Regional studies, with a little help from a reliable friend, the dictionary. But in order. On this photo: What are we looking at? Correct, a flavor of Faroese winter weather, a slipway for boats (the one that makes me think of an amphitheater every now and then) and something called neyst; to use as indefinite singular or plural. Boathouses are to be found everywhere on the archipelago, they are part of the way of life, embodying history, tradition, moments of happiness, forever lost love and terrible deaths out at sea.
To me, the word neyst always sounds like nest, as if the boats had a home, a safe and cozy retreat. And they do have one when the boating season is over - unless something happens, something that goes by the name skaðabrim; danger-breakers, or harm-surf, translated literally and unravelled. In case you do not know: Our village is known for the fact that right here, with the utmost regularity, the violent surf of the North Atlantic hits land. A few days ago, the sea took a run-up and made it up to the boathouses, a concrete wall tipped to the side, wooden parts were dented, as if the sea had hit card houses. My friend Poul Johannes documented the state of affairs afterwards. And with this knowledge you can read a recent headline from the Faroese news, probably your first headline in Faroese ever: “Skaðabrim í Elduvík”.
Headline and article in the Faroese news: Skaðabrim í Elduvík