Faroe islands

•"The Faroe Islands are one of the last places in Europe where

everyday life brings what people elsewhere look for: closeness,

nature and peace.

•The geographical location and size of the islands have contributed to

the preservation of our own culture and language. Today we consider

our modest size a benefit in as much as we have a choice how

close we want to be to the outside world and vice versa.

•The Faroe Islands have no ambition to become a goal of mass

tourism. But more and more foreigners would like to visit our

islands, and we the Faroese want them to feel welcome. We have

therefore started to expand tourist facilities, a task which is being

coordinated by the Faroese Government tourist board .

•Hotel and youth hostel capacity is being enlarged, package tours arranged, excursions organized and tourist brochures prepared.

The possibilities of traveling to the Faroes by boat or plane are now better than ever, including the

possibility of combining a stay in the Faroe Islands with a visit to

Norway, Scotland or Iceland.

•Man is a minority here.

•Besides 43,000 people, there are 3.5 million birds that call the Faroes their home. The bird cliffs have permanent inhabitants and returning visitors, and in summer, the Spartan homes on the

cliff ledges are overcrowded. They don´t need to catch the chairman´s eye to be allowed to speak, and there is a lot of

chattering about the catch out there in the great depths .

•These are birds which spend most of their lives at sea. Several of the species come ashore only during breeding time and leave the bird

cliffs as soon as the brood is fledged.

•80000 sheep graze on the Faroese mountainsides .

•Free-range animals in the true sense of the word. In places difficult to access they are only in touch with humans

twice in their lifetime: when they are let loose as lambs and when they are

herded together as fully grown animals.•In a few places where sheep are let

loose in bird cliffs or on isolated rock formations in the sea, each individual sheep is sold by auction after being

gathered .