Faroe Islands Day 3: In which we Accidentally Kidnap a Dog

Following our Copenhagen whirlwind and two days of stunning hiking throughout the northern islands, it was time to gallivant our way to the "big city." Our final two nights in the Faroe Islands we'd be staying in the same hotel, the only two days in a row that we were kept consistent sleeping quarters! (Which meant I didn't have to keep my suitcase tidy for once!) You know what they say, prone to wonder, prone to wander... 

Thursday

• For those who love treasure maps - here is today's journey! Well, mostly. The part you can't see from this one is the fact that we didn't drive to Kirkjubøur, we walked. From Tórshavn. There and back again, like devoted hobbits off on an adventure. More on that to come...
• After breakfast at our hotel in Runavík, we left for our "final" home for the Faroes: Tórshavn, the capital and largest city on the islands (the population of the town and its surrounding area is the size of Marshfield, Wisconsin - for reference). 
• Originally, I had ambitious plan to ferry to the island of Suðuroy, but based on timing we opted to stay closer. This meant we could take our time driving along the coast to get to Tórshavn. In fact, we decided to overshot the city and instead explore the nearby village of Velbastaður, one of the oldest settlements in the islands.

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain, comin' down on a sunny day?

• Meanwhile, back in Tórshavn, since it still wasn't time to check in, we went to the "largest mall" in the Faroes (the SMS). Got a good kick out of that. It's rather small when compared to an American mall, but had a few cute shops and a grocery store - so we were able to snag a few random gifts for people to bring home. The SMS also has one of the only fast food spots on the islands (they are one of the only European countries without a McDonald's): a Burger King, which we did not partake in. 
• From there, we wound our way through the tiny streets (later we had to back our way up a hill and around a corner because the road just became someone's front stoop without warning - typical of all villages in this country) and headed towards the harbor. 
• We had an amazing lunch at The Tarv (a place I had stalked on Instagram for months before going), on what was yet another perfectly sunny day.* We order pintxos, which I chuckled and apologized for not being able to pronounce, to which our waiter replied, "It's Spanish..." Despite my being dumber than a box of rocks when it comes to alternative naming conventions for what are basically tapas, we later had a right good chat about how I was an Instagram fan girl of their establishment. 
• After lunch, we checked into our badass grass roofed hotel (Hotel Føroyar). We honestly thought we were on the first floor, looking out right into the grassy knoll overlooking the town. Wrong-o! Our room was on the second floor, overlooking the grass ROOF of the floor below us! (Good thing I didn't follow through on climbing out the window to walk outside...)
• All checked in and ready to go, we headed to the edge of town to start our two-hour hike to Kirkjubøur. At the start of the trail, we made new friends with two of the HANDSOMEST sheep dog. They loved us, and we loved them. And THAT, my friends, is when we accidentally stole a dog.... 

I don't even LIKE dogs, but I loved these dogs more than life itself.

• For eight kilometers, as we hiked from one village to the next, the one dog followed us. Every gate or barricade we got to, I'd say goodbye and wish him well, and shed a little tear for my puppy I was leaving behind.... and then he'd hop over or crawl under said gate and happily run ahead. Eight. Kilometers. Over a mountain. 
• He would not be deterred. Every time the beau tried to shoo him to go back home, he'd just look happily at us, head cocked, tail wagging - like we were the funniest, nicest humans he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing. And even though I dislike / am rather allergic to dogs... I loved that puppy and we were best friends. I named him Idéfix, after the dog sidekick in the French Asterix comics. Because, like in the comics, he was my sidekick, and, with my allergies, it was comical.
• We followed the trail of rock piles. Yes, just rock piles. You could go out, set up a bunch of rock piles and lead tourists off a cliff - such was our trust of those piles. 

ROCKin' it - with our faithful puppy!

• In Kirkjubøur, we had some other tourists comment on how friendly our dog was. And when a much bigger dog came over to shit-kick our puppy, he hid right behind me, his mama, for protection.... And then he decided he liked some other people better and started following them instead.... So no, he didn't follow us back over the mountain to his home and real family. Or maybe that wasn't his home in the first place even, and he was actually from Kirkjubøur. We will literally never know. All I know is that that adorable dog broke my heart outside of Saint Olav's Church! (jokes...ish.)

On the edge of heaven's gate...

• After examining the old church and ruins along the coastline in Kirkjubøur, we hauled ass back up the cliffside (read: I died sans inhaler while the beau remained posed and gazelle-like), without our canine companion, and back to the capital, because it was getting late. No, we weren't worried about the sun setting, because like the British Empire, the sun never seems to set there. No, it wasn't darkness that drove us onward, it was hanger. This girl was worried about getting FOOD.
• Not just any food. Sushi. Fresh Faroese fish, wrapped up in sushi goodness. etika. etika Sushi is where we found peace after the loss of the dog that we accidentally stole. We made it just a half hour before they were closing and dug into langoustine, salmon, and other local sourced noms. It was brilliant.

En route back to our grass-topped hotel, "House of the Rising Sun" randomly came across the Faroese airwaves. From our hotel window, we could see the dense fog that had rolled over the harbor. The clouds reached their breaking point, and it started to sprinkle. It was the only rain we saw the entire trip - despite the fact that it had been pouring rain for the past three months straight. It was perfect weather for this exhausted adventurer to pass right the hell out.

