Visby, Gotland - Day Two

Of course, we had some blind luck with the weather. I credit the sun gods with the fabulous way almost all my photos turned out. Our hotel was also the best. Some complained about hot rooms, but I have to say, we were perfectly comfortable the whole time. I slept like a log.

Another perk on this trip was getting to fly via Bromma Airport in Stockholm. That´s the smaller, older airport, and I haven´t had the pleasure before. I took a few photos there, but they are all bad and pointless, so I will not bother you with those.

This, folks, is a place I have visited before. It´s an old book store, and the place where I bought my new bible in 1999 (yes, I have been here before, also curtesy of Swedish football), when the new translation had just come out. And guess what, Margareta was my companion that time, too!

This year I bought an autobiography that Margareta recommended. I will blog about it when I have read it.

It says "Café" on the sunblind, and indeed they had one, squeezed into the old defense wall itself. I didn´t get a very good picture of it, and besides, we didn´t have coffee there anyway.

The Town wall from the outside. What Valdemar Atterdag had to overcome.

Picturesque ruins are just part of the landscape here - the Victorians would have loved it.

I absolutely love the look of old stone constructions. There is such beauty in the patterns, the way things were made, and remember that this wasn´t supposed to show at all. This would have been totally plastered over and covered with painings or whatever.

Look at the detail of that!

Again, I had a most informed and enthusiastic guide.

The walk down by the sea shore.

Lover´s Gate.

It´s so impressive how they have preserved the medieval town´s structure, while still bringing Visby into the modern age. I imagine that many old cities could have had this kind of ambience, but either old walls and buildings have been torn down by utilitarian builders, or fires have taken their toll.

I am very excited to find modern artwork in places like this. The old bombed out cathedral in Coventry comes to mind. (Which I seem to have NOT BLOGGED ABOUT! Have to make amends and dig out those pictures!)

Another WWII bunker down by the harbour. I loved seeing this, my maternal grandfather spent seven years on this island, prepared to defend us against the Germans or anyone trying to have their way with us. He might have been sitting right here. Who knows?

As so often happens, the older generation is already gone by the time we ourselves are mature enough to have formed relevant questions to ask them.

Grey pears.

Me, in front of a pavillion in the Bothanical Gardens. (Photo credits to Margareta)

Red troll grapes.

In the evening, we went to an outdoor restaurant (in the old(?) grounds of the Freemasons, where we were treated to a medieval meal. As you can see, we ate part of the meal from communal wooden boards. Also on offer were whole roasted lamb, and an assortment of side dishes and condiments, such as a special kind of sweet, stewed cabbage.

Some questioned the authenticity of having a belly dancer for entertainment, but actually, hoards containing plenty of Arabian coins have been found on Gotland, and they would certainly have been dealing in slaves at some time. I don´t think it´s particularly unrealistic to imagine that one or two exotic men and women could have resided here.

After this, we walked home through a quiet and sleepy Visby, to nightcaps in the hotel bar, and a good night´s sleep.