We had a great visit with Melanie and Brandon, thanks to Tom and Mary, Brandon's parents, watching the boys! With only 4 full days in Sweden, we ushered them from the airport to begin touring. After a quick trip north to Uppsala, we drove south to the catch a ferry to Gotland, an island southeast of Stockholm.
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| Our ferry. We parked on the 5th level and hung out on the 7th deck for the 3 1/2 hour ride to the island. |
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The sun set about 10:30.
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After a restful night at our Air BnB in an old limestone cottage on a horse farm, we set out to tour the northern half of the island.
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Windmills dot the landscape. All that we saw were like this one, with a substantial limestone base.
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We went all the way to the island of Fårö at the northwest tip of Gotland. There is a small ferry connecting this smaller island to the main island, and a lighthouse stands at its furthest northeastern point.
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| Fårö Lighthouse |
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| Seaweed clings to the limestone along the coast just below the lighthouse. |
Rauks or sea stacks are the main attraction on the north eastern shore of Gotland. These formations, usually vertical, are created by erosion along the coast. Impressive as they are in form, their size is what really astounded me. Here a couple of our favorites.
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| Rauks at Langhammars Nature Reserve |
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| With the right view we see a woman. Can you see her eyelashes? |
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| No one could get out there without getting into the brackish water, so there's nothing to help indicate the size of this colossal stone dog. |
Although I enjoyed seeing Gotland, I was beginning to think it wasn't as wonderful as the island Öland we had seen the week before. Until I saw Visby...
The medieval wall surrounding this old picturesque town is amazing and the church ruins are are equally intriguing.
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| Outside the northern wall. The greenery is a bit dull due to the drought. |
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| More of the northern wall, from the bridge leading to the city gate. |
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| Roses are blooming everywhere! (And they smell, oh, so lovely!) |
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| St. Maria's Cathedral, originally built in 1225. Surviving the Reformation, it is owned and used today by the Swedish Church. |
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| Stained glass window in St. Maria's depicting the walled city of Visby. |
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| Inside St. Lars Church ruin. Built in Byzantine style, it has stone staircases running through the walls. |
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| Hi up there! Also built in the 13th century, this church as left to ruin during the Reformation. |
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| St. Catherine's began as a monastery in 1233 and finished as a church in 1391. (These are just two of the 10 church ruins lying within the city walls!) |
We attended church in Visby where there is a small branch of about 10 warm, welcoming members. The branch president is one of our Senior Missionaries, Elder Johnson. He served his mission in Sweden and both of his parents are Swedish, so he is very much at home here. He and his wife are from Draper, Utah. They often stay in the Clubhouse when they come to the mainland, so we have enjoyed getting to know them when they visit. After a delicious meal in their beautiful apartment, we headed back to the ferry.
The last two days were filled with seeing the sights we've shared with our other visitors with one exception. We went to Drottningholm, but it was closed due to preparations for the newest grandchild's christening. The grounds were open and it was a beautiful day, so we walked back to the Chinese Pavillon, at the far end of the estate. This cluster of buildings was built as a present to a queen as a little get-away. The Confidence house was my favorite. It was a separate building meant as a dining room. The basement, built as a walk-out, housed the kitchen. In the kitchen, the dining table could be laid out with all the food, then hoisted into the "dining room." Four round shelving units could also be laden with items for the dinner and lifted into the room, so no servants were needed. Hence, the "confidence" room allowed dinner to be enjoyed in complete privacy--a special occasion for the royal family!
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No extra "ears" here.
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Melanie and Brandon left on John's birthday, so on the way to the airport they surprised John with his favorite breakfast...Egg McMuffin at McDonalds!
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They are just as good here as at home! (You can interpret that any way you wish!😉)
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| Headed home to the boys! |
Saying good-bye is never easy, but knowing that we will see Melanie and Brandon in about 10 weeks makes the farewell a bit more tolerable. I cannot imagine what it must be like to think that you may never see a loved one again. One of the greatest blessing of the gospel is the promise of being with loved ones for eternity. Family is important to everyone and part of Heavenly Father's plan is to have our families united forever. That is why we marry in the temple, that is why we do family history work, that is why we do temple work. Knowing I can see my parents and grandparents again is a sweet reassurance of God's love. Knowing I can get to know our departed grand babies is a tender promise that lends comfort and substantiates hope. Families can be forever! What a glorious promise!
