THURSDAY, MAY 14^TH – SWITZERLAND TO THE FAROE ISLANDS:
Where in the world are the Faroe Islands, right?  Well, they are a group of islands (pin-dots really) between Greenland and Norway.  They are owned by Denmark.  This is my 2^nd visit here in 2 years with the Bellamys.
Up at 5 am and loaded the bus at 6:15 am.  It took 2 hrs. and 45 minutes to drive to the Geneva airport and I slept most of that way since I only had 2 hours of sleep last night.  At least this was a great bus driver who didn’t attempt to take us through a snow-covered pass that was closed for the Winter! 
Check in was pretty painless and we were able to check our luggage/gear all the way through to the Faroes.  We have a 5 hour layover in Copenhagen.  Got hit pretty hard with excess luggage charges by SAS once again.  Wally and I went to the SAS counter to pay for the costs and the agent said it was going to cost 3,600 Swiss Francs  -- that’s over $3,000 U.S.  Wally about had a heart attack and I think the agent thought he was going too.  She said she’d waive 76 kilos of the weight and only charge for 100 kilos at a fee of a little over $1,000 U.S.  Still much too high but better than the original quote.
Flight to Copenhagen was painless and we had lunch once we landed.  Ate at a Tapas bar which was really great.  Then a lot of the group found recliners to nap in while I answered hundreds of emails.  Flight to the Faroes departed on time and was full.  Our sweet promoter – Allan – was waiting for us with our bus driver – Butt Bear.  Okay.  That’s not his real name.  But his real name is too hard to pronounce and the English translation really is Butt Bear (or is it Bare?). 
The drive from the airport to the hotel was breath-taking.  Last time we were here in September and everything was much “greener”.  But, the trade-off is that the weather is MUCH better this time of the year.  There’s also only a couple hours of darkness here at this time.  We are on a different island this time from the “main” island where we performed last time.  When we were here before, internet was definitely a “challenge” and Allan PROMISED we wouldn’t have any problems this time.  He was a nervous wreck because he knows how anal I am about internet connections.  For some reason, my email isn’t working on my blackberry even though no one else in the group is having a problem!
We arrived at the hotel which is located in Klaksvik – much smaller town than Thorshavn (the capitol).  There is a Burger King in Thorshavn – yes ONE Burger King and no other fastfood restaurants – and I was teasing Allan that there isn’t one in Klaksvik.  Our hotel is located one street above the water which is going to be a beautiful run for me tomorrow if the weather remains this pretty.
We were checking in and getting all the information about the internet, phone system, etc.  Only, we learned that there are NO telephones.  Poor Allan.  It was something he didn’t even think to check since he assumed that every hotel had phones in their rooms.  He came to my room with me to make sure the internet was working and as my luck usually is, it didn’t work.  I had to go to the lobby to log on and there was no electrical outlet in the lobby.  The wireless router was on the wall right outside my room so it didn’t make sense that I couldn’t log on.  I gave up trying and went to dinner.  Then, after dinner, I learned that the internet worked in everyone’s rooms!  A nice young man named Ryan had worked on mine for me and told me to “just call him anytime” I needed help.  Which I would do, only we don’t have a telephone! 
We finally changed a bunch of settings and got mine up and running.  Then I realized my overhead light didn’t work in my room or in the bathroom!  Enter Ryan again.  Light bulbs were blown in both fixtures. 
By the way, the food at dinner was great.  The Bellamys ate “Puffin” (a local bird) when they were here the first time and still talk about how horrible it was.   Fortunately, we didn’t have Puffin for dinner. 
We have been on 3 different time zones this trip.  Today, we are only 6 hours ahead of Nashville time.  But it’s 2 am and I’m going to bed now!
Jude

FRIDAY, MAY 15^TH – DAY OFF IN THE FAROES:
Slept “late” for me…didn’t get up until 9 am!  Of course, I didn’t go to bed until almost 3:30 am.  Internet stayed on all night and was working great….until everyone else in our group got up and started using it.  Then it died again.
I had coffee and yogurt and fought with the internet for another hour while waiting for it to warm up.  Got dressed to go jogging but realized I should have gone earlier instead of later.  The clouds had rolled in and it looked like it might rain.  But, I ran anyway and am so glad I did.  I went down the hill from the hotel to the waterfront and ran along the water, all the way around to the other side.  Eventually, I ran out of sideway and went farther down by the water only to run out of pavement and hit a “barrier” there.  Back-tracked but this time I went “up” towards the venue and ran a long way around the other side of the island.   I passed a group of school children and their “play activity” seemed to be running across the street in front of cars!  I was afraid no one was watching them, but a lady was standing there with them, basically ignoring them. I ran way up the mountain and it was just me and lots of sheep.  I can’t describe how incredibly beautiful it is here – tall craggy mountains covered with sheep overlooking beautiful little colored houses along the waterfront with lots of fishing boats.  I can’t get lost because there’s no trees, so you can see the entire island from just about anywhere.  J
Came back down the mountain and ran the other direction from the hotel.  There are lots of shops here but really for the “locals”.  No touristy shops so I can by my Z-Pack something.  L  I ran for an hour and then went to the hotel and grabbed my purse so I could change money before the bank closed.  Really nice people at the bank, too.  When I came out David, Susan, and Wally were standing in front of the bank.  They had walked to a kiosk and while they were in there, asked a woman about where they might find a restaurant.  She told them about a “bakery” and then offered to drive them there.  When they got in her car, she had a baby in a car seat in the back seat.  She had gone into the store and left the baby in the car...something we would never do in America! 
Went back to the bank with Susan to change some money and stopped by the kiosk to get some fruit and cheese for my lunch.  Then back to the hotel.
The shower is one of those typical small town Scandinavian challenges.  There is no shower stall.  Just a curtain around the shower wand.  There is a drain in the floor but it doesn’t work very well and the floor floods with water.  Usually they put a squeegee with a long handle on it in the bathrooms so the water can be cleaned up after showering.  Not so this time.  But, at least the water pressure (or water temperature!) wasn’t very good, so the wand didn’t blow off the wall and chase me around the shower this time.
I’m sitting in the lobby now which is the ONLY place the internet works.  One thing I noticed today (besides the lack of trees) is the fact that I didn’t see one dog or cat.  I asked the front desk clerk about this.  He said that they have such strict laws here and if a cat or dog is found wandering outside, it is immediately picked up by animal control.   I didn’t even see any dogs in fenced yards and none barked at me as I jogged around neighborhoods. 
Dinner is in 5 minutes and it’s supposed to be fish and lamb.  Instead it’s fish and OX.  Great.  Oops.  Make that fried (breaded) fish, ox and very dry lamb.  But the coffee was great.   
Had to sit in the lobby and work on the internet the rest of the evening.  The weather turned very windy and cold.  It stayed light outside until almost midnight and then finally got dark but won’t stay dark long.
Tomorrow is “show day” and then we leave on Sunday.  Faroe Islands are a beautiful place that I’m glad I got to visit.  The people here are all so incredibly nice.  But, I would definitely not be able to live in a place that is so remote.  Or that doesn’t have adequate internet! J
Going to bed early since I’m caught up on email and there is NOTHING to do here.  Early for me is 1 am. 
Jude