It may seem mundane and not terribly exciting, but one of the main reasons I loved my time in the Faroes was the peace and quiet found there. Folks say that silence is golden. But during one particularly placid morning at my hotel, it was mostly deep green and soft brown with tiny dots of wild flower yellow and a soothing blue ocean view.
I had to spend one morning of my visit to the Faroe Islands doing some work in my hotel room. Boring I know, but that’s how life on the road plays out sometimes. In retrospect, I’m so pleased to have had to stay up for awhile as my morning in turned out to be one of the most memorable moments of the trip.
As much as I was hankering to hit the road and see more sights, I couldn’t complain about where I was; ‘If I’ve got to work, this ain’t such a bad place to do it,’ I thought. My room, with its Danish design accoutrements, was a minimalist’s dream and a pleasant space for doing just about anything. Indeed Hotel Foroyar – a long grass roofed modernist structure somewhat inconspicuously built into the side of a mountain just above the city of Torshavn – proved an excellent base for all my endeavours. And being there with its modern architecture and eased into such a natural and rustic setting felt oh-so incredibly Scandi too.
So there I was in my room tapping away on my laptop to keep ahead of a few deadlines and tame a rather unruly inbox. I had my window open, taking in the fresh air and admiring the lush scenery. And for whatever reason I stopped typing for a second and was by the nothingness. No winds, no birds, no cars, no sirens, no murmuring neighbours, no babies crying, no building site beeps and bangs, no planes … no-thing at all. Not a sound. It lasted a long stretch and set my mind as such ease. Even now recounting it, I can almost feel my blood pressure drop, my stress drift away like an inconsequential leaf, and my attitude shift toward a more relaxed position.
Keep an eye out for more posts in my Faroes and Away miniseries.
Four star Hotel Foroyar is situated on a hill above the captial city Torshavn and about an hour’s drive from the airport. In addition to the Nordic comforts and utter traquility, the hotel is home to one of the finest restaurants I’ve ever come across. Find out more at hotelforoyar.com.
Pingback: Faroes and Away: My New Happy Place