen
We arrive in Bergen around seven in the evening, and we don’t even bother unpacking our bags. They will be picked up the next morning to be transferred to the ship, the Viking Sky, while we are touring Bergen. Meanwhile, we are in the most wonderful location, in Bryggen, the old commercial center of Burgen, full of beautiful colored, crooked houses, and areas full of white houses, and all kinds of places which we can reach by walking, which we love to do.
Except that AdventureMan has a terrible cold, and my throat is sore. He is apologizing profusely, but who knows if I caught it from him, or from touching a chair somewhere? Sore throats happen, but we can treat the symptoms, and I saw just the place as we came into town.
Our hotel, the Radisson Blu, is wonderfully located. We walk a short distance and find an ATM where we can purchase Norwegian kroner, then, just past the fish market, we find the China Palace.
As we are going, we hear singing. Across the street, a group of men on bicycles are singing! They are three abreast on their bikes, holding hands, dressed in suits and ties, and singing. It is dusk and it is magical.
We have no idea what it was about. Is this a fraternity thing? Is this a gay group thing? We have no idea, we only know it was delightful.
The China Palace was nearly full, but they found a table for us. We ordered soup and egg rolls; even if the food was really good, we were too sick to enjoy it much. When it came, it was perfect for us, Pekingsuppe and large egg rolls. Exactly right, comfort food. We felt much better.
On our way back to the hotel, the light was that wonderful light just before dark fully falls. The streets are crowded with young people and old meeting up for an evening of visiting and drinking.
And here is what I really love, the Viking Sky is nearby, so near we can walk there, which we do, often, the next day. That’s the Sky in the background.
Wake of the Vikings: Bergenbahn from Oslo
Seven hours of the most beautiful train ride in the world!
The Bergenbahn is very comfortable, and we have nice seats. We are given vouchers so we can eat what we choose from the train restaurant, and AdventureMan braves the line and brings back a lovely smoked salmon salad, which exactly hits the spot.
AdventureMan slept. I took photos. Lucky you, I’ve edited out most of them. The following thousand or so photos (LOL) is the ones I chose to share with you.
The trip starts off rural, with lots of white houses and red barns, lots of fat wooly sheep and green pastures, and then gives way to mountain scenery. In seven short hours (the scenery is not unlike crossing the mountains in Washington State except for the lack of these deep red barns, every single barn is the same shade of red. How do they know what to paint their barns? Is there a rule? We are told Norway has a lot of rules for the good of the community, but I didn’t think to ask about the barn color.
The train car
Norwegian Wood 🙂
(I once had a girl, or should I say she once had me . . . . )
This is the traditional type of tiles used on the roofs, reminiscent of fish scales
A local train stop; most of them were this mustard color, but some were the red-brick color
“Norwegians love quiet, and to be alone, ” the guide said. AdventureMan started looking at me oddly, and as people who have been married a long, long time do, I knew what he was thinking. He thinks I am Norwegian.
It might be hard to see, but the house in the center of the photo has a traditional roof with grass growing on it. I’ve seen this in Seattle; all things old become new again 🙂
Before leaving us in Bergen, our guide, Kathryn, donned her own precious traditional garb to show us. Everyone loved her for it, and took many many photos. With her intelligent commentary, and faithfulness in sharing all kinds of insights and lore, she was a great ambassador for her country.
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