Fourteen years ago, Visby, the capital of Gotland, Sweden's largest island, gained Unesco world heritage status. I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of the place, but those in the know would prefer it stayed that way.
Nearly 800,000 tourists, mostly Swedes, Finns and Germans, came to this sleepy idyll last year to escape the concrete, cars and crowds of their Baltic coastal mainland. That's the same number of people as visited Edinburgh's National Galleries, but s
pread over a land mass four times larger than the Isle of Skye.
Even at the height of summer, there are no hordes of tourists on Visby. Entering its ancient city walls is like opening a portal into the Middle Ages. As one of the leading Baltic cities in the 12th century, Visby grew rich as the hub of the Hanseatic League. Time plays tricks here. It's easy to wonder which century we are in, with 200 examples of the city's most majestic stone medieval architecture remaining wholly or partially intact. Merchants' houses with stepped gables and gothic façade decorations stand alongside 17th-century half-timber and thatched cottages. Visby's 36ft-high and two-mile-long city walls, which date from the 13th century, are also well preserved.
Around every corner is another picture-postcard view or a hideaway inviting contemplative serenity, Yet this is no twee Disneyland theme park, but a living, breathing city. Stretches of implausibly picturesque residential streets – such as the quiet, rose-covered Fiskargränd, or Fisherman's Lane – are entirely free from commercial bric-a-brac and set the imagination racing back centuries.
Gotland is also known as the island of 100 churches, 92 of which are medieval and all of which are still in use. The vast majority date from 1100-1350 and have remained simply because islanders lacked the resources to demolish and rebuild them after Gotland's Golden Age was over.
Midsummer weekend is as massive a celebration in Sweden as Christmas, and Swedes travel to be with their families by the Friday closest to 21 June. We woke that Friday in Visby to bright blue cloudless skies, a light breeze masking a hot sun. On the mainland, Swedes cynically expect rain on midsummer's weekend, and they're usually right. But Gotland's dry, warm June weather makes it a classic midsummer destination for Swedes.
Sprigs of greenery appear on shop doorways, street lamps, gateposts: evidence of impending celebrations. Ordinary stores shut for the festive weekend, although many tourist shops, bars, restaurants and some mini-marts remain open.
In Visby, the celebrations kick off at noon with a procession through the narrow streets – we see a folk band, couples in national dress and ordinary townspeople carrying bouquets of wildflowers or tree branches. The assembly of 1,000 or more ends up in Pavilion Park, where they decorate a 25ft-high maypole before they dance around it. So far, so Wicker Man. But tradition eventually makes way for the modern, and a band starts playing Abba, Stevie Wonder and chart covers. Against this backdrop, birds sing at full throttle to be heard over the din of excited Swedes and popping corks. Family groups chat and laugh and picnic on strawberries and cream and pick from a smörgåsbord of delights strewn on tablecloths upon which stand 6in-high national flags and maypoles.
Swedish pride is understated, and seeing it proclaimed is a rare and revealing privilege, like being invited to a local wedding. There's a connectedness too: Swedes have gathered here for centuries, just as today. In between flower-garlanded couples soaking up the sun, some unbelievably wholesome-looking parents watch over their cute, blonde, white-dressed kids running around adorably on the daisy-packed grass. It's as surreal as a TV ad for detergent.
If you need a break from exploring the fascinating city, Visby's beach has both sand and shingle, ideal for beachcombing – there's a trove of uniquely shaped and coloured pebbles, fossils from when Gotland was on the equator, ossified, twisted driftwood and skimming stones, perfect for skipping on the calm water. It's quiet, even on a hot midsummer day. No one is in the water, but I am assured by locals that from July until as late as October swimming becomes more common as the Baltic retains its heat from the long summer days.
There is a variety of accommodation available on the island, from cottages, farmhouses and holiday chalets to B&Bs, hotels and caravan parks. HamnHotell is just a five-minute walk from the city walls and two minutes from the ferry terminus. It has an informal, youth hostel atmosphere, along with two restaurants, 194 en-suite double rooms and 14 family rooms, some with kitchenettes. Rooms on the ground floor have a furnished outdoor area. The immense breakfast buffet sets you up for a day's exploration. Overlooking the harbour, gargantuan ferries fill the window frame as they quietly move past.
I leave too soon, hungry to return: to explore more of Gotland's 500 miles of rocky limestone cliffs, white shingle beaches, enormous sand dunes, coastal meadows and strangely stacked rock formations, chiselled by sea and wind; to discover the name of the idyllic café we glimpsed in Visby, perched high up and overlooking a deep blue sea and crazy paving of red-brick roofs and multi-coloured gable ends of yellow, cream and white; to indulge in some scuba-diving or sea kayaking in summer; to partake in the truffle-hunting season in autumn; maybe even to celebrate an open-air Christmas service in the ruins of the St Nicholas church in the winter.
If the thought of not overhearing any English appeals (while hypocritically secure in the knowledge that most Swedes speak perfect English) then you can come too – but please, keep it to yourself, okay?
fact file gotlandHow to get thereSAS (
www.flysas.com) flies direct from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Stockholm's Arlanda airport. Return fares start from around £250, including taxes.
Ryanair (
www.ryanair.com) operates daily flights from Prestwick to Skavsta (56 miles from Stockholm) and from Edinburgh to Skavsta on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays until
17 September.
Budget airline FlyGotland (
www.flygotland.com) has direct flights from Skavsta to Visby on Fridays and Sundays for around £42 a head. Flights from Stockholm's Bromma airport to Visby start from £25 per person.
TransfersBuses between Arlanda and Bromma airports are available on weekdays through Flygbussarna (
www.flygbussarna.se).
Alternatively, you can take a taxi (
www.taxistockholm.se) from the airport, with fares costing around £38.
Eating outBooking a table at the Rosegarden Restaurang, in Visby's town square, allows you to dine within a yard of the 13th-century ruins of St Katharine's church. A starter, two mains and bottle of wine costs about £80 – which is not bad for Swedish prices.
Check out the official tourism website for Gotland (
www.gotland.info), which contains background information about the area as well as a wide choice of other places to eat and attractions.
The full article contains 1187 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