"And it's been the ruin, of many a poor boy..."

* Given the number of photos I've seen of waterfalls blowing uphill due to erratic weather in the Faroes, we really lucked out.

Faroe Islands Day 2: All My Sci-Fi Children

After our 24-hour Copenhagen whirlwind and an eventful first day in the Faroes, it was time to really dig in and explore a few more islands. The was a day of many more tiny villages nestled into ocean-view cliffs, all with strange names that I'm certain we were pronouncing incorrectly. Names that I'll use some day to name characters in my semi-autobiographical Sci-Fi novel...

I shall name you Lambareidi and Glyvrar. And you will be the heroes of my story.

Wednesday

• Today's adventure map can be found here!
• After yet another carry-on reconfiguration (that's what we get for hotel hopping!), we had an awesome breakfast at the hotel (thanks, Europe for the filling breakfast goodies). Since we had only gotten to do a little sight-seeing the night prior, we wanted to do some additional hiking in Gjógv. 

Still struggling with the sand in my boots from the day before #outdoorsyAF

• This time we aimed for the cliff across from the cute little bench we'd sat at the night prior, and started up the other side of the gorge. However, as we got higher/further our, the WIND got so strong that we literally had to turn back. I was so sure we were going to blow off a cliff, that I was ready to just lay down flat and not move for days, til the wind subsided or I was eaten by a sheep (whichever came first). Because of the wind, we also decided against our potential hike up Slættaratindur (the highest point in the Faroes) and instead moved further south.

Little boxes, on the hillside

• We had a brief stop to admire Funningur, an adorable little town in which I had the most horrifying bathroom experience of my adult life. Due to this, we swiftly moved on. Which is really the beauty of the islands: there are so many cool things to see that if you're not feeling one spot, you can easily move on to something else!
• Our target: the city of  Runavík - a port city in the southern part of Eysturoy (the island we were already on). It was too early to check in at Hotel Runavík, where we were staying, so we went to wander the town. We found a trail around a large lake area (Lake Toftavatn) which was also a sheep / bird preserve -- jk, they don't have preserves, sheep and seabirds are just everywhere. It ended up being a very easy trail walk, and was a nice way to pass the windy morning.

Walkin' on water, Jesus style

• Despite out very chill walkabout, we still had more time before check-in so went to travel along the southernmost tip. We visited Æðuvík, Nes, Toftir, and several other little villages that I'll name the children in that aforementioned Sci-Fi novel after some day.... #jokesnotjokes 

Down south, looking out

• After a loop back and a speedy check-in (in which they were alarmed by our promptness, because no one in the Faroes rushes to do anything, those chill souls!), we hit the road for our day trip to Klaksvík, on the neighboring island of Borðoy. The second largest town in the Faroes, Klaksvík is roughly the size of my tiny hometown in northern Wisconsin (twins!). Which is... literally insane.
• To dodge the misty chill, we ate "lunch" at the cutest coffeehouse: Fríða Kaffihús (Kaffihús = coffee house?? Get it? Because we didn't... for like an hour...). The had awesome Faroese tapas (all the fish, all the lamb), plus it was BOGO happy hour, which meant ALL the hot cocoa I could handle! As an added bonus, they played only American oldies music, and I was the only one there who properly knew all the words. IE, I had the best time and likely terrified the locals.
• Once properly fed, I was of course ready to climb mountains... We hiked up a hill overlooking the town and hopped the fence* to head towards the further cliffs. From beyond the fence, towards what appeared to be a weather station, there was a clear view of neighboring islands of Kalsoy, Kunoy, and Eysturoy. Oy oy oy, was it gorgeous! Along the way we saw several locals. People just out for a stroll. Because those stunning views are just part of their daily routine.... Mind. Blowing.

Bench break for me, world conquering power-pose for him

• After our hike, we figured, why not keep going? So we got in the car and carried on to another new island and went to the little town of Viðareiði - the northernmost settlement. There, I was totally obsessed with yet another picturesque church and we walked through the town, observing the locals gathering at what appeared to be a school for a rousing game of "stick your children in squishy plastic and watch them bounce about" - aka bubble soccer. Apparently that shit is popular everywhere. Why? Well, because they're like hamster balls for people, and it's hilarious to what kids bounce around like that. But, I digress....
• At the edge of town, we awkwardly asked some sheep wranglers if it was cool that we ripped out a fence post so we could climb up another mountain - they were cool with it.* So, after pulling out said post and then returning it to it's hole after we crossed, we followed a sheep trail up above the town. There, I could get a bird's eye view of the little church I'd fallen in love with lower down. I obsessively photographed it like a creepy stalker, or a private eye hired to see if it had taken on a secret lover... and I have no regrets. 

Climb every mountain, ford every stream.

• Took a different route on Viðoy (the northernmost island) to make our way back to Runavík. Upon arrival back to our city of sleep, it was so late that the only place for food still open** was an "American pizza" joint. Which, we of course got. We closed the night munching greasy pizza in the hotel while watching random Danish television.

We had gone into the day without much of a plan, but somehow ended up exploring three islands, hopping from point A to B to everything in between. Thankfully, many of the islands are well connected, making it easy to roam. We spent the whole day reading unpronounceable names of unspeakably magnificent places. And we still had several more days to rove... 

