Gotland

Having had difficulty with Swedish Rail and the bikes being on it, we braced ourselves mentally for some issues getting down to the ferry terminal at Nyarshamn, about 30 or 40 miles away from Stockholm.  This time there was absolutely no reason to fear- the commuter rail welcomes bicycles, and with a minimal amount of navigation we jumped on one of the frequent, clean, and efficient trains and whizzed right down to the ferry, purchased a ticket, did a couple errands waiting for it to arrive, and then boarded the massive boat.  It’s about 3 hours to Gotland, and the ferry is (you guessed it!) clean, comfortable, and a bit more expensive than one would like.  By the time we got to Visby, the incredibly scenic and charming town on the island, it was around 6 pm, and we were worried about finding camping nearby, it being reputed to fill up quickly.  Fortunately for us, it has proven a pattern in Scandinavia that few people like to camp in little tents, and tent spots are pretty easy to find (though annoyingly spendy for what you get).  Anyway, we passed a little medieval fair that was to start soon on the way out, so we threw up the tent quickly, ditched our gear, and scooted back just as the performance started.  Sure, it was kind of a corny “Medieval Times” sort of performance, and it was 100 percent in Swedish, but it was fun to watch the knights on horseback joust and archers launch volleys of arrows and so on in the gorgeous loooooongg sunset up here near the Arctic Circle.  We went to bed happy.

Though Visby has tons to recommend it, I was particularly eager to get back on the bikes and out in the countryside after being in the city for a while.  Plus, it seems like it tends to work out that we have a few hours to kill when it comes to dealing with ferries, and that would provide some time to enjoy the town on the way back out (spoilers- it did).  So with our general range on level-ish ground being about 25-30 miles/day with loaded bikes, and the island of Gotland being considerably larger than Bornholm, a complete circuit of the island was out.  But having to choose, it seemed to us a northern route looked the most interesting, and so we headed up the coast along a typical nice off-road bike path.  Alas, it turned out that Gotland was not nearly so blessed with the idyllic bike path system as Bornholm, and we soon found out that the larger roads out in the country not only lacked the dedicated parallel bike lanes we had thus far enjoyed all over, but also any shoulder to the roads!  So after a little while on the recommended bike route having our panniers grazed by sleek overpowered European luxury vehicles, I remembered my MO from the Spain/ Portugal trip, and simply re-routed onto the minor roads.  Though not as direct, these roads had a tiny fraction of the traffic, and the smaller of them were pretty much glorified bike paths- a lane and a half wide, toodling by historic farms and livestock, rolly hills where there were any hills at all.   It seemed by lunch a reasonable destination was the little beach village of Slite, and it seemed like a mellow cruise to the finish when the recommended bike route failed us a second time.  On Bornholm, the route sometimes veered into the many “nature reserves,” which I suppose would be something equivalent to BLM or Forest Service land in the states- natural-seque but also with some logging and grazing, etc.  But very unlike Bornholm, when the infrequently signed route led you into the forest, you were on your own to navigate the myriad branching roads that criss-crossed the area, and naturally we got lost.  We doubled down on the problem by trying to take a promising “official” single-track trail that seemed to lead to the far side, only to have that dead end at a kiosk explaining in great detail (in Swedish) a bog plant that grew there.  Anyway, we did eventually get spit out of the area, but it burned up several hours and the last of our energy (though since it’s never really night, not the the actual day) and we limped a little into Slite and a nice and very welcome little run-down, out of the way campsite on a very nice little beach.

The next day, a certain half of our expedition was very much in favor of a rest day, and a chance to generally catch our breath after what had been a pretty breathless 2 weeks of constant motion.  The other half of the expedition felt it was wise to abstain from the formal vote, and besides, it was hard to argue with the proposition of a day enjoying the cozy if somewhat overlooked beach resort on an absolutely gorgeous summer day.  We had a leisurely breakfast at camp, enjoyed the beach there for several hours, reading and sunbathing.  After lunch, I proposed that we partake in some of the ubiquitous resort activities we had seen around the islands- ice cream and mini-golf- and also I had noticed that the more upscale resort right next door to our more budget accommodations rented windsurfers, something I hadn’t done for nearly a decade.  Slite was really well situated for that sport, having a lovely bay with a Long Island with a castle sheltering it and a good stiff wind pretty much constantly blowing.

