Jens is a delight, introductions are made, small talk ensues, then we hop onboard the city bus for the quick 8-minute ride to the outskirts of town, where we begin our 4-hour hike across the island to the village of Kirkjubøur, one of the oldest villages in the Faroe Islands. This tour was created by Jens to show off the landscape of the Faroes, as well as try some local beers and have a snack.  Perfect for us.  We start off on a little lane, walking past a couple of farms and out into the vibrant green pastureland.  The landscape is incredibly beautiful, the green grass farmland stretching up to the apex of the mountain and – as we climb higher – the city spread out before us, some parts in the north under a layer of fog.

We pass by cairns that are placed all along our route to help hikers in the aforementioned fog. Can’t even imagine being up here in the fog, when as Jens relays, you can’t even see 1 foot past your feet.  We are lucky today, it is cloudy, but not foggy and the mist has dissipated, making for a nice, cool and dry hike as we go up, and up, and up.

Crossing over the apex of the mountain, we hike along a valley of sorts, with views of lake Vatnsdalsvatn off to our right – the lake that feeds the Breida river (“broad river” in Faroese) running down to the Hestfjordur in the East.

Our first stop is the Reynsmulalag, the site where Faroe Islanders have gathered for open air public meetings since the second half of the 19th century – with flags, speeches and patriotic songs composed for the occasions.  The site is marked by a raised platform made of rocks which was used as the speakers platform, and we guess maybe a little podium.  Here we have our first beer:  Slupp from the local Foroya Brewery along with our snack of a Milk chocolate coated caramel bar (Beer for Ed, Chocolate for me – what more can we ask?). 

Moving on we see our first sheep out in the grassland.  They are different looking than the sheep we are used to seeing – one with a half-shorn body and shaggy almost mane-like collar of sheep fleece an others that are really stocky and furry black. Beyond these guys, it is just us and the incredible, quiet natural beauty of the hills and the islands of Hestur, Koltur and the big island of Sandoy out in the distance underneath a fog layer.

As we walk, Jens regals us with local history and talks about his life and family – who live on another island, and how hard it used to be to travel back and forth until the tunnels made commuting easier.  Although not everyone is in love with the tunnels, some folks would rather not have the influx of people and tourists that the tunnels bring.  Always two ways to look at everything.

Eventually the fog begins to lift and we can see even more details of the beautiful islands – including Vagar, in the distance, the island where the airport is located.  Totally different life out here, having to go from island to island for different services and functions.  Amazing to think that before the tunnels, everything was done by ferry or boat. 

Here overlooking the islands, is our second stop where we enjoy Oyn Oy, a great pilsner from Oy Brewing – located here in Torshavn, but sadly too far from the pier for us to chance going before we sail.  It’s really good beer – said from the one who isn’t a big beer enthusiast!  A nice little refreshment as we make our way to Kirkjubour watching more of those typically hairy Faroese sheep out in the distance.

On we go, down toward civilization (so to speak) with more gorgeous scenery, more fog, until eventually we reach farmland on the coast of the fjord.  From here it is a relatively steep descent down onto the main road into Kirkjubour, completing our 7K hike and 755 feet in altitude ascent/descent.

Arriving in the outskirts of the village, there are lots of traditional houses with grass roofs so blocked from view by grass growing in the yards that you don’t know what is the yard and what is the roof.  Even the newer houses –  that Jens tells us are rental homes for tourists – down closer to the water have the traditional grass roofs.  Wild.  But no goats keeping the grass short – at least that we see on our hike today.  Bummer.

Once into Kirkjubøur, the plan was to wander around the village and explore the historical sites; Magnus Cathedral ruins from about 1300; Saint Olav´s Church, the oldest still used church of the Faroes dating from 12th century; Kirkjubøargarður, the oldest still inhabited wooden house of the world from 11th century. But unfortunately, our timing is a bit off – our Bus #6 is arriving shortly and if we don’t take this one, we will have to wait one hour for the next.  In addition, there are a lot of people here waiting for the bus and we don’t want to risk missing this one (oh and the tours are here too – so it isn’t exactly empty and peaceful!).  We have enough time to take some photos though, which is fine by us – we’re happy and ready to head back into town.

The reverse bus ride is, of course, longer as we are further away from town, but taking all the little side roads and detours of the bus route makes for a wonderfully scenic journey and we get more gorgeous views across the water and out to the islands – including a really big fish farm we pass along the way.

Depositing us at the bus station, Jens bids us farewell and we head back to the grocery store for our ship snacks after a fabulous day of hiking and history learning.  Excellent tour!  On the way to the ship, we pass more great sculptures – the angle in which we took the photo doesn’t really do the statue justice.  It is a man with a peat basket on his back and a Milkmaid with milk on her back – here it looks like the man has the woman tied up and is forcing her to follow him.  Oy! 

Back on the ship, we hang out on the balcony, enjoying the view as well as the rowers who are doing sprints alongside the ship in the harbor.   These guys and gals are amazing – synchronized, fast, incredible.  You can hear the coach yelling at them!  No wonder they are going so hard and fast – that woman is mean!  The guy coach doesn’t sound as bad – but then again, he was further away from us, so…..he probably was!

Later on, we head up to the Living Room to grab a drink and check out White Night.  They do have “our” tables up on deck 10, so we hang out there and watch the goings on. Then we sort of hit the buffet – only for apps (sushi!) – but there isn’t anything special (not like Azamara of old), so we went down to the dining room where we get our solitary corner table – everyone knows that’s our table!!!

After dinner we headed back to the Living Room to chat with Nathan and watch the crew parade on deck. Then retired to the cabin, on the balcony to listen to the band on the pool deck – best way to do White Night honestly! – as we sail out of the harbor on our way to Klaksvik tomorrow.