Got the world on a string, sitting on a mountain...

* One of my favorite parts of our trip was hopping fences. No one is like, stopping you or yelling at you. You can just carry on through. Any fence or gate, we just assumed was for sheep.

** Many villages don't have restaurants at all, so, we did have our snacks just in case.

Faroe Islands Day 1: What the Sheep??

After our 24-hour Copenhagen whirlwind, we were ready to move on to our main destination: the Faroe Islands! Here's how the next leg of our adventure went with day 1... in which Gina tries to jam in as many adorable villages and cliffs as possible.

Tuesday

• After a dead-to-the-world, deep sleep in our fabulous Copenhagen hotel and some carry-on reconfiguration, we checked out to head for our next flight. While we didn't have much time to spare, we did make time to walk back to Nyhavn, hit up a bakery (Vedels Konditori), and eat some danish by the canal. A nice little breakfast before we were on the metro and then boarding yet another plane. (This time for a short two hour jaunt.)
• Flying into the Faroe Islands is like flying into Jurassic Park. It's absolutely amazing, and you're certain that people don't belong there, because they'll just spoil it. There's also probably dinosaurs there. Even if you don't see them at first, you just are constantly waiting for a fanfare of music and BOOM dinos! 

Sometimes you wanna go...

• Our plane arrived around 12:30 pm and I insisted we eat at the airport. There are not many restaurants on the Faroes, except in certain villages. While I had scheduled a grocery store stop for later in the day, the idea of not having easily accessible food meant that I was eating like a mama bear prepping for the long winter. This would prove a wise strategy given the crazy amount of steps we put on hiking.
• We strapped on our hiking boots and picked up the rental car (see tips for getting around the islands here!) and off we went! 
• For a plug-and-play adventure map, you can follow along right here. Looking at the map and seeing all the islands, you think it's a lot bigger, but everything was oddly close together. (No matter where you're standing on any given island, you're within 5k of the ocean!)
• First attempted stop: Kvívík, which Google Maps could not seem to find, so we didn't end up seeing (til our last day when we found it accidentally!). With the stress of me directing the beau to drive into a mountain looming, we took a little break to reset. Stopped alongside the road, I was thrilled by the random sheep hanging out just feet away, not realizing this would be commonplace the whole trip.
• A short time later, we tally-hoed onward. Taking under ocean and under mountain tunnels to go from the island of Vágar to the "big island" of Streymoy (total area around 144 sq miles - which is slightly smaller than the size of the city of Atlanta). Thank goodness I wasn't driving, or we'd have never made it anywhere. I'd have been stopping to take photos every five seconds. And with the beau at the wheel, that's just what I did - a nonstop stream of fabulous images and videos. It's so beautiful that even a photo out a car window is frickin' frame-able. 

Just a peak??  (bahaha, get it?! PEAK!)

• Our first real stop: Saksun! After a long drive down a one-lane road (with two-way traffic), we found a fork in the road with two areas to park: to the left or the right. 
• The left fork is what we took first. It was next to a trail that led down to a large tidal, seawater lagoon and a giant waterfall (both which fed into the ocean around the bend). This massive area looks up at the cliffside which the small village of Saksun is perched upon. The whole area is surrounded by mountains. Those picturesque little houses and a gorgeous church, overlook this stunning area, which is home to about a dozen people and a zillion lambs. Since it was low tide, we walked along the sandy shore of the lagoon around the headland to see the ocean. We made several failed attempts to scale up along the sandy slopes to get a few over the ravines edges of the surrounding area. Turns out, we're just not as nimble mountaineers as those damn sheep, because no matter how many of their trails I tried to climb in, I just kept sliding down! After my boots got entirely too full of sand, we followed the sheep back toward the car.

Staring out into the ocean, eating snacks: a still life of our trip.

• Since we'd seen the area below Saksun, we decided to take the right fork to go up into the village. The view from above was totally worth it. This was the first of many historical and well-placed churches that made me think, "Yeah, I could find God in a place like this..." The villages of the Faroes also tend to have one public restroom, indicated by a little WC sign plus arrow, that you follow on a fabulous scavenger hunt until you find something that looks nothing like a restroom. In this case, it was grass roofed and a really fascinating place to have a pee! 

I spent a good portion of the trip trying to get Saksun sand out of my boots
and looking toward the horizon #basic

• Next up was the renowned Fossá Waterfall. This giant waterfall is just there, hanging out on the side of a road. Because the side of the road in the Faroes, no matter which side of the road, is filled with majestic frickin' beauty. We lucked out and were having beautiful weather, so the waterfall was "low" enough that I could climb up around by it. (I've seen photos of it after a heavy rain and it's insane how different it looks!) This was a quick stop since our car was precariously parked and a group of we-have-fancy-cameras-because-we're-real-photographers people showed up and it made me feel bad about standing there gawking in the middle of all their shots.
• We continued driving up to Tjørnuvík - zipping around what the beau called the "death cliff" (hairpin turns on more one-lane roads). Also surrounded by mountains, this village is on the ocean. It's windy and exposed water apparently draws in a lot of surfers (#faroesbrah). From the edge of the village, you can see Risin and Kellingin (aka the Giant and Witch) - free standing rock pillars off the nearby cliffs. Apparently there is a trail between Tjørnuvík and Saksun (a three hour hike) that I'd have definitely had us do if I'd realized it was there in advance. (Next time!)