The resort actually had fairly reasonable rental prices and quality equipment, and so after a few very rusty passes along the shore, I remembered some basic technique and was soon managing to progress from crashing pathetically at low speed to crashing spectacularly at high speed.   Which is pretty much windsurfing.  Jen seemed pretty content to read and sip wine on a lounge chair through this, though pleasantly beaten up and tired out, I joined her and we spent the rest of the afternoon having a nice late lunch, playing the very classy mini-golf course, and enjoying the sunset back on our beach.  Oh, and we also got to the super-inconvenient state liquor store (which is the only place in Sweden you can get anything stronger than 3.2 beer- and of course these are infrequent and only open for something like 4 or 5 hours a day!).

The rest day accomplished, we decided to head up to the smaller island of Faro, as it was reputed to have even nicer beaches and it just seemed neat.  It was a little bit of a stretch distance-wise, but keeping to the minor roads, we had a pretty pleasant ride up there, across perhaps the first free thing we have done in Sweden (the short Gotland-Faro ferry) and into a quiet campsite about 5 km up the road from the ferry and 8 miles or so from the most popular beach.  The campsite was nice and full of friendly visitors (almost all of the tourists on Gotland are Swedish- it’s apparently THE destination for the country in the summer), and after a little poking around the area, we turned in and rested our weary legs.

It seemed a shame to come all the way out to Faro and then not see the beaches it was best known for, so we decided to stay another night at the same campground and explore the island on our unloaded bikes.  Sure enough, the beach at Sudersand, about 8 miles down the road, was superb, and the day excellent, so we spent a very pleasant morning lying around soaking up the sun and even wading a little in the water (it sounds wimpy, sure, but it’s generally hovering around 70 or so in the heat of the day here, and the water, though not frigid, sure isn’t the Caribbean!).  The water sure is beautiful though, and throngs of Swedes covered the sand for at least a mile in both directions from our spot.  We spent the afternoon checking out another beach and doing some fine picnicking, and then toddled the 10 miles or so back home.  Again, it was unfortunate the lack of bike paths or even shoulders on the island- despite the large number of riders- we learned from our neighbor at the campground this is a fluke in Sweden- it’s just Gotland’s remoteness to blame- according to him, the bike route builders that be just “haven’t gotten to Gotland yet”.

What is there are beautifully preserved farms and thatch-roofed buildings with an architectural style that has changed very little from the Middle Ages.  Another neighbor familiar with the island explained that is was “basically impossible” to obtain a building permit, which would likely explain how Faro is not currently obliterated with beachfront condos and resorts.  You do have to hand it to the Swedes to forego the sure and quick cash development here would bring in favor of retaining the historic character of the place- it’s hard to think of the place in the US so restrained!

The next day had us itching to get the trip moving again, so after poring over maps and weighing our options,  we decided to make a big push back to Visby, though it would likely smash our current daily distance record.  Supplies had been purchased, loins girded, expectations adjusted to a steely-eyed determination, and though I wasn’t quite sure, I thought I heard a whispered prayer to the old gods and the new issue from Jen’s lips outside the tent around bedtime the previous night.  We struck out early the next day, got across the ferry no problem, and, 100 percent ready for the grueling ride ahead… found a convenient regional bus headed straight to Visby waiting at the ferry stop.  Did they take bikes?  Of course!

It was a very cheerful Jennifer, then, that arrived in Visby in the late morning, and I have to admit, I wasn’t really very disappointed either, seeing that the route backtracked much of what we had done already and included a fair amount of the no-shoulder busy roads we had been avoiding.  The ferries back to the mainland on a Sunday, however, were a no-go- booked solid until the next morning.  Well, no big deal- this gave us an afternoon to appreciate Visby, which very easily can occupy anyone with even a passing interest in medieval history, architecture, good food, and/or very pleasant walking around.  After securing a campsite, we visited the excellent history museum in town- particularly cool were the collection of Viking era rune-stones, the dioramas of the city in it’s middle-ages heyday, and the displays of gold and silver hordes found around the islands ( mainly to keep valuables from marauding Danes.).   Apparently one such horde was discovered just a few years ago on a school field trip when a student stuck their arm down a rabbit hole and removed it grasping a handful of  1000-year-old Persian gold coins.  Extra credit?    Visby is a walled city, once the home of Germanic merchant guilds that controlled most of Scandinavian trade in the Middle Ages.  The walls remain, as do several of the medieval era churches (though most are ruins- also scenic however).  The meandering streets are as charming to wander as could be imagined, and there are an enormous amount of great places to eat and drink, which we did, and went to sleep happy and ready for our next leg and next country.  Little did we know the journey was to be more difficult than we anticipated….