Our next summer adventure brought us to the beautiful country of Sweden. Jamie has been wanting to visit again for a long time and with his love of Vikings, the Sagas and his ancestry we decided to go! We flew out of Chicago and connected in Stockholm with a lengthy layover to then travel to the Swedish island of Gotland. It is Sweden's largest island and in the Baltic Sea. It has an amazing history and has runestones, picture stones and there has been silver and coin hoards unearthed on this island. It certainly was a trading and commercial center in Europe early on. You are able to travel to Gotland by plane or boat. There are ferries that travel here from mainland Sweden multiple times a day. We landed in Visby which is the island's largest city.
We arrived in Visby and stayed at the NOVI resort. It was a great location and a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment with a kitchen, living space and balcony. The roses were in bloom and were fragrant and colorful. Beyond that were more condos and then the blue of the Baltic Sea. We arrived on Midsummer and there were festivals, maypole dancing and concerts all over Sweden. Midsummer is centered around the summer solstice.
Many cruise ships also frequent the island of Gotland during the summer months.
We were all enchanted by beautiful Visby! It is a medieval city and also a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a more than 2 mile (3.4 km) town wall that encircles the center of the town.
Enjoy the pictures of us wandering around the alleys and streets of this charming and gorgeous town.
Jet lag certainly gets the best of us!
Visby also has many church ruins which are fun to explore.
Walking outside the wall.
European playgrounds are so fun to find!
They have the most amazing botanical garden in the center. We had fun walking up and down the paths.
Maypole
The girls wanted to go for a late evening swim...yes, it is around 10 pm in this photo! Jamie and I enjoyed a few local beers from Visby.
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