Hey there, Tjørnuvík, lookin' good.

• Finally, we were en route to our "hotel." With a very important stop made at Bónus Norðskála, a Faroese grocery store with a giant pig for the logo! Here we loaded up on a meat/cheese feast (Remember those lambs from earlier? Womp Womp!) and grabbed snacks for the rest of the days. This was brilliant to save money overall, but was also a godsend to prevent me from being whiny and starving on our coming days of hiking, where restaurants were few and far between! 
• We stayed at the Gjáargarður Guesthouse in Gjógv. Gjógv is absolutely splendi and is just on the edge of the world. I hate to overuse words like "idyllic" and "charming" but really, they're just so damn applicable! PLUS, our hotel had a heated floor in the bathroom and a picnic table patio area that overlooked all that frickin' splendor so it was literal heaven. 

Inappropriate footwear at its finest at the Gjógv gorge!

• After we checked in (at around 9:30 pm - because I kept making us stop to take pictures!), we explored the nearby cliff area and the gorge that the village is named after. We took the very well laid out and easy trail to a spot called Mary's Bænk (aka the Princess seat! Google it!) that overlooks the gorge. We went to this easy spot because my boots were drying on our heated bathroom floor after I attempted to scrub out that Saksun sand, so I was wearing tiny ballet flats for this particular cliff climbing excursion (sorry, mom!). 

With the sun not quite set, watching the clouds roll in to tuck the neighboring islands to sleep, perched up on a point just above the crashing waves... it was quite possibly a perfect day. Going to sleep in Gjógv, we still had several days of island hopping and grass-roof fangirl squealing ahead of us!

Don't know where it goes, but it's only me and I walk alone.

Copenhagen Round 1: The Whirlwind

Since I've never been called "short winded" in my life.... this is part one of a day-by-day series on our recent trip to Copenhagen and the Faroe Islands, focusing on out first two days. For general thoughts and tips for travelling to these locations, go hit up this heavily bulleted post. 

Coming off a hectic month of work, a royal wedding in which I had to watch my future husband marry a cool (albeit less attractive) other woman, and our yearly 5k, I somehow managed to squeeze in rabid excitement for our looming trip. After months of planning and packing, it was go time. And here's how it allllll began...

Sunday

• Because it's substantially cheaper to fly out of Chicago compared to Milwaukee, leg one of the journey was a bus ride down to Chi. After a drop off from the beau's dad, we were off! We left obnoxiously early, which ended up being a swell idea since, due to traffic, the bus arrived to O'Hare an hour late. 
• After prancing past the British Airways terminal (still decked out for the royal wedding - single tear), we suffered through the ridiculously inefficient security that is the international terminal. (Thanks, O'Hare, for leaving such a great impression on our guests. You suck.) There, we sacrificed a bag of liquids to the TSA gods (seriously, HOW does a ziploc baggie GO MISSING on that five feet of conveyor belt - major flaw there) before breaking from the masses to enjoy some pizza and a beer.
• While dining, we were serenaded by a random youth choir that was rehearsing while waiting at a nearby gate. An audience is an audience, I suppose, no matter where you're queuing! 
• Upon boarding for our 10 pm departure, we were informed that sorry, they had to switch planes and we'd gotten an older model. Comforted by my lack of leg room, I scoped out our fellow passengers, just in case we'd need allies upon crashing. 
• Fun fact: a 10 pm flight comes with TWO meals! Dinner AND breakfast! It's been a hot second since my last transatlantic flight (ten years in fact, almost to the date, since my return from study abroad) that this was just a frickin' delight. Airplane meals are WAY better than I remember! So, major props, SAS. 
• We did dinner and a show (the new Jumanji movie, which we watched on our separate little screens while carefully timing any pauses) and then tried to get some sleep so we could stay up and fight the jetlag upon arrival. 

Go home, plane. You're drunk.

Monday

• It was 1:30 pm Copenhagen time when we arrived, and with a 9:30 pm sunset time, I was stoked to cram in eight hours of exploring! Since we really only had a "24 hour layover" and I wasn't sure how exhausted we'd be on our return layover, I insisted that we see everything possible right away. 
• Since it had been almost a nine hour flight and I was eager to ditch our bags, the first place we aimed for was our hotel, the Copenhagen Strand. We snagged some DKK cashoola and caught the metro. Cheers to Denmark for crushing it on public transit - the metro was clean, efficient and overall just lovely. 
• After a luggage drop and quick showers (fun fact: it ended up being about 75 degrees and I had only packed sweaters so, this gal was a sweaty mess!), it was time for the first of many intricately planned "tours" that I had written up in a Google Doc before out trip. If you want to follow along, here was the "walking tour" I took us on!

Took me awhile to realize København was Copenhagen... derp.

