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Faroe IslandsPage 4
ABOVE: A young boater emulates the Vikings who sailed to the Faroes nearly 1200 years ago. AccommodationsTórshavn has a number of hotels and guesthouses, including: Hotel Føroyar Hotel Hafnia
Seaman's Home (Tórshavnar
Sjómansheim) Bládýpi
Youth Hostel
Kerjalon Warning: Not all villages in the Faroes have hotels or guesthouses, so it's wise to plan your overnight stops and phone ahead for reservations. RestaurantsFood is expensive in the Faroes. You can load up on groceries in the supermarket at the SMS shopping center on R.C. Effersøesgøta in Tórshavn, which also has several eating places that are reasonable by Faroese standards. Smaller grocery stores dot the city, and there's an excellent bakery on the Tórsgøta north of the Seamen's Home. For dining out, choices range from snack bars to the dining rooms at the hotels. The Seaman's Home has a cafeteria that serves home-style Faroese meals. Full-service restaurants aren't common outside Tórshavn, although you'll find cafeterias and snack bars in the larger villages. Hotels and hostels around the islands serve meals, and you can buy food and non-alcoholic drinks from village grocers. LaundryThe expensive Myntvask laundromat on J. Broncksgø (the street leading to the Skansin fort) is a tourist attraction in itself. It has the most complicated computerized washing equipment that you're likely to find anywhere. (When my wife visited Myntvask, she was fortunate to encounter a sailor who taught her how to operate the system.) ShoppingHand-knit Faroese sweaters are hard to resist, and they're worth every króna. Books and music recordings also make great souvenirs. (If you enjoy female singers, look for Ingun Simonsen's Eg Vil Liva and Lív Dam's Eftir Regnið.) If you buy videos, make sure the tapes are compatible with your VCR at home (e.g., NTSC format for the United States and Canada. Collectible postage stamps are another Faroese specialty. For more information, see the Postverk Føroya's Faroese Stamps site. Note: Purchases of more than FKR 300 are eligible for a refund of value-added tax through a "Tax Free for Tourists" scheme. (See my article on tax-free shopping.) Next page: Transportation links
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