A Perfect Day in Visby

What a charming town Visby is!

Never heard of Visby? Don’t even know what country it’s in? Yeah, me neither.

A bit blurry but still very picturesque!

When I saw “Visby, Sweden” on our cruise itinerary, I sort of shrugged my shoulders and figured it would be a “throw away” day. A day to rest, maybe wander into town for a snack, and wait for tomorrow’s bigger-name port. Accordingly, Rob and I didn’t book any excursions and spent the day on our own.

It was a blast! Visby was so much fun! And Sweden, wow. I could seriously consider living here if the language wasn’t such a disaster and every street and store sign didn’t look like an IKEA catalogue.

I think these are directions to a couch
with throw pillows.

I admittedly have never spent much time thinking about Sweden, so it was news to me that the Scandinavian country is made up of thousands of islands. Like over 250,000, although less than 1,000 are inhabited (total population of Sweden is about 10.6 million). So I had never heard of the island of Gotland that we visited today, and certainly not Visby. Truth be told, Stockholm (foreshadowing?) is the only Swedish town I could have named.

Visby is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (basically, a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for being really old and important). It is considered northern Europe’s most well-preserved medieval city. It’s got cobblestones, old churches, a fortress wall that dates back to the 12th century, and gates that are still mostly intact. It was pretty cool! Rob spent about an hour in a museum learning about Visby and Gotland’s history (hello, Vikings!). I decided my time and Krona would be better spent enjoying a pear cider while watching Swedish people do Swedish things.

A quaint town! With an ancient wall!

I presume it was a tour of some sort
but still so fun to see.

We were fascinated by this wall. We walked
to it, through it, behind it, and on it.

One of the displays Rob saw. This is part
of a Viking silver hoard from the 11th century.
Apparently Gotland Island has the greatest
density of Viking Age hoards of anywhere
on the planet.

Meanwhile, this (non-alcoholic) pear
cider was wonderfully refreshing!
Absolutely worth hoarding.

Visby also has adorable stores and enticing cafes and beautiful buildings and flowers. Totally picturesque and enchanting and absolutely lovely. If I lived in Sweden, I would get myself on an interisland ferry and enjoy frequent weekend getaways to Visby.

Steeper than it looks but so worth the huffing 
and puffing to get to the top.

The Great Square aka Stora Torget.
Clearly not a Target store, which was a relief.

Lots of beautiful roses along this street.

Even their road barriers are adorable!

St. Mary's Cathedral - a Lutheran church.
It was beautiful and peaceful. A perfect
time and place to chat with God for a bit.
 

Delicious chevre and prosciutto galette for
lunch - basically a ham and cheese crepe.

I felt very comfortable and safe in Visby, and I immediately liked what I assume is Swedish culture. Everything felt clean and organized and tidy. People followed rules and were polite to each other and made room for each other. It was refreshingly peaceful and sane. It felt like grown-ups live there.

We happened to be visiting on the last day of an annual event called Almedalsveckan (my spellchecker just went on strike). It is a weeklong event where people from all over Sweden gather to have important discussions about social and political issues. Publicly, outside, for everyone to listen and join in. It's been happening since 1968 when the Minister of Education gave an impromptu speech while standing on a truck bed. 

As an outside observer, Almedalsveckan felt very similar to the Iowa State Fair during an election year (stay with me!). Politicians were scattered around in booths, talking about things that mattered to them, with interested bystanders listening intently. It felt refreshingly respectful and democratic and without chaos or drama. I couldn’t understand a word of what was being said, but I loved the energy and the intent. It would have been better with corn on the cob and a pork chop, though.

I have no idea what they were talking about, but
it sure looked important.

So over the course of 6 hours and 6.8 miles, I had an unexpectedly fantastic and relaxing (albeit sweaty) day in Visby. I absolutely loved it! And I discovered that Sweden – notwithstanding a certain muppety chef – is so much more interesting than Volvos and meatballs and DIY furniture! YAY, TRAVEL!

Us in a 12th-century fortress wall!

Next stop: Helsinki, Finland!