• A short stop from our hotel: the Christiansborg Palace (aka Danish Parliament). We didn't go in, just looked around the outside and checked out the grandiose building while enjoying the beautiful weather. 
• En route to our next stop, I insisted upon getting gelato. We wandered, eating our rapidly melting treats from Gelato Rajissimo, peaking into the occasional shop, and then arrived to the Rundetårn.
• Known as the "Round Tower," for just about $4, you can take the slow and steady spiral walk up to the observation deck atop the tower where you can get a full 360 view of the city. This is a great early stop because it helps you get a bird's eye view of how the city is laid out, so you can sort of see where you'll be heading later to see other sites. Since it's not a strenuous climb to the top, I'd recommend this stop for anyone. There was a gaggle of drunk French women who were particularly enjoying the sites when we were there (we later saw them drinking wine on bicycles in the streets #FrenchAF). Rundetårn also has little history and art exhibits as you spiral up or down. (If you were in a rush, you could go up and down and do a brief look at the exhibits in a half hour even.)

Up on the roof, leaving our mark on the city after a spirally ascent.

• Thanks to my dawdling and constant photo taking, by the time we made our way to Frederik's Church, they had just closed. I could just kick myself at not seeing the inside, because the outside of this huge marble church was just stunning. There were also beautiful lilacs everywhere! 
• Because you just can't go to Copenhagen without seeing it, we next walked along the Kastellet (a star shaped fortress / park area) to get to the Little Mermaid statue. The statue itself was... fine. It was the same somewhat underwhelming feeling I had when seeing the Mona Lisa. It's a beautiful and culturally significant piece of artwork but it's oddly small in real life and so surrounded by tourists that you don't get a chance to really enjoy it. Worth a stop though because there were so many cool gardens and other statues on our walk there, AND a really cool little church that I was obsessed with (aka took fifty photos of). 
• It was getting closer to sunset and was feeding time, so we came back along the canal to head for dinner. Turns out the Royal Run was taking place: a race being run to celebrate the birthday of the Crown Prince, who is apparently an avid runner. At some point, we had missed the royals running (damn it, royal watch fail!) but found ourselves in and out of the course area for the rest of the night. (Because of COURSE there'd be a race wherever we go - the beau was bummed that he didn't know, else he'd have been running it!)
• Dodging the runners, we passed by the Opera House and finally got to Nyhavn. If you've ever seen a postcard of Copenhagen, odds are you saw the Nyhavn. It's the iconic brightly painted houses and restaurants along the canal. Bicycles and merriment to be had by all. We had a restaurant in mind, but it ended up that they only serve Smørrebrød (open faced sandwiches that are a specialty of the region) at lunch. Since the beau really wanted to try them, we instead went to a lovely spot called Nyhavns Faergekro. Sitting outside, eating some delicious local cuisine, watching the runners from a distance, and enjoying a cold beverage after a long day of travelling and walking: it was heaven. 
• We stayed out til after sunset before getting back to the hotel, where we flooded the bathroom (thanks for the lack of shower doors, Europe!) and struggled to stay awake late enough to beat the jet lag. 

Knowing that a week later we'd be back in the city to enjoy more delicious food and sights, it made the introductory whirlwind pretty chill. If we really weren't able to catch something we wanted to see, we'd be able to try and squeeze it in on the way back. The weather was beautiful and it was the perfect jumping point for the entire trip. Because, the next day, we were off to our main destination... the Faroe Islands.

A danish in Denmark, naturally.

Copenhagen & The Faroe Islands: Shit Worth Knowing

This post and my packing rant are prequels to my day-by-day series on our recent trip to Copenhagen and the Faroe Islands. Check out the other posts in the coming days to get your adventure fix!

When we started telling people we'd booked a European escapades, they were excited. When we told them it was to the Faroe Islands, they shifted to confused and bewildered. "Where? And how on earth did you pick that place?" were the most common responses (or the occasional "oh neat" nod that meant they didn't care to hear more). So, here are some reasons why:

• Go. Google the Faroe Islands right now. They're fucking stunning. (Instagrammable AF!) It's the kind of place you see and wonder "Why doesn't everyone move here??" and I'm already quietly planning to convince all my friends to move there so we can all be the only inhabitants on an island together. 
• They're like Iceland's cool kid sister. Iceland is all trendy and sexy right now, but expensive once you get there. The Faroes are lesser known but just phenomenal, and often overlooked. They're the "next big thing." I really wanted to get there before it became flooded with tourists and see it while it was still a bit "wild."
• It was easy to set up a 24-hour "layover" in Copenhagen to bookend our trip with. So we got a little bit of the city-life on either side of our hiking adventure.
• I'm too antsy to sit on a beach. While it's true that no one would look at me and say "Oh yeah, she's a hiker," it's nice to roam and explore beautiful places. An active vacation is a good relationship test, too - if we can't go hiking in a foreign land together, then honestly, we're not meant to be. We both have too much wanderlust in our souls. 
• Yes, I was excited about seeing puffins... that didn't work out, but, yes, it was a reason. ((More details on that debacle to come))

Would I recommend going to either or both? 100%. (Especially if you fancy yourself a photographer or a bird enthusiast!) I was already plotting out our return trip before we even got on the plane home. So, now that we've planned and gone on our fantastic voyage, here are some tips and fun facts about Copenhagen and the Faroe Islands.

