Author: Yellow Duckie
•11:23
Read and heard so much about this Hansenic Medieval town that I just had to see it for myself. Indeed, it was one of the best choices I have made in my life. A boat journey of approximately 3 hours from Nynashamn Port (about one hour drive from Stockholm) will get you to this magical island where many would come for their vacation.

The walled city of Visby is stunning. The moment you set foot into the city, it felt as though that you have left the world behind and traveled back time. The tiny cottages that live through time stood proudly displaying its beauty and glory is simply breath taking. This place does not get enlisted as one of UNESCO Heritage site for no reason and it’s hard not to notice why.

I came with a mission and it was to explore the walled city of Visby, cycled round Gotland (my Swedish friend couldn’t stop laughing at my attempt, not to ridicule my inability to do so but rather at my ignorance on how large this island is!), enjoy the beach and be at the Medieval Market. I am so proud that we did it all, except of course, cycling around the entire Gotland.

Walled City
I was so attracted to the cottages within these walls that I wished I had the chance to see what it’s like inside. It has been well maintained and taken care of as most of their gardens are blooming with flowers giving these cottages such a lovely touch that one could just admire in awe. The quaint shops with interesting interior is also quite worth the visit. One step into the town square market place you will know that Gotland produces wool (although I didn’t see much sheeps around).


A swim at Tofta
We decided to enjoy the beach and some sea water at Tofta. Many sun seekers were already there when we arrived and I must admit that this beach looks different. Color of the sand, the plants that grows around (plants actually grows in these sand) and even the level of saltiness of the water is different, a lot less salty than those back home (Malaysia)! Thank God the sun was out to warm up the chilly water!


Cycling from Visby to Lummelunda
I still could not believe that I cycled that distance and still survived. On a rough estimation, we have cycled at lease 15 km! This would be an activity one should never miss when you are in Gotland. You will come across beautiful meadows, farmhouses, beaches and shipyards.
We decided to settle in Lummelunda for lunch. The attraction in Lummelunda is the limestone cave, a geological museum, café and a couple of souvenirs stores to cater for the massive crowd of visitors. We walked on to the beach and decided to set up our BBQ pit. It was not the perfect choice of location (as you can’t swim due to the huge amount of sea weed deposit in the sea) but privacy was what we had. The only annoying thing about having a BBQ there was the massive amount of flies we attracted! Simply disgusting.

Cyclist, this way

Lunch at Lummelunda

Medieval Week
During the first week of Aug every year, the town of Visby will hold a Medieval week where all the Medieval activities (medieaval sword fight, shows, etc) will be carried out including a huge medieval market. We were just in time to enjoy the first day of the Medieval week where most of the town folks take the trouble to dress up for the occasion. With the back drop of the town, you really feel that you have gone back to the Medieval Era. The Medieval market is really interesting as you can see goods from the medieval period are being sold, from food, weapons, jewelries, clothing to leather goods are being sold. I spend almost the entire day at the market just admiring the goods!

Townfolks buying cloth

I will never forgive myself if I ever give Gotland a miss. I will definitely make another trip to Gotland, perhaps this time to see the other side of the island
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