We recently visited Visby, a small town on the island of Gotland in the Baltic sea. It was out first trip away since arriving in Sweden! Visby was a great option because we could travel there without flying and the island is pretty quiet at the moment. Both big plus points with Coronavirus still floating around.
The alarm went off at 6am and we left the house just after 7am to catch a train to the ferry terminal. Unfortunately, the ferry was busy and there wasn’t a great deal of social distancing going on — the same story with anything involving people lately. Quite a few people coughing also ramped up our anxiety levels. We wore masks indoors and went up to the outdoor deck for fresh air once in a while but it was hard to feel relaxed.
Nerdy confession. The Columbo episode Troubled Waters was filmed on a ship and because ferry interiors generally look outdated, it’s like stepping into that episode every time. I end up quietly humming part of the main jingle sung by Rosanna Wells at some point during the journey, even though it’s highly irritating!! I cannot get it out of my head.
Travelling to Visby took half a day so we wanted to make the most of the rest. We fought the strong urge for a nap, dumped our bags at the hotel and headed straight out in search of lunch. A cafe in the courtyard at St. Hansgatan was the perfect place to sit. The dog below (a doppelgänger of the family dog) was more interested in our lunch than their bone. The pie was all ours though.
If you like roses, Visby is the place for you. They grow around doors and windows on many buildings. It’s the perfect chocolate box town.
After a dark and moody morning, the clouds cleared and the sun shone bright! Just as we arrived at the beach too. I regretted not bringing swimwear but it wasn’t forecast to be so warm!
I hunted for sea treasure — also known as sea glass. Scott looked for skimming stones. This beach was sea glass paradise and looking for it took me back to the beachcoming days of my childhood. The pieces I collected now sit in a glass jar on a sunny windowsill. It’s a great activity if you love the colour green… which I do! Blue glass is the ultimate sea treasure though because it’s pretty rare.
We paid a bit extra for a sea view and it was totally worth it for these sunset views.
We managed to do quite a bit in half a day. Getting into bed was the best feeling after getting up so early and breathing in lots of sea air (always makes me feel so sleepy). The lights were out ready for more exploring the next day…
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