Let's play "spot the photographer"

Both:

• They're not on the Euro, even though they're in the EU. The currency is the Danish Krone (DKK) and it's a little over 6 DKK to 1 USD. So if it's 25 DKK to get into a museum, you're looking at just $4. The Faroes have their own version of DKK bills with different imagery printed on it (coins are the same). You can use DKK bills from Copenhagen in the Faroe Islands fine, but you can't use those Faroese bills back in Copenhagen without causing confusion.
• Bring a pen. Credit cards (especially Visa) are widely accepted, but most Europeans have a pin and don't have to sign for credit cards. Ours process differently and need a signature. Since no one in Europe has to sign normally, most places didn't have a pen handy. (GET it together, America! Down with signatures!)  
• Everyone speaks English pretty much. Most people in the Faroes know three languages: Danish, English and Faroese (which is closer to Icelandic). 
• Green energy is everywhere. Wind farms for days. More bicycles than you can shake a recycled stick at. 
• All the hotel beds were either two twin beds pushed next to each other, or at the very least had two twin comforters on the bed. Twin comforters are AMAZING. You know in the night, when you wake up cold and realize your SO has burritoed into the comforter and you have no blankets covering you? I have two words for you: twin. comforters. Love my beau, but I may love being covered while I sleep more. 
• Unlike the rest of Europe, where people tend to eat later at night, most restaurants seemed to close by 10 or 11 it seemed. 
• Security at both airports was quite efficient. (Way better than fucking O'Hare.)
• They're so far north, you can expect some serious daytime hourage if you're going in the sprint/summer months. When we were there, sunrise in the Faroes was at 4 am, and sunset at 10:30 pm - that's 18+ hours of daylight (at the peak in June, it's almost 20 hours). Copenhagen was just shy of 17 hours of daylight at that same time. So. You get plenty of time to explore!

This was at 9:30 pm. Also, person for scale.
(See upper left cliff.)

Copenhagen:

• It's the capital and most populous city of Denmark.
• Great public transport - their metro is very easy to navigate.
• Like most major cities, different areas have VERY different atmospheres. The harbor area we saw on a Monday, and was full of restaurants and tourists, but was so pretty. Bustling in the way Europe bustles - so chill AF. Versus on Saturday we saw the area by Tivoli at night and it was a crazy drunk club scene, with bachelorette party buses scream-singing "Despacito" (Sunday morning, that same area was hipster breakfast and families). And the area by the airport? More homes and businesses. So, it can really vary depending where you are and when. 
• The Little Mermaid statue is pretty overrated. Like the Mona Lisa, she's small and surrounded by tourists. It's a beautiful walk to get there though, so, may as well.
• Their open-faced sandwiches (Smørrebrød) are famous. But be careful if you're aiming to get your fix: some places only serve them for lunch. 
• Need your royal fix? The Danish monarchy has got you covered! 
• Try the cinnamon rolls. They're different, and delicious.
• A lot of the places that look cool during the day are also badass at night. Explore at different times of day! The nighttime lights at Tivoli are super fun. 
• Even on a warm day, the wind by the harbor can be chilly. You've been warned.

Faroe Islands:

• If you're afraid of feeling isolated, narrow roadways, the ocean, seabirds, heights, etc - you may not enjoy your visit as much. 
• Consists of 18 rocky, volcanic islands about midway between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean. AKA: they out there. 
• The overall population is about 50,000 people. Many islands have very sparse populations (Mykines has a dozen retirees on it, Stóra Dímun has two families, etc).
• They're self-governing but technically part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark subsidizes them economically (about 3% of their GDP).
• Transportation is fascinating. The islands are connected by ferry, boat, bus, helicopter, over-ocean bridges, or under-ocean tunnels. If the weather shifts, you very well may be stuck on whatever island you're on. (Again, see puffin story.) If you're taking a ferry or helicopter, you HAVE to be very careful with the schedule and thoroughly review the rules. Don't just try and wing it. For example, helicopters only fly certain days of the week and will only take you one way (same day). You have to find a different way back or wait several days for another chopper. So, do your fucking research and don't cowboy it. 

"Bridge Over Troubled Waters" is actually the national anthem.

• IF you're renting a car: remember, they're mostly stick shift. So if you're like me, you need to really make sure they get you one of the five automatic cars on the lot. Else, if you're a novice in a manual, driving those hills would be a living nightmare. 

• The roads often involve hairpin turns on cliff edges or suddenly go through mountains. A portion of the roads and tunnels (further from the airport and capital) are also one-lane. As in, one lane for two-way traffic. In this scenario, there are little divots on the side of the road that you can pull over into to allow oncoming traffic to get by. Yes, that means that you can find yourself in a dark one-lane tunnel through a mountain, see headlights coming, and have to panic to find a pull-over (lest you have to back up on a tiny, pitch-black, bored-through-a-mountain rock tunnel). The sheep also have a genuine DGAF notion about cars and freely wander the roadways. Even if you honk. 

