We left Västervik early (for us!) at
7am for the 9 or 10 hour trip to Gotland.
We had a fabulous sail across, plenty of wind but no rough waves or
swell, so we could make 7.5 knots and still be very comfortable. Later the wind got up a bit, we had to put a
reef in, and the sea got more lolloppy, but it was still a really good passage
with no motoring at all. We need to
remember this on all the other occasions when we complain that there’s no wind
or it’s against us – sometimes the wind is actually in our favour …
Visby was very crowded as it’s the
end of ‘Almedalen Week’, a sort of ‘political week for the people’, when
Swedish politicians and representatives from business and other interest groups
congregate in and around Almedalen Park in Visby for a big conference – it’s
considered to be the most important forum in Swedish politics and there is a
real buzz in the town. There are lots of
social events, musical performances and other entertainment as well, plus
people barbecuing and picnicking everywhere including just on the dock side! So we were not expecting a quiet time,
especially as the harbourmaster found us a prime position next to the quay!
We are amongst this forest of masts
in Visby harbour …
We went for a lovely self-guided
walking tour around Visby – a beautiful old medieval city and important
Hanseatic port with an almost totally intact ’ring wall’.
We were here last year too, though,
so most of my photos of the town of Visby itself and the south of the island can
be found on last year’s 14th-18th June blog:
This year I especially noticed the
lovely sweet-smelling roses around some of the old doorways – I guess we’re
here just a bit later in the season …
We hired a car to explore the north
of the island this time which we didn’t have a chance to see last year.
We stopped at this church, one of
the many Medieval churches we passed.
They call Gotland ‘the island of a hundred churches’ – the fact that so
many remarkable churches were built on Gotland in the Middle Ages is due to the
prosperity enjoyed by the island at the time.
Many remain unchanged and largely preserved – a lack of resources in
less prosperous times meant that the churches were never modernised or rebuilt.
It had a lovely cool interior with 13th
century wall-paintings …
… a very simple altar …
… and an attractive wooden painted
pulpit and pews – there was a radiator in the pulpit to keep the preacher warm
in winter …
Outside there were fields of lovely
wild poppies and cornflowers …
We found a nice beach called Hide …
… and a modern art exhibition in a
barn in the middle of the countryside …
We visited Kyllaj, where Carl Linnaeus stayed in 1741 on one of his botanical expeditions and saw the limestone sea-stacks (raukar) which were formed by erosion after the last ice-age 10,000 years ago. Like Strindberg in the Stockholm archipelago, almost every tiny place in Gotland seems to claim a connection with Linnaeus!
We went for a swim in the beautiful
clear turquoise waters of a former limestone quarry, now named ‘The Blue Lagoon’,
and a few degrees warmer than swimming in the sea – even Charles came in!
Having worked up an appetite with
the swimming, we followed a sign to a great little seaside café called
Restaurang Ihrebaden at Ireviken …
… and enjoyed the local delicacy of
smoked prawns …
… washed down with Gotland beer,
special because it continues to ferment in the barrel …
This is the lovely stretch of unspoilt
coastline at Ireviken …
We moved on to the next little
settlement – Lickershamn – which has a small harbour …
It’s famous for its smoked fish,
sold from these former fishermen’s huts …
The next day was really hot,
stifling and very still. I headed to the
small town beach in Visby to sunbathe and read, then swim and cool off …
We then went to Munkkällaren, a
well-known Visby restaurant and club in the market square …
I tried their legendary fish stew –
salmon, cod, prawns and mussels in a lovely, spicy, creamy soup – the recipe
has been unchanged for decades. It was
truly delicious and very filling ..
This is a rather strange Swedish
idea which we have come across a couple of times here – shared ‘his and hers’
loos – two toilets in one cubicle! This
option was available to us at Munkkällaren – but we didn’t try it!
Later in the evening we enjoyed a
‘gig’!!! Our friend from the Nauticat
43, who we met in Fifång, turned out to be Jakob Samuel, the lead singer in a
band which is quite well-known in Sweden. He
was playing in the courtyard at Munkkällaren that evening and we had a good
night with great music – much of it from ‘our era’!
We didn’t stay out till all hours
partying, though, as we’re sailing at 5.30 am tomorrow morning to get back to
the mainland (a distance of about 65 miles) before the forecast gale comes
in.
It was still nice and calm as we
crept out of the harbour in the grey light of the early morning …
We had just the right amount of wind
and managed to sail at first. But the
sky got darker, and the wind increased and went round to be against us …
… and the sea became rougher and
broke over the deck as the storm approached …
We were pleased to reach the shelter
of Oskarshamn, a ferry and commercial port.
Our original intention was to visit Öland after Gotland, but Oskarshamn
was a better place to wait out a westerly gale.
As we arrived in Oskarshamn, the sun came out although it was still very
windy and remained so for the next couple of days.
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