travelogue: gotland / visby, part 1

in august, my boys and i headed out of town to dip into the gotland countryside for a week.  where's gotland you ask?  gotland is a 3.5 ferry ride south of sweden off the east coast.  it's a green oasis surrounded by limestone cliffs.   of sweden's thousands of islands gotland is its largest.

it's a medieval fairytale.  i now know why swedes gush about gotland.  it. is. beautiful. the island captured my heart.

visby, gotland's main town, is small and strollable, encircled by an old wall.  it's a visual feast for the eyes - amazing 12th century church ruins, cobblestone streets, cozy restaurants, charming shops, lovely cafes, and cute pastel-toned medieval houses.  

i loved visby and its vibe.  friends - patrizia, magnus and their children axel, and amelia - joined us for some of the time and it was fun to explore with them too.  i will share some of my favourites...

the houses:  i dedicated myself to taking pictures of beautiful houses, i couldn't help myself (there are so many more i haven't posted!).  walking the stone streets, peering into alleys, and getting lost was my favourite thing.  many of the houses are dilapidated with peeling paint and framed by arbours and flower bushes.  

entrance to the gul huset cafe

hotel gute: perfectly located within visby near the "medieval village", botanical garden, and cafes.   actually anywhere you stay will be perfect since the town is so small.  the hotel has great outdoor space and a cafe too. they served a lovely breakfast each morning.  it's here that i discovered that i like caviar from a tube!  you read that right :) squeeze some on your hard-boiled egg and enjoy the salty and fishy taste!  

gula huset (the yellow house): an amazing little café, on the same street as our hotel.  it's quintessentially swedish. come here for fika, the baked goods are delicious!   i tried the saffron rice pudding served with cream and dewberry jam.  wow, i think it just may be my new favourite dessert but i won't be able to find it anywhere else since it's a local delight. 

 

klinten: one of the first things we did was to find the perfect hilltop view.  it's the highest point in the old town offering a wonderful view of the cathedral and over the rooftops to the sea.  it was fun to explore it with friends.

 

another viewpoint: in a quieter part of town with the cutest homes and streets, i loved it!

  

h10 is not only a lovely café but also a gorgeous design store with awesome swedish ceramics, blankets, and other home goods.  i was swooning. 

bakfickan (meaning back pocket), located next to karins ruin on the main square, is a small seafood restaurant serving classics like fried herring, fish soup with aioli, and smoked shrimp on toast.  we had dinner there during our first evening.  so good!  they have outdoor seating overlooking the main square and great for people watching... especially during medieval week.

gamla masters was the perfect place for our last dinner in gotland.  it's a small and busy restaurant in the middle of visby with friendly staff. their menu was filled with swedish dishes like meatballs, herring, and skagen (shrimp, mayo, and lemon). it was delicious. 

karamell boden is the candy store.  it feels like a fairytale with jars of sweets lining the walls.  grab a paper cone and fill it up with mostly homemade candy.  kai and i favour sour candies but there are peppermints, chocolate, and licorice too.

akantu sells old and new homewares.  swedish klippan blankets to vintage kitchen essentials.  all of it swoon worthy.

 

the harbour: strolling along the city wall by the ocean is a popular past time for tourists and locals alike.  the west faces the sea and through the botanical garden you have access to the boardwalk.  it's a popular spot to stroll anytime of day, swimming, skipping stones, and listening to the street musicians.   of course, we couldn't miss the evening sunset.

the wall: one early morning, we walked around the city wall.  one of the towers we came across once stored the gun powder and another was a prison (stefan and kai went in, of course, and what they learned was pretty gruesome!).  there are four entrances into the town via the wall and i enjoyed the peek-a-boo views of the narrow cobblestone streets. 

shenanigans.

the ruins:  these days, the 12 church ruins within visby regularly host concerts, stage plays, and during medieval week they served as a gathering place.  

on our last evening, walking back to the hotel after dinner, we heard beautiful music coming from one of these ruins. next thing we know, we are sitting within it's walls, under the dark night sky with candelabras for light, enjoying a fantastic show with medieval instruments.  it was beautiful.  such a fitting ending to our week in gotland.

travelogue: gotland, part 2 tomorrow!