Roadside Assistance: Faroe Islands style

• All that being said, I highly recommend renting a car. It's the best way to get about on your own schedule. And, nothing is that far! If you wanted to drive from one of the westmost cities (like Gasadalur) to one of the eastmost cities (like Vidareidi), it's only a two hour drive. Assuming you don't stop to take a million photos on the way (which, you will want to). 
• Their tourism industry is still developing. You won't find a Hilton here. Or a McDonald's. Also, don't expect to find a restaurant every couple miles (so PACK SNACKS!). Do expect to find friendly locals who are willing to help out if needed. And, don't worry, most towns have a public restroom (WC = water closet). 
• No matter where you look, you're going to see something beautiful. Wherever you're standing, you're not more than 5k from the ocean. This means astonishing views of neighboring islands, waterways, etc. EVERYWHERE. Some of the best views can be seen on the airplane ride in (or if you're lucky enough to catch a ferry or helicopter, those views are supposed to be choice as well). 
• Their largest industry is fishing. Eat all the seafood you can. And lamb. Damn good lamb as well (see DGAF sheep vs cars comment). 
• Some trails are well laid out. Some are just worn grass with random rock piles to guide you. Most involve a lot of incline. There seem to be few restrictions on where you can rove about though so, just be careful and go. Everyone kept saying that if you're up on a mountain, and the fog rolls in, just chill til it rolls out, else you could meander off a cliff. A legit warning. 

Wait, which rock pile am I supposed to follow??

The biggest thing I learned from our experience: just because a place isn't as well known, doesn't mean it's not a place worth going. I mean, yeah, of course I know we live in a great big world, duh. BUT when looking at most travel bucket lists, you'll see a lot of standard places: Paris, London, etc. There is NOTHING wrong with these places and they're wonderful and beautiful and diverse in their own ways and I've been and I love them. But I think it's time for us to reevaluate our bullet points here, and to try adding in some outliers. You know, to start planning more voyages to that area outside our comfort zone, where the magic lives.

Faroes: Keep Calm, Carry On

After months of planning, it was time: our trip to the Faroe Islands and Copenhagen was just around the corner! As soon as we'd booked the flight, I started hitting the "end of winter" sales and gathering sweaters, picking out the perfect outfits to look fabulous for the 'gram while hiking mountains. There was also a long quest for hiking boots, as I was determined to get a pair of highly recommended (but discontinued) boots (long story short: I got em!). Every bit of my gear was slowly and meticulously planned out.

That's when, a week from our departure, the beau sprung on me that he had thought we weren't checking bags. Just carry-ons, he said. For seven days. Of sweater-weather. Shouldn't be a problem, should make things much easier.

... And with that, all my carefully laid plans imploded.

There I was, standing amongst my stack of sweaters, buried in stress from work, having a mild anxiety attack, staring at my two suitcases. The one I had planned to bring, and the infinitely smaller (per my mind's eye) carry-on.

After a come-to-Jesus moment with myself (read: sobbing, clinging to my Insta-worthy sweaters), I was ready and determined. A carry-on it was. I could do this. I ran off to buy organizer bags, because everyone said that was the trick... Most were totally unnecessary and I returned them. Here is what I DID do to save space, and what I brought along in that tiny bag for our voyage.**

Let's do this, little red!

To save space:

• Streamline shit:  Duh. Best way to save space is have less stuff. So, I laid everything out to decide what was really necessary and what wasn't. I also made a firm "maybe" pile of stuff I could add back in if I had room. I laid out every single thing, so there would be no surprise items to squeeze in last minute (this was the night before we left #nopressure).
• Roll with it: You'll always hear people talk about rolling their clothes to avoid wrinkling and save room. This is infinite wisdom, always. Just, do it. 
• Suck it up: Vacuum seal compression bags. I've heard rave reviews, I just didn't get how to pull that off. TURNS OUT that there are some that require no equipment. It's like a jumbo ziploc bag that you seal up, and then roll the air out. The air can only go out one way. It. Is. Magic. That magic bag is how my sweaters went from taking up 3/4 of my carry-on to 1/3 of it. [Price: $5 at TJ Maxx and I now use them to store blankets under the bed, dust free!]
• Bag it: Organization is key to space saving. While I returned most of the little organizer bags, I did keep one "cube tube" to keep my socks/panties/PJs/misc in order [Price: $10, Container Store travel sale]. I had my makeup bag to org toiletries, the compression bag to keep my sweaters together, and then a shit ton of ziplocs to org anything else (seriously, no need to buy something fancy, these work fine). 
• Splitsies: I split up the liquids and had the beau take some of the shared items, like shampoo and nail clippers, to save me a little room. (That bag was lost going through security so... hit or miss on that decision.) 
• Disposable: Since I wasn't sure what I might want to buy to bring back, to make sure I had room for later, most of what I brought with was also "disposable." Snacks would be consumed, tissues used, my face wipes tossed, etc. AND a lot of my clothing could get tossed if I was in a real bind for capacity (see ratty shoes and free sweaters below - plus, TMI, but I brought my least fave panties - they take up space, too! Toss if needed!) 

Flatlays confuse me.... 

What I packed.... 

