14 July 2018
Upon our arrival at Visby Harbour at 05:45, we walked to Visby town. The town was very quiet. I mean, of course, it was 06:00! Look at all the boats lined up. Then, I wondered, won't any of these boats would like to sail away? How are they getting out?
The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably the best-preserved medieval city in Scandinavia and since 1995, it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Among the most notable historical remains are the 3.4 km (2.1 mi) long town wall that encircles the town center, and a number of church ruins. The name "Visby" comes from the Old Norse Vis, (genitive singular of Vi) meaning "(pagan) place of sacrifices", and by, meaning "village". In the Gutasagan (mid 14th century) the place is referred to as just Wi meaning "holy place, place of worship". Visby is sometimes called "The City of Roses" or "The City of Ruins". Source from Wikipedia.
This is one of the cheapest accommodations in Visby - a hostel that used to be a prison - Visby Prison! It is located less than 5 minutes walk from the harbour. Low season i.e not in July - SEK300 per person but the price doubles in July to SEK600.
My friend and I took about 3 hours to explore the town of Visby, where we found the North and West entrance of the ring wall, saw St Mary Cathedral from afar and a few church ruins (where some are used to hold ceremonies like weddings). Honestly, I did not feel like I was in Sweden when I was in Gotland. The buildings here are so different. I guess this is what they mean when they described 'medieval'.
This was at the Main Square and vendors were preparing to set up their booths at 06:30. Thankfully, we were there in time to see this church ruin and take a photo without the vendors' presence. This is St. Karin's Church Ruins.
This is St Mary's Cathedral.
From a top of a small hill (where the stairs are located next to St Mary's Cathedral), we could see a panoramic view of Visby town. Well, some parts of the town. And from here, when we walked further and out onto the streets, we found the North Entrance of the ring wall!
Norderport which is the best preserved gatehouse in the town wall, provided one of the three main entrances into Visby from its hinterland, the other two are Österport and Söderport. All rural produce was liable to market tolls, paid at the toll booths in the gatehouses. This gateway was built in about 1280 to reinforce the other simpler gate built on the site some decades earlier. In 1710, the tower at Norderport was mounted with cannons, which entailed a widening of the arrowslits. Norderport is still to this day the main thoroughfare leading from the countryside in the north into the town centre - just as in the Medieval Period. Source from The Signboard.
The view of the North Entrance from outside the ring wall.
Walked further on and another church ruin - St Nicholas Church Ruin. I saw benches arranged inside and read that events can be held here - weddings, lectures, baptism, meetings, concerts and dinners. Just go to Go Gotland and rent any of the church ruins. I checked and to rent St Nicholas Church Ruin, the price starts from SEK6000. Is that cheap compared to other places in Stockholm?
Another church ruin - Drotten Church built in the 13th Century.
This is the Main Square which is now filled with vendors.
A cinema!
View of the ring wall from the outside of the West Entrance. The blue sign says that cars are forbidden in Visby inner town (i.e. within the ring wall).
We were outside the ring wall now and rested to enjoy the view of the sea.
The Tourist Center opens by 9am, and we bought 24-hour bus ticket. The next place to go is Fårö Island (pronounced as 'for-reh') which is a small island located on the north of Gotland, where one can cycle (if you are in Gotland for a few days as it takes about 12 hours to cycle from Visby), drive (we don't have a car) or take the bus (which we did!). The bus ticket can be bought on the bus too. As the price of the 24 hour ticket is the same as a return ticket from Fårö (as Fårö is located in the furthest zone), we got the 24 hour ticket thinking we can use the ticket to other places within Visby (but it turns out not as were too exhausted to explore after returning from Fårö). The price of the 24 hour bus ticket is SEK150 + SEK20 (the bus card). We could have saved SEK20 if we just bought the bus ticket on the bus.
We waited for the bus at Visby Station. As we were 1.5 hour early, we decided to nap under a shelter which was a shelter to park bicycles.
Saw the local train (that goes around the ring wall for 20 minutes). It costs SEK80 for a ticket.
Finally, our bus is here! 11.05am. It will be about 1.5 hour journey to Fårö jetty. We slept in the bus.
Here we are at the jetty! There is a frequent ferry from Fårö jetty into Fårö Island that comes every 10 minutes. The bus goes on the ferry too but we got off at the jetty. I had planned to see the sea stacks (they call them 'rauko') on the island but there are no direct buses to see the sea stacks. The only way to see them is to either cycle or drive. So, we got off the bus and went to the 'bicycle-for-rent' shop which was just behind the wooden restaurant. I had booked that earlier a few days before my travel. It costs SEK120 to rent for a day, SEK10 for a helmet and SEK10 for insurance.
Our cycling journey begins!
No comments:
Post a Comment