In the middle of the Baltic is the isle of Gotland. The largest town, Visby, has a rich history as a trade port that used to be as important as London or Paris back in ‘ye olde times’ when trade across the baltic was best done by boat as opposed to the newer methods of trains and planes.
From Stockholm, we took the bus connection to the ferry from Nynäshamn. The trip was fairly uneventful other than the doppelgänger of Rollo from Vikings, or Brock O’Hurn, across the isle from us. Oden bless the Scandinavians.
When we arrived, we had missed the bus to the resort, and decided to keep our gear as we wondered around the narrow, winding, cobbled streets of Visby. The whole island had an air of ‘vacation’ with tourists of Sweden and foreign vacationing the island. The old buildings had been repurposed, with a church ruin playing host to a cafe’s outdoor seating. Other ruins allowed you to walk up stairways and across catwalks, and into dark crevices of the historic structure.
The town, which is only about 20 minutes to walk across, provided plenty of sights for us to visit while lugging our bags around. Under advisement from the tourist information desk we cut through the botanic gardens and went up one of the lookout towers that remain on the old city wall that has been standing since the 13th century.
When we were done poking around the town, we caught the bus to the resort south of Visby, where we stayed the night. The resort hosts two theme parks (a water park and giant ‘playground’ with mini-putt, bumper cars, and go-charts), and Pippi Longstocking’s house.
The accommodation, which was cabin/camp style, was reasonable for the proximity it provided to the attractions. The tourist atmosphere felt like Breckenridge. A place that even the locals go to to vacation.
The busses don’t run as frequently to the resort, and don’t start till late morning, so if visiting overnight like we did, a taxi is an option.
TravelGypsea 