• On my person
• My badass waterproof, wind resistant, lightweight, 3-in-1 coat (that I've worn every day since I bought it) - the HFX performance Kingsley 3-in-1 jacket - it has a black rain jacket shell and teal puffy insulated jacket liner, they  easily zip apart if you want to wear just one part - it's the probably best coat I've ever owned 
• Price: $112 (originally $220) - this was my splurge item since I haven't gotten a new winter coat in six years. It's even MORE on sale now, so GET IT!
• My bulkiest blue-and-white-stripped sweater [Price: free* - Old Navy]
• A black undershirt/tank 
• Black scarf
• My comfy black "jeans" - Rockstar 24/7's (that my sister tried to convince me are jeggings but, I swear, they're not - they're just soft denim!!) [Price: free* - Old Navy] 
• Semi-ratty black sneakers (since I just wanted comfy plane shoes and a hiking boot alternative if needed for dinner or something)
• Mint green watch - which I didn't change the time on for our whole trip
• In my backpack - we flew SAS which had size limitations for your "personal" item, which meant my backpack was a bit of a stretch, so I made sure not to pack it TOO full, just to avoid conflict. I specifically packed my most important items, just in case something happened with my carry-on though.
• Nautica waterproof cross-body purse that I wore the whole trip and that has the best pockets (for the flight, it was hidden in my backpack since it's a "personal item" in itself) [Price: $15 - on sale, Boston Store RIP]
• My purse had my wallet, glasses/contacts case, regular camera, passport, Field Notes, and phones in it
• Waterproof hiking boots - which, despite the struggle to find a size for a discontinued style (Ahnu Sugarpine), were so worth it [Price on eBay: $100 - my second splurge item, but invaluable to my happiest on the trip, since I fucking hate wet socks]
• Hats - vital with the wind #becausebigears  [Price: $6 for two, thanks seasonal H&M clearance! I bought new ones because my others are a bit loose on my head and I was worried about wind - I was right]
• Snacks, sudoku, music, hairbrush and face wipes: aka stuff for the flight
• Inhaler, digi chargers, meds, tissues, hand sani, extra socks: aka my vitals
• A large reusable grocery bag - which was our trip snack bag and meant I could sprawl my shit out when we weren't hopping on planes
• One outfit, just in case
• Plain black long sleeve shirt 
• Black waterproof lightweight pants, that also button up to be capris [Price: $10 - Eddie Bauer outlet]
• In my carry-on bag 
• Various organization baggies (see above)
• Makeup bag and liquids bag
• Curling iron (from my study abroad days - thanks, France, for your two pronged European standard plugs!)
• Compression socks (#cuzim90), PJ shorts, panties, bras, gloves, etc.
• Tops:
• Light grey cable-knit sweater [Price: free* - Old Navy]
• Raspberry v-neck sweater [Price: free* - Old Navy]
• Cupio black, blue and white turtleneck - block colors [Price: $4 - Goodwill]
• Cupio black, blue and white turtleneck - zipzagging colors [Price: $10 - Boston Store. Yes, I found the same turtleneck in a slightly different pattern and I got it #noregrets]
• Maroon long sweater [Price: free* - Old Navy]
• Black with white stripes, 3/4 sleeve thin tunic 
• Plain grey v-neck t-shirt (worn for PJs, but not a "PJ shirt" - so I could wear it out as well)
• Bottoms:
• My standard pair of black jeans that I always wear
• A pair of black tights (with footies)
• Black activewear pants (Calvin Klein performance - a workout pant with butt pockets so I don't have to feel like I'm wearing legging as pants) [Price: $30 - way more than I'd normally spend on pants, but they were great for hiking]
• Pair of grey flats (that could be tossed if needed since I've had them forever, and they were only $3 originally lol)

So - why babble all that off?  Because that list encapsulates some of my fave packing tips:

1. Oh, yes, you can bring all that shit. Where there's a will, there's a way. Jenga that junk in there! (And that compression bag = life for me now!) Don't be afraid to go small,  having a carry-on only really is way easier, plus saves time / the annoyance of hauling stuff.
2. DON'T forget to budget for those "I need this for my trip" costs. Could I have gotten fewer sweaters? Sure. But, I'd have been miserable without those good hiking boots, and without that coat. And those two things, even though I got them on sale, just cost more. So, when you're budgeting for a trip, don't forget to factor those purchases in! 
3. Keep to a color palette so clothes can be easily intermixed. Notice all the black? Yeah, that just works always. (And, then you don't have any visible sweaty pits when hiking!)
4. Split your stuff up between your allotted bags. If one goes missing then, it's less detrimental. Always keep the most important stuff with your person if you can. And having more bag options means you can divvy stuff up differently as you're travelling (the ziploc that organized my snacks later kept my dirty socks from stankin' up my bag).

There's always a tipping point when packing for a trip where you have to decide: is this the stuff I actually need and am I could toting that crap around?? And that's when you have to dig deep, get rid of that fifth pair of pants, and say, "Not today, pack rat. Not. Today." Godspeed, travelers. Keep calm and carry... on...  (See what I did there???)

Where's my plane again?

Also, if you're thinking "I don't give a fuck about luggage, where's the adventure??" 

You can go check my other travel tips post (that's less luggage-centric), these Copenhagen highlights, or these play-by-play posts about our days in the Faroe Islands!

* Ready for some footnote inception?? Go see my footnote in my post about becoming debt-free to hear me rave like a lunatic about that Gap Card I have and love.  
** I added prices for things I bought new "for the trip" - I got a lot of great stuff that I'll use all the time, so, though the trip inspired the buys, I'm totally happy with the purchases! Another note: the weather in Copenhagen was set to be 70s and sunny, the Faroe Islands between 50 and 60 with the constant potential for rain/wind/mist - REALLY easy weather to pack for....