This summer's holiday destination was Gotland and the city of Visby. Gotland is a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea and is famous for its rock formations consisting of limestone and ancient coral reefs, so-called "raukar"
I have mostly focused on Gotland´s nature in this post, as I find it most interesting because it deviates so much from that in the rest of Sweden.
"Nature on Gotland differs significantly from other Sweden. This is partly due to the island's isolated location and a later rationalization of agriculture and forestry than in the rest of the country. The most important factor, however, is the rugged limestone mountain range, which created the conditions for a very special flora
Gotland's history is about 400 million years back in time, until the period called silur. By this time Sweden was close to the equator, and Gotland was a tropical coral reef environment in a shallow and warm sea, rich in many animal species.
Around the reefs, thousands of dead bodies were stored, dead bodies and sludges, which together with the corals built a bedrock of mainly limestone and marble. The Gothic bedrock is therefore very rich in fossils. "
Source: Wikipedia
Visby has gained its status as a World Heritage Site, and one can really understand it as you walk around the well-preserved alleys and see the impressive ring wall surrounding the city. The oldest parts of the city are from the 12th century.
It was really hard to understand that I was still in my home country. The feeling of being in an oasis abroad was constantly present.
Here is an example of all the fossils we found during the week. You do not have to look for a long time since the island is completely covered with them. You can take some with you, just do not take fossils from a nature reserve. It is forbidden.
One of the more famous shells on the island is the so-called "Jungrun". It stands out on the cliff and looks out over the ocean.
The name comes from an over 1000-year-old saying about a daughter of a Gothic chieftain. She fell in love with a slave as her father had kidnapped in one of his robberies. Guess they were Vikings.
The boy and the girl were both in love and want to live their lives together, something that her father had no interest in.
As a test of their love, he placed his daughter at the top of the rauk and told the boy that he got her hand in marriage if he could climb and carry her down.
The boy accepted the challenge and started climbing. He managed to get up and placed the girl on his shoulder to begin to climb down. When everything seemed to go their way, the chief became so angry that he took his bow and shot an arrow against the couple.
The arrow pierced the boys head and both he and the girl fell against their deaths.
Then the rauk got its name, The Virgin. "Jungrun"
A cheerful story, fortunately, the world looks different today than 1000 years ago. But the message in the story of forbidden love is still alive today.
Lastly, I just want to mention the caves found in the 1950s by three teenage boys. Did not get so many good pictures, but still add one of them.
The caves are now excavated and accessible to the public.
In conclusion, I put up a picture of two beautiful butterflies. If you ever have the opportunity to travel here I really recommend it. There are many hotels or houses to rent. Summer here is the most beautiful time of the year.
Have a great week!
