By The Mighty Hammer of Thor!

Hej Hej!!!! 

I've just returned from a weekend in Gotland and.... what a weekend it was! :) Basically the weekend was spent reliving the glory days of the Vikings and exploring the lovely city of Visby. For those of you who don't know, Gotland is a county, province, and municipality of Sweden and the largest island in the Baltic Sea (or at least, that's what Wikepedia told me).  It was a most exciting experience but thoroughly exhausting, so I'll try to do a quick recap before I get kicked off the internet at 7 Eleven in Sundbyerg Centrum. 

Friday:

Early morning trek to the aiport. Swedish Program kids were all in fantastic spirits considering it was so darn early. Quick and painless flight from Bromma Airport to Visby Airport. Gorgeous weather  (and when I mean gorgeous I mean not raining and the sun was out...it's been overcast and rainy in Stockholm for ages... it was a bit cold though). Checked into the Strand Hotel (which is actually just a Best Western) and had a bangin' medieval lunch which consisted of bread, cured meat, cheese, apples, the most delicious chicken, and stewed carrots. As far as utensils went, we were only given a knife and were expected to use our hands to dig right in. What a fun experience that was, eating in a dim tavern lit solely by candles, grease all over your hands and face, sharing a communal napkin spread across many a lap. Of course, there was a fire blower/eater... as is customary in such a setting. 

We were then taken on a tour through the Viking museum, which may have not been the smartest idea considering we were all undergoing severe food comas. I learned very minimal, which is a shame, but I can tell you that hoards of Viking wealth was uncovered under houses and settlements. Those Vikings didn't play around. After that we were taken to several churches of different styles and ages. Our guide, Gunner, seemed to have the keys to (and knowledge of) every structure in Gotland. 

Our dinner consisted of hamburgers because apparently, all Americans love hamburgers... or at least that's what waiters told us. We ended up finishing up our night at that same restaurant due to the three bars it housed. Dancing, fun, (and then some) were had by all. ;)

Saturday:

Longest bus tour of my life, but there the landscapes were incredible. We were ferried over to other parts of Gotland and were let loose to explore various beaches and churches. I was definitely feeling inspired from the natural beauty all around. If only I were a poet or something... I could have written a sonnet. Ha. 

That evening we were bussed over to a Viking Village and that definitely had to be the highlight of the whole weekend. We were divided into four teams and had to complete series of tasks to earn points for our team. Those tasks included, wool spinning, chain making, axe throwing, archery, house building, story telling, and of course a good ol' game of four way tug of war. We had a meal of roast lamb and vegetables which was absolutely to die for. Few people tried the sheep testicles that were offered, but I can't say I was one of them. Something about the Viking Chieftain saying "You want some balls?" turned me off to the whole idea. We left the village with a sense of accomplishment and the stench of smoke, dirt, and roasted lamb on our clothes.

Although we were utterly exhausted by the end of all of this, we still decided to venture out to a bar that was recommended by the bus driver. It was in a 12th century tower (obviously) and it was quite the trek away from the hotel. It was a relatively early night for most of us and that was probably due to the fact that we were falling asleep faster than we could drink our beer. 

Sunday was a relatively lazy day. We checked out, did some more exploring, had lunch, and headed to the airport. Everyone was/is pretty tired. 

All in all, I'd say the weekend was enjoyable and could not have come at a better time. Stockholm weekends were starting to steal my soul.. and my money. 

:)

Side note: Someone asked me about how I was doing with the food/tabasco sauce situation recently and I can say this: They have Tabasco sauce EVERYWHERE in Sweden, and I've obviously bought my own bottle for my apartment. I have not been lacking in the department of chili sauce.  No worries, everyone. 

Also, I'm going to try to put pictures up here as soon as I can. As smart as I am, I forgot my camera cable, so I've had to borrow one from a friend to upload pictures. Once I get that in order, I'll try to post pictures of the trip thus far. I have enough, that's for sure. 

Alright, that's it for now. Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to hear about. Missing you all dearly. 

All the love I've got to give,

K