Visby, Gotland, Sweden
Today we had the luxury of having a whole day to explore the large, beautiful island of Gotland and the city of Visby. Gotland has a rich cultural history from the Bronze Age, to the Vikings and then Visby became one of the most important ports of the Hanseatic League. The city of Visby was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its mostly intact medieval city and the surrounding 13th century town wall.
In the morning we had the option to go on various walks with the Naturalists or to explore this town on our own. We walked along the ramparts of the medieval town wall, or learned a bit more about the natural history of the island in the Botanical Garden and had the opportunity to focus on photography a bit more.
Just after lunch a delightful group of musicians, “Spelfolki,” treated us to traditional music in the Lounge. Then it was time to join local guides for a walking tour of the old town. We wandered along the enchanting cobblestone lanes and learned about centuries of history. Visby has charming ruins of 10 medieval churches that are still used today for weddings and concerts. We also had the chance to see the grand Lutheran Cathedral of St. Maria. The tour ended at one of Sweden’s best regional museums, Gotlands Fornsal, which had excellent exhibits that put many of the historical time periods we just heard about in perspective. Gotland is a very special island that generations had been attracted to and you could see why some locals call it their bit of paradise!
