Visby

 Monday, June 6, 2022

Visby, Gotland, Sweden

 We are on the large island of Gotland, strategically located in the middle of the Baltic Sea.  The Swedes believe this is where Russia would attack first, as you can see from the map the naval importance: 

We are in the town of Visby, and the naval presence here is significant, and from multiple countries, especially Britain.  We were asked not to take photos of the military ships.  Gotland has been of trade and military importance throughout European history, and there is a well-preserved medieval inner town of Visby, surrounded by a wall two miles in length dating to the 13th century.  There is also a well-preserved watchtower: 

Our first stop was the Fornsall Museum where there is a display of “picture stones” from the late Iron Age.  This one is remarkable: in the center is a tree on a horizontal line dividing the heavens from the underworld.  There are two suns, sunrise on the left and sunset on the right, and at the top, the sun is shining at its brightest.  The belief was that the sun set and was carried by a ship to the place where it will rise the next day, and this can be seen at the bottom.  It's a fascinating insight into the mythology of the Vikings: 

There were many other picture stones, some of which have not fully been deciphered.  Graves were found dating to 6500 B.C.E. showing evidence of trephination of the skulls: 

After lunch we set out on a walking tour of the town which is charming: 


The end of our walk was at the ruin of the 13th century St. Clemens Church, where our musicologist had arranged a treat.  Choral singing is very popular in Sweden, and there are many professional and amateur choruses.  We were lucky enough to hear the Visby Vokalensamble, an amateur group of substantial sophistication and quality.  They sang a range of music for us, from Handel to folk songs.  The setting was stunning and the acoustics were great.  It was truly lovely. 


Tomorrow, our final day, we’ll be in Åhus.  I’ve tried over and over to get the pronunciation right, but it doesn’t work for English speakers.  None of us can say it.  More then

Comments

  1. Rwa442June 7, 2022 at 8:23 AM

    US navel presence in Sweden was in the news here - same large ship that you saw! Thought of you folks. Very interesting to see the people living happily and productively in these small relatively isolated islands. Missing some of your food adventures!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ralph P. LockeJune 10, 2022 at 7:31 AM

    Oh, choral singing in a resonant space is wonderful--and outdoors, under an open, blue sky, must be even more spectacular! Thanks for all the history lessons and more. I'll certainly say good things about Lindblad cruises if people ask me. (I've been telling them about the atlas in each cabin!)

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