You can, as the old mail boat servicing the Northern Isles is still there, faithfully going to and fro in all weathers and seasons. Much to the surprise of the local people and perhaps especially to the crew, the service is even famous. For them this is all routine, whilst at certain times of the year they have to fight through rough weather, other people can get into a nice comfortable bus to reach their destination in no time. But the service is described in the well known traveller’s book ‘Lonely Planet’, as unique in the world and certainly one of the most surprising of ex­pe­riences for any visitor. Until recently there were two routes and two boats, both painted black and white, that provided a daily service trans­porting post, freight, visitors and relatives. A brand new ferry harbour has been built on Kalsoy and the old boat that used to sail here has been replaced by a ferry that sails several times a day between Klaksvík and Syðradalur on Kals­oy; one of the most remarkable islands in the Faroes with its long narrow shape. The west side is dramatic and steep in com­parison to the east side where the small idyllic villages are situated.

The bus trip from Húsar to Trøllanes takes you through four dark and nar­row tunn­els, but rest assu­­red, Ragna, the bus driver, has made this  trip a thou­sand times and she will take you safely through to Mikla­dalur and further on. Mikla­dalur is a well known motif in Faro­ese paint­ings, as se­veral of the best Faroese pain­ters are from that village.

Kalsoy has many legends. The best known of them is the le­gend about the seal woman who was captured and forced to marry a farm­er’s son from Mikla­dalur and had children with him. But she longed to go back to the sea and one day when her hus­­band had gone fishing, she found the key to the chest where her seal skin was hidden, put it on and returned to her natural ele­ment.

But let us go back to the other mail boat Másin. It still plies its old route, faithful as ever by sailing from Hvannasund, the village on the narrow sound between Borðoy and Viðoy and out to the easternmost islands of Svinoy and Fugloy; a trip that can be described as one of the most magnificent in the Faroe Islands. Lean back and enjoy the sight of all the birds, busily engaged in bringing food to their young ones. Watch the puf­fin that can carry up to 20 small fish in its beak at a time. How it manages to take another fish without dropp­ing the others is still a mystery!

It is easy to understand how Fugloy, the bird island, got its name. A little more difficult is the name of Svín­oy, for there are no swine or pigs in the Faroes. But once there were some, and legend has it that Svín­oy was origi­nally a floating island and did not  become fixed until a wo­man from Viðareiði fas­tened a bunch of keys to the tail of a sow and made it swim to the island. Thus the island was fixed, locked by the iron keys.

In these islands you may still meet people who live in com­plete harmony with na­ture. Do not mistake their natural reti­cence for shy­ness. You have come to them only to stay for a little while, but they have always been here, and their time is not the usual working day from nine to five.

But modern times are not far away, and in Klaksvík the visitor who would prefer a smooth ride to the boat trip can take the bus that runs north to Viðareiði. The vica­rage is one of the most beau­ti­ful houses in the Faro­es and the most renowned clergyman’s wife from this vicarage was Beinta, who became the main character in the famous novel Barbara by Jørgen-Frantz Jacob­sen. From the village you can take a hike to the northern­most point of the Faroes - Enni­berg, which is Europe’s highest pro­mon­tory. You can stay overnight at the com­fortable Hotel Norð.

From Klaksvík you can also go by bus to the island of Kunoy, the highest of all the islands (average height). The village on the west side is known for its beautiful site with its view west and north towards Kalsoy. The sunset on a good summer’s even­ing is breathtaking.

Overwhelming scenery and impressive peace; but it is the busy and energetic town of Klaksvík that is the centre of the Northern Is­lands, and this is where all visits to these islands begin and end.

In 1838 the Royal Trade Mono­poly opened a branch here and Klaksvík became an in­dependent munici­pality in 1908. As Klaksvík is situa­ted around a very well-protected bay and was approved as a winter berth for seagoing vessels, many skippers and their crews mo­­v­ed to Klaksvík, and from that time Klaksvík started to develop and became the main fishing port in the islands. Klaksvík is the capital of the Northern Islands and has all the facilities you ex­pect to find in a town. It is very important for Faro­ese industry and economy, and the arts also have a home here. The Christians church is one of the most interesting to be found on the Faroes. It was designed by the Danish architect Peter Koch and is the first large church in Scandinavia to be built in the ancient Nordic style. The font is considered to be approximately 3000-4000 years old and is, without doubt, the oldest in use in Scandinavia.

If on your trip to the Far­o­es you have missed visiting the Northern Islands, you have not had the full benefit of your visit. It is easy to get to this part of the country. Several times daily a direct bus and car ferry links Klaks­vík with the other is­lands, and this journey through the magnificent Faro­ese scenery is in itself an experience. Take your time and stay for a while in Klaksvík. At Norðoyar Kun­nin­gar­­stova, the tourist in­formation cen­tre, you will get all the inform­ation you need about accommo­dation, travel­ling, trips, and local events.

In April 2006, the 5,6 km long underwater tunnel (150m beneath sea level) between Klaksvík and Leirvík was opened to the public. It now takes approximately one hour to travel direct from Tórshavn and Vágar airport to the northern islands.

With the warmer weather of summer and the light nights, come the summer festivals and town celebrations. It all begins with Norðoyarstevna in Klaksvík at the end of May. The town is festively decorated with bunting and the guests flock to town; the festivities begin with processions, music and speeches and continue with a programme of meetings, exhi­bitions and sports com­pe­titions. Perhaps the most important competition is the rowing event, where the whole country follows with great excitement as the results come in from the first competition of the year. 

It was in 2004 that Klaksvík took the initiative of holding a music festival in the summer, inviting well known international artists to perform alongside Faroese musicians and singers. It was a huge success drawing many visitors to the town and has become an annual event. 

 "Seaman's Day" is held on the third weekend in August in Klaksvík. The focus is upon the Faroe Islands main industry for an entire weekend with competitions, lectures and exhibitions relating to the fishing industry. It ends with a dance on the saturday evening.
approximately one hour to travel direct from Tórshavn and Vágar airport to the northern islands.



EXCURSIONS

Norðoya Kunningarstova arranges several excursions daily, if the attendance is sufficient. Among the excursions are: info@klaksvik.fo,
www.visitnordoy.fo