some more of the capital

Tourist slides from the door to the garbage bin without moving her legs. Grabbing the bin creates the first stop for disposing some garbage. Then swiftly on to the street. On flat ground it is pretty much okay but then come some dangerous-looking descents. Much worse than the streets of Tallinn. In the center luckily snow has been salted away from most streets.

Hairdresser, buying fruit for the ship ride and visit to the handmade chocolate café are in the agenda. Passing I give an interview to two polite young men for their school project. The hosts have allowed me to keep the room until the evening which gives me the chance to slide back up the icy slopes.

Before boarding the ship I spend an entertaining half an hour locating an eight-hour-parking place. Garmin maps don’t know the Faroe Islands. I found some alternative online but this only made the device know place names and not the map. And it is able to calculate the route only half of the times. But parking in Tórshavn was supposed to be a headache anyway. Next I find out that all the recommended restaurants will be open from six when I already have to queue for the ship. There’s only fast food and sushi which qualifies as a snack in my opinion. Seems that with local food here is like local people. They may be nice when you’re able to catch some.

The cabin has a window. Moon pours a light patch on the water in the sailing direction.

It takes a few more days to get home. Some final thoughts about the Faroe Islands. 

Doors are generally unlocked and keys are kept in the cars. A nice habit. Crime practically does not exist. I have to keep in mind not to take the unlocked doors habit home with me unless I want to suffer the fate of the Faroese people when they go on vacation in some land in the south and their stuff gets stolen in the first opportunity.

When people realize that you’re a tourist they tend to address you in Danish.

You’re never further away from the sea than five kilometers.

People eagerly use plastic bags in shops.

In order to pressure Google to add Faroe Islands to the street view some locals put cameras on sheep and made sheep view.

The amount of suicides is far less than other Nordic countries, population increases, average life expectancy high. The financial substitutes from Denmark is steadily declining being already less than 10% of the islands’ budget.

The islands are mostly green despite it being autumn and despite not having forest. It is not certain if climate change makes life here colder or warmer. The rise of ocean temperature might add degrees but the accompanying weakening of the Golf stream might lower the temperature (the Golf stream weakens due to increase of the average ocean temperature). Change in one or other direction will affect the plants that are used to pretty stable temperature. Some plants might disappear, some move up or down except those up on the mountain tops that cannot go any higher or those in the valleys that cannot move lower. In either case it will probably rain more and be cloudier and windier. This erodes some of the soil and affect plants that need sun. Maybe in a hundred years the place will look similar to the Himalayan stone desert. This does not mean any good for sheep nor tourists.