I headed there without really knowing what to expect, not having glanced at a guidebook, or even googled the place! But sometimes you want to be pleasantly surprised by a destination – and surprised I was! Alighting at Visby, the main town and the largest,I found myself in an incredible medieval town, a testament to the area's hanseatic past. Discovery followed discovery in this place I'd never even people heard mention before!
Gotland is an area slightly away from the Swedish mainland, situated in the Baltic Sea. Equidistant from Sweden and Latvia, the island contains more gothic sites than anywhere else in Sweden. Moreover, there's everything from magnificent natural scenery (notably, the incredible cliffs) to a thriving culinary scene, with a plethora of local vendors and gourmet restaurants.
I headed there without really knowing what to expect, not having glanced at a guidebook, or even googled the place! But sometimes you want to be pleasantly surprised by a destination – and surprised I was! Alighting at Visby, the main town and the largest,I found myself in an incredible medieval town, a testament to the area's hanseatic past. Discovery followed discovery in this place I'd never even people heard mention before!
Gotland is an area slightly away from the Swedish mainland, situated in the Baltic Sea. Equidistant from Sweden and Latvia, the island contains more gothic sites than anywhere else in Sweden. Moreover, there's everything from magnificent natural scenery (notably, the incredible cliffs) to a thriving culinary scene, with a plethora of local vendors and gourmet restaurants.
After Stockholm and its archipelago, I ended my first visit to Sweden by spending a few days on the island of Gotland, where a Swedish friend of mine has a family home. It's well worth making the detour to the island of Gotland during your trip to Sweden.
The medieval town of Visby is charming, and in summer, it's lovely to just wander about and explore its battlements. On the rest of the island, there are vast poppy fields and numerous cyclists. The island no doubt attracts them due to its flatness!
We took a tour of the island, then headed to the beach in the evening to soak up the sunset. My Swedish friends went swimming – they're well used to it – but with the water at a temperature of 15°C, I wasn't going to risk it! ...Towards the North of the island, you'll find large boulders, impressively carved through a process of erosion (raukar ). It reminded me of Brittany, in France, in fact; here, you're at a far remove from the clichés of the Scandinavian countries with a combination of wooden chalets, lakes and forests!
After Stockholm and its archipelago, I ended my first visit to Sweden by spending a few days on the island of Gotland, where a Swedish friend of mine has a family home. It's well worth making the detour to the island of Gotland during your trip to Sweden.
The medieval town of Visby is charming, and in summer, it's lovely to just wander about and explore its battlements. On the rest of the island, there are vast poppy fields and numerous cyclists. The island no doubt attracts them due to its flatness!
We took a tour of the island, then headed to the beach in the evening to soak up the sunset. My Swedish friends went swimming – they're well used to it – but with the water at a temperature of 15°C, I wasn't going to risk it! ...Towards the North of the island, you'll find large boulders, impressively carved through a process of erosion (raukar ). It reminded me of Brittany, in France, in fact; here, you're at a far remove from the clichés of the Scandinavian countries with a combination of wooden chalets, lakes and forests!
