July 29 – Ólavsøka / National Day in the Faroe Islands

Posted on July 29, 2016

I wrote about Ólavsøka Eve in the Faroe Islands in an earlier post, but since Ólavsøka is considered by many Faroese people to be their national day, I figured I had to go on record about today's events.

The biggest part of Ólavsøka, for the Faroese, is the reopening of Parliament after their summer break. Before that happens, there is a procession and a Cantata—classical music and choir music sung by 160 choir singers from all over the Faroe Islands.

Where are the Faroe Islands?


These North Atlantic islands lie about halfway between Norway and Iceland. They are an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. That means that the Faroese govern themselves but depend on Denmark for military defense, police force, justice system, and currency.



What makes the Faroe Islands special?

Like most places, there are some natural-beauty sites on the islands.

Kunoy
Mulafossur Waterfall





Parts of the islands feature straight-sided cliffs that plunge down into the North Atlantic:




And other parts are weird and pointy and rugged:



There are some teeny-tiny villages, like Saksun:



But even the largest town in the Faroes, like its capital, Torshavn, is not a proper city:

(Torshavn has only about 13,000 people –
only about three times as large as my high school!)



Bird watchers enjoy the diverse birds who live on or visit the islands. Check out these puffins:



Best of all, perhaps, the Faroe Islands are far enough north that you can sometimes see the Northern Lights there:






Also on this date:






































(another post here)













Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:
And here are my Pinterest boards for:

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