Our Day in Visby

On our last full day in Gotland we knew we had to take the ferry back to Stockholm from Visby so we said farewell to our hosts in the countryside and rented bikes to explore Visby. Visby has spread out from the central and still very much intact walled city – very reminiscent of walled cities in Italy and other places in Europe. Many people still live inside the walls of the old city but much has grown up around that section. The bike ride around the area was beautiful. We rode along the waterfront for a while and then within the old city walls parked and explored a lovely botanical garden replete with statues, lily ponds, and shady spots to take in the colorful plantings.

Couldn’t resist – best use of the great outdoors 🙂

We made a stop at a café inside the gardens and hung out there for a while – this was part of a small hotel that if we ever returned to Gotland would be a cool place to stay.

One of a few discussions we allowed ourselves about American politics. Drinking accompanied this.

While on our second leg of biking we came across a huge crowd of young people all dressed in white, near a venue that was blasting club music that could be heard everywhere. It turned out that this was “Stockholm Week” on Gotland, and each day the youth from Stockholm come and dress in a different color each day to party. This was the “White Party” of course!

At the tail end of our ride we were pleased to find Gods terminal – seriously. We felt salvation was near at hand!

After returning our bikes we had lunch at a wonderful fish restaurant – so far the food in Sweden has been delicious – especially when they prepare local fish.

We spent the last few hours in Visby on foot, and wandered into the central church where we were treated to part of a rehearsing singing group. The acoustics in the church made the harmonies all the more haunting and beautiful.