Funningur–Home Away from Home

August 21, 2021

I awoke early, not knowing the time but ready to greet the day.  With the bedroom curtain pulled back, I got my first glimpse of Funningsfjørður from the upstairs bedroom window.  There were low clouds, green grassy fields, treeless, craggy mountains, and corrugated metal rooftops–green and red and black–all surrounding the dark water of the fjord.  So beautiful!  But what time was it?  Probably 8 or 8:30 a.m.

I tiptoed to the bathroom with a low, sloped ceiling and a small window in the roof.  I did my morning routine and took my vitamins to ward off Covid, you know!  Then I went down the 10 steep and narrow stairs to the main floor.  I soon mastered the technique of stepping down the first two steps while turning around, then continuing backwards down those stairs.  That way I could use the steps to steady myself–they were steep!  I wonder if Grandma Højsted did something like this when she lived here.  It was her house, until she passed away a few years ago.

Time to make the Karat coffee.  I glanced at the wall clock in the kitchen.  6:30 a.m. Seriously?  Oh, well.  It gave me extra time to praise and thank my Heavenly Father for his love, care, and travel protection on our three different flights and 45 minute drive to get to Funningur, Faroe Islands.  I also thanked him for giving me the desire of my heart–extended time in this unique corner of the world. Here I was, sitting in a cozy house in the cutest little Faroese town of 40 people.  The last time I was in the Faroe Islands (in 2018), I had mentioned to my friend, Alis, that my dream would be to live in this village for a month to get the “feel of the Faroes.”  Low and behold, her sister-in-law owns the family home now (this house!) and uses it for a couple of months each year as a summer cottage.  It was available after August 20–so here I am!

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Mary and I left our husbands back in Michigan while we ventured abroad, a bit stressed and unsure about international travel during Covid.  We had to get a PCR test within 72 hours of boarding the international flight, another upon arrival in Vágar airport, and a final one four days after that.  During those four days, we were to quarantine.  We could walk outside or drive around in our rental car but needed to avoid being around people.  Once you test negative on Day 4–you are free and life is perfectly normal. Unlike in the USA, there are no masks, no fearful looks, no “social distancing,” no ruined businesses in the Faroes. And their case numbers are almost zero!

So this is Day 1.  I’m now wide awake. Alis will come by around 1 p.m. and walk with us through the village, being careful to keep her 2 meter distance, of course, for three more days.  She will show us where she grew up, where her grandparents lived, where she goes to church down by the harbor.  But first, I sip my coffee and count my blessings.  So begins my three-week getaway to this jewel in the North Atlantic.  Alis calls it “the land of maybe,” because of the changeableness of the weather around here (calm, windy, rainy, sunny, cool, misty, cold).  I just call it “breathtaking.”