The Faroe Islands? Wow.

I've had some interesting visitors in the last few days. Brunei came to Eff You, as did Slovenia. I think both were second-time visitors, as a I have first-time-visitor posts for both but don't remember seeing them before this. Anyway, nice to have you guys come by again. Enjoy your stay.

But we also have a true first-time visitor: The Faroe Islands. The only reason I know where the Faroe Islands are is too geekishly embarrassing to relate here. A man has to have some pride, after all.

In any event, you should know that, like Greenland, the Faroe Islands and an autonomous country under the auspices of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located about halfway between Iceland and Norway, with a population of about 50,000.

From 1035 until 1814, the Faroes belonged to Norway. For reasons that escape me, in 1814 the Treaty of Kiel gave control over the islands to Denmark, along with Greenland and Iceland. The Faroes have been self-governing since 1948 -- much like Greenland, I think, although I will defer to my Danish readers on this -- but are still part of the Kingdom of Iceland Denmark. [Corrected: Ed.] I still don't understand how Iceland slipped away from Denmark.

Anyway, there are 18 major islands in the Faroes and a buttload of littler islands. The climate is classified as subpolar oceanic, which means cold as fuck, although the Gulf Stream creates a warming influence that leads to milder winters and cool summers. The islands are windy, cloudy and cool, with more than 200 rain or snow days per year. The sun never fucking shines.

The economy relies primarily upon fishing. That is not always a good thing, apparently. Still, it is a pretty place:

With lots of sheep:

And rugged coastlines:

Having said all that, welcome to Eff You, Faroe Islands. Come back soon, and bring your friends.