On the Baltic Sea for the Ferry Boat Ride to Visby on the Island of Gotland

Friday, 27 May, 2016:

Due to the excitement at the thought of a weekend road trip, I could not sleep and was out of Icelandia II's door at 7:00 a.m. to catch the bus to the Upplands Väsby train station.

I was on a commuter train headed to Stockholm Central station by 7:20 a.m., switched commuter trains there and was in the port city of Nynäshamn by 9:15 a.m.

Early Day Fika in Nynäshamn

With much needed nutrients now coursing through my body, I made my way down to . . .

. . . Nynäshamn's Boat Terminal

I was due to board the 11:25 a.m.

Ferry for the 3 1/2 hour ride to Visby

Sailing on the Baltic Sea

can be quite relaxing

In Visby, our boat with

the Big G loomed large

It holds 1,500 passengers and several vehicles after all.

The King greeted us at Visby's Harbor

EXCEPTIONAL Daim Ice Cream!

Wäsby Warriors U11 Head Coach Johan Lundqvist highly recommended that I stop here. Who was I to argue?

The Marabou Chocolate Company is near Icelandia II and their Daim Chocolates are akin to my old childhood favorite candy, Butter Brickle.

Daim ice cream has large chunks of this delicious chocolate candy blended in to a creamy vanilla ice cream, YUM!

And so good for me too!

Visby is the main city on the island of Gotland.

There are lots of goats in Gotland

There are also lots of consulates

like Denmark's

And Norway's

And Germany's

The Tourist Information Office

is on the left just out of sight

Visby has a population of about 23,000 citizens. The old quarter behind its medieval walls is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Quaint

Nice Bike 

 Rosas

Half Timbered Building

and Coke

Interesting

Golden Beaver?

Nice spot for flowers

Suddenly I had a panic attack!

Had I forgotten to show up to this school to introduce American football and the wonders of the Wäsby Warriors organization to their students?

Then I remembered that I was on a three day holiday from all things American football related.

Still . . .

The school had an ABA basketball

But it had no American football that I could see.

 Lots of great little lanes in Visby

The ruins of several medieval churches are considered to be one of the highlights of a trip to Visby.

St. Karins Kyrka

Founded by the Franciscans in 1233

How old is this marker?

Great Gothic Interior

The USA is only a year older

than this building

Sankta Maria Kykra

Built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, it seems like the only medieval church in Visby that has been kept up over the many years.

I loved this church's many gargoyles.

Bright Eyed

Big Cat

Are you making fun of me?

HOLD THAT TIGER!

 Entry to Sankt Maria Kykra

More ancient markers

were in this church

 How many baptisms

has this font seen?

By the way, I watched Sweden's Prince Oscar's, Duke of Skåne, baptism tonight on TV.

He did well! 

Gold is Good

Bare breasted ladies in

Sankta Maria Kykra? 

Wäsby Warriors' helmets MUST

have real horns in the future!

Helge And Ktykra

It is the only stone built octagonal church in all of Sweden.

I heard an incredible singing voice

as I approached

It was a young woman checking out the celestial acoustics of the church built in 1200. She will sing at a wedding in these ruins tomorrow.

Parts of the roof collapsed after a fire in 1611.

St. Nicolaus Kykra 

Built in 1230 by Dominican monks

Arches still working

Creeping Foliage at

St. Nicolai Kykra

An Old, OLD wall

What's behind this Garden Door?

 A beer DOES sound good

Cobblestoned streets are everywhere

behind the medieval walls

Nice mail box

Why yes, thanks to the Wäsby

Warriors, I am having FUN!

 Visby is colorful

 As I said, markers are everywhere

The ruins of the 12th century

churches of St. Peter and St. Hans

 Both of these churches fell

into disrepair in the 1500s

due to the Reformation

 Cool, one armed clock

Foliage growing out

of a stone wall

 A Los Angeles Rams fan in Visby!

I need to get one of those flags for our house in Camarillo.

Neptune

Visby is indeed a port city on the Baltic Sea, so it is only natural that he is here.

The Söderport Gate

in the medieval wall

Visby's Medieval Wall

Tomorrow, I will make a detailed examination of the medieval wall that still surrounds the old city.

After dining on a good pizza and that previously desired beer, it was time to check in at my hotel.

Uncle Joe's

My home for the next two nights

Not only is it a hotel, it is also the site of a restaurant, a bar and a bowling alley.

The hotel's check-in was in the bowling alley's bar which services Visby's rather loud bowling crowd.

Not to worry as from my room I can't hear any noise whatsoever! 

Uncle Joe's has 18 lanes

for your bowling excitement

I opted for one more beer

before bedtime

It was a local brew.

For some reason as I sipped and watch the action on the lanes, I started wondering how Jenn, Andy and Kevin were doing in Las Vegas.

Europe can be weird that way.

IT'S GREAT TO BE A

WÄSBY WARRIOR!!!