Shetland Islands and its 'Firsts' for Me

Hiya!

Today I am writing as a very tired individual. Savannah and I traveled to the island city of Lerwick this weekend. There's only two ways to the island: ferry or plane. We opted ferry for the price and the timing- we could manage to get it there and back in a mere 12 hours each way. Now-I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking taking that route because I even get car sick. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly the most talkative, more like comatose on the booth attempting to let the waves slip away before my head (and stomach) did. On the brighter side of the ferry trip, the interior of that ferry will forever change my thoughts of them- it was so nice on the inside, it even had a bar (hard to believe in Scotland, right?)

Now before I get too far, here's a couple fun facts about the Shetland Islands and Lerwick. The cluster of these islands is at the 60 degrees North latitude line- the farthest north I've ever been :) Also, Lerwick is equidistant from Aberdeen, Scotland to Bergen, Norway- so only one short ferry away and I could have hit another country! The language up here is ultra unique- the people we were staying with even had a Shetland dictionary; it was quite strange to be speaking the same language as the locals, but with completely different slang than mainland Scotland. Lerwick is also the most northerly (and easterly) city in Scotland. And one last thing- I learned in the Shetland Museum that Shetland and Orkney islands were originally a part of Denmark, but it was given as a dowry because the Danish king was so poor, and it's still in the hands of the Scots!

After that we met up with our Couchsurfing host, who was a trooper to meet us at 7 on a Saturday morning! She was kind enough to take us around a scenic walk along the coast and then we hopped across the sea with the ferry to Bressay. I'm pretty sure that island had more sheep than people- everywhere we walked there was sheep running away from us…they were so darn cute! And I can't forget the ponies: we couldn't go to the Shetland Islands without seeing Shetland ponies- and thank goodness they didn't disappoint! We hung out with a couple for quite a while, and we just kept feeding and feeding them- which explains their stout figure haha! We did a hike up to the highest point of that island and saw a marvelous view in all directions. Savannah and I departed our host and headed down to explore the other side of the peak. That's probably the craziest bog I've ever trekked through- a quarter of the way through the walk we came to terms that having dry feet was not even a possibility. Along the way to the coast, we saw so many ancient ruins (including full villages), it's crazy how casual it is there, probably because there's over 6000 different archaeological sites on the islands. Along the rocks we spotted a couple of seals, the first ones that I had witnessed outside of a zoo. On the way back was an adventure in itself- we climbed over barbed wire fences, scared numerous sheep (and one guy fishing), and we somehow made it back to tell the tale!

Back in town, Savannah and I scoured the shops in hopes of finding the perfect wool 'jumper'. The Shetland Islands are known for their sheep's wool sweaters- especially the Fair Isle design. Low and behold, I found one. I think I'll treasure that thing forever, so if you see me around a lot in one sweater, you'll know why :)

We continued the rest of the night by being fed a feast of haddock pie, which was by far the best food I've had made for me since being home. We had been told that there was an Irish folk concert starring Sharon Shannon, and my goodness, she was phenomenal. I also never would have thought that such a small community would have such a wonderful concert hall! Afterward I asked for a Screwdriver at the bar and none of the bartenders had any idea what it was. That was practically the first mixed drink I had ever heard of and so it startled me that no one recognized it!

The next day we woke up to a down pour, which meant lots of tea for the morning- I don't think I've ever consumed so much! We bundled up in our most rainproof gear to see the local broch- the site of an ancient and complex stone roundhouse. After drying off we took a taxi into town- my very first one ever!!! Then we headed over to the Shetland Museum, which had a great display of history. Then we were whisked away by our hosts to a craft fair. The hall that was hosting the event was actually the location that Mumford & Sons played at in '11 on the island…it was honestly so tiny, it's crazy they would take the time to play there. There was a plethora of knitting and goods, but there was also tea where you could pay three pounds to basically have unlimited tea/coffee and snacks. And let me tell you- those Shetlanders know how to bake! I also had a smoked salmon spread which I could have devoured all day.

And that pretty much concludes the whole weekend. Sorry if that was a bore- this is largely for my future recollection so I wouldn't blame you if you skimmed! There's a couple of fun things on the docket for me in this next week, so stay tuned :)

The main road of Lerwick is to the left; I just loved the building style!

View of the islands

Feeding one of the ponies!

Savannah and I with our hosts and their friends at tea