Medieval week in Visby

Hello, please indulge my traveling back in time.  Just one brief year ago we were in Visby, on the island Gotland in Sweden for "Medieval week", this year taking place from August 4th - 11th, 2013. Gotland is a gorgeous island off the coast of Stockholm which is about the size of Long Island but sparsely populated.  It took us about 4 hours to get there by ferry.  We booked a cabin at 'Visby Strandbad' (here) north of the town several months in advance as it's a popular time to go, and we got their last "budget cabin".  Phew, it was expensive despite the name, so I'm glad we snagged it!   But check out the beach by the hotel and you'll see it was well worth it. The hotel had a nice restaurant and was close enough to town to bus.

Here's another pic from our hotel at night, stunning isn't it?

I had heard a lot about the Visby Medieval Fair over the years and it didn't disappoint.  Held annually for the past 30 years it allows people a glimpse into the past when Gotland was an important Hanseatic trading port, and a cosmopolitan city of the era.  Check out the events here: Medieval week 2013. Some of our family photos follow... ah, memories!

The copy below is picked up from http://www.visbysweden.com and has all the information you need and many more pictures. Hope you can make it there sometime soon, and if you've been please drop me a line! I'd love to know what you thought about this very special place.

"Visby is a walled town with roses, ruins, narrow cobblestone streets, a wide range of cozy restaurants and pubs, markets and of course the town wall itself: Visby was formerly a Hanseatic town in Sweden. The Hansa ruled Gotland for hundreds of years during the Medieval Times, today it's a popular destination for tourists.  Discover the beauty of this medieval town in Sweden. Look at the pictures in the photo galleries, or read about the growth of Visby here.The town of Visby in Sweden was in 1995 chosen by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites. The Medieval Week on Gotland is a medieval history event with thousands of participants, and here we show The Medieval Week in pictures. Medeltidsveckan is one of many big medieval events in Europe." - from www.visbysweden.com