Trafika Europe 1 - Northern Idyll

The 185th Birthday

IGIL TVIBUR CLOSED THE CEMETERY gate behind him and, as often happened when he stepped into the great oaks’ shadow, his mind grew calm. The trees were among the city’s oldest living inhabitants; thanks to their age and beauty, they were treated with the greatest respect. When the municipality first installed drainpipes and laid sidewalks along Dr. Jakobsensgøtu in the sixties, it was necessary to move the south stone wall somewhat further in. That meant that two of the trees came to stand just outside the cemetery; in order to protect them, attractive iron grills were placed around the trunks. The spruces farther up the yard were also a pleasure to behold. A hundred years ago, Gerd, who married the tradesman Obram from Oyndarfjør ð ur, brought some root cuttings back to the Faroes in a tub. She had been visiting her family in Bergen, and the tub spent the entire trip securely fastened to the ship’s deck. Perhaps the act of defying storms from heaven and sea had implanted something joyful and proud in the trees’ souls. Whatever the case, Eigil had the feeling that one bright day the trees would burst out singing: Yes, we love this land . . . E

The rowanberry trees were scrawny and grew best on the cemetery’s west side, although some had also been planted

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