SHETLAND ISLANDS

ZHETLAND


Shetland has it's origins from the Picts ( who spoke Celtic),from the Irish (who spoke Gaellic) and from the Vikings (who spoke Norse).


LANGUAGE


These three languages and cultures have shaped the present day behaviour of the Shetlanders. The Norse language and Viking Culture however dominate all the others and this is evident in the present way Shetlanders speak their language.




It's interesting to know that the Norse language has evolved into the present day languages spoken in Denmark, Norweigh, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe islands.I have heard the Danish language a little too many times and it sometimes sounds like words being spoken with hot potatoes in the mouth. I really wonder what Norse would have sounded like?





WHO ON EARTH DOES SHETLAND BELONG TO NOW?

Originally Shetland used to be part of Norweigh (ouch),it is however now a part of Scotland, because, the king of Norweigh ,Denmark & Sweden did not have money to pay the dowry of his daughter, (she was getting married to Scotlands king).So he gave away Shetland island as the dowry to Scotlands king.Do you follow??


Anyway



We took the North link ferry from Aberdeen to Shetlands from 7pm on Friday ( straight after work) and arrived Shetland at about 6.30am the next day-Saturday, for a weekend treat.



A LITTLE ABOUT THE FERRY RIDE


The ferry is actually a passenger ship, very glamorously done with a movie theatre, good food, lovely cabins and it is definitely cheaper than taking a flight.A good hint to note for those on a tight budget,is that you can actually spend the night without paying for a room.


This is because there are some rooms (well, rooms with chairs and lush carpets), where you can bunk.You would need to take your own blanket along though.


THE ISLAND


At first glance, the Shetland islands does not appear to be much to write home about, because it is a very old island with unimpressive buildings and also a small population i.e about 7,500 people in Lerwick (the island we arrived at which was built by smugglers).However, when the adventure began, our fears were allayed.



The first few hours were spent walking around the town (like i mentioned its very small, cold and windy).Emphasis on windy. We noticed that families were having a good day out (in 13 degrees) in shorts, t-shirts and summer clothes and this was in JUNE. Apparently, this is very good weather for the Shetlanders, little did we know. Before i proceed, i should mention that ,Shetland consists of over 100 islands with only 15 of them inhabitted by humans.


After a sumptuous meal at a Thai restaurant, we decided to visit two well known sites and a museum to get a good mix of nature ,archeology and history and at the same time , to maximise the weekend.


The places visited were: Noss Island, Jarlshof in Sumburgh, and the Shetland Museum.



NOSS ISLAND

A 3 hour nature trip by boat to the Noss island gave vast insight to birds habitats such as Seagulls,puffins,gannets,kittiwake's and their colonies,also to seals and some underwater species which were viewed by submarine cameras. I will not bore you with the thousand and one things i learnt about underwater species , underwater plants and birds as this will probably ruin your appetite for some sizzled grilled duck or other type of bird and cause many to become vegetarians within the twinkle of an eye.Even the vegetarians will probably loose some appetite after in depth study on plants.




SEALS

Let's start with the seals.WOW!!! unbelievably ugly(see pictures below) but lovely when they flip. If you throw some fish into the water you will surely see the flip. There are two varieties of Seals: The common seal and the grey seal.



























More pictures of a bunch of seals

(they seem to derive some comfort in staying in groups).Picture on the right shows a seal sunbathing on a little island.



SEAGULLS & CO














The picture above shows seagulls, Puffins,and other birds in their colonies.The picture does not do justice to the actual ,so i will explain a bit.


Seagulls & Puffins, have a hierarchical structure which is strictly adhered to, any attempt to deviate from this norm, can lead to the death of any that goes astray.( somewhat like the mafia)


They live and breed on the rocks shown in the picture. The older birds stay at the peak of the rocks where there is wider space to enable their wings spread and of course , to protect territory.The younger ones stay at the lower ends of the rocks with small sections apportioned to them.














One of many beautiful views in Noss island











Another breathtaking view.


Do note that you can go on a 2 to 4 hour nature walk for better appreciation.



JARLSHOF-SUMBURGH


Sumburgh (pronounced as Sumbraah) with the R slightly rolled, is 45minutes by bus from Lerwick town.The roads linking to this part are very narrow but the view is amazingly picturesque.
Scenery of hills, livestock, the famous shetland ponies and water (the water can be viewed from all parts of the island).




Jarlshof is in Sumburgh. It is an archaeological site and it shows the remains of where it is believed that the vikings used to live.It gives a glimpse of their lifestyles and modes of operation in those days.Jarlshof happens to be right beside the ocean and if one stands to close to the cliff, you would surely be blown over.


These were definitely harsh conditions for humans to live in and i wonder how the vikings were able to survive without any heating system especially in the winter.This perhaps maybe one of the reasons archeologist's find fascinating.



The settlement is built with stone and is very lovely.The pictures below give an examples of what i mean. see several pictures below.



































This settlement in Jarlshof was only discovered in the 19th century when the sands were blown off the surface perharps by the strong winds and archeologists realized that there is more to it than was previously known. Prior to this discovery, only the upper part of the settlement was ever seen, see the picture below.












Further pictures show the rounded pattern of houses preffered in those times for communal living.























SHETLAND MUSEUM


Shetland museum is a recent addition to the island.It has a collection of artefacts,pictures, clothing and such other showing the way in which people of those times lived. Below are pictures of some of the items collected.















An old pianoforte used ages ago ( i do not believe that this item has any direct relation to the shetland culture).















Some strange item, i cannot decipher its use,if you have a clue what it is, please send me a comment about it.












A typical rotund shetland home layout, showing how they lived with the simplest of items and no separate rooms.












Fishing boats used by the natives.

I personally found Jarlshof the most interesting of the places visited.If you plan to visit Shetland islands,please go to Jarlshof first.



NB: ( We) in most cases refers to husband and i, tour group, or friends in most cases.