Sellel aastal alustasime oma reisi õhtul. Startisime umbes kell 8 õhtul. Põhjus selleks oli väga lihtne, meie laev väljus Paldiskist Rootsi suunas alles kell 22.00. Esimene sõiduõhtu oli väga lihtne – Tallinnast Paldiskisse ja asi korras. See teejupp ei vääri isegi eraldi postitust.
This year we began our trip in the evening. We set off at around 8 pm. The reason was very simple: our ship did not leave Paldiski for Sweden until 22:00. The first evening of riding was an easy one – from Tallinn to Paldiski and that was that. This stretch does not even deserve a post of its own.
Teekond Paldiskist Kapellskäri oli väga sujuv. Meri oli praktiliselt tuulevaikne ja laevas ei toimunud mingit kõikumist. See laev on mõeldud eelkõige veokatele ja neile, kes õhtusest melust väga lugu ei pea. Aeg laevas kulus kiirelt söömisele ja magamisele. Hommikul tervitas meid Kapellskär.
Meie tänaseks reisisihiks on Gotlandi saar. Selleks tuleb läbi teha veel üks merereis. Enne seda aga tuletasime lihtsalt tsiklisõitu meelde. Valisime tee ümber Stockholmi, see oli küll veidi pikem, aga kiiret meil ei olnud ja nautisime lihtsalt sõitu (vahepeal ka ühte päris korralikku vihmasahmakat). Laev Gotlandile väljub Nynäshamni sadamast. Tegemist oli päris suure laevaga, nad ise teavitasid, et meie reisil oli 800 inimest. See reis kestab 3 tundi. Laevas on mõnusate tugitoolidega istumise ala. Kuna puhkus alles algas, siis oli päris mõnus enamus sõitu lihtsalt tukkuda.
The crossing from Paldiski to Kapellskär was very smooth. The sea was practically windless and there was no rolling on board at all. This ship is meant above all for trucks and for those who do not care much for evening entertainment. Time on board went quickly on eating and sleeping. In the morning Kapellskär greeted us.
Today’s destination is the island of Gotland. Getting there means one more sea crossing. Before that, though, we simply reacquainted ourselves with riding. We chose the route around Stockholm – it was a little longer, but we were in no hurry and simply enjoyed the ride (including one properly heavy downpour along the way). The ship to Gotland leaves from the port of Nynäshamn. It was a fairly large vessel; they announced that there were 800 people on our sailing. The crossing takes 3 hours. On board there is a seating area with comfortable armchairs. As our holiday was only just beginning, it was rather pleasant to doze through most of the trip.
Meie öömaja Gotlandil on külakeses nimega Träkumla. See küla on umbes 10 km kaugusel Visbyst. Ega siin suurt midagi peale kiriku ja majade ei ole. Meie öömaja asus vanas tallihoones. Kogu elamine nägi välja väga kena.
Our lodging on Gotland is in a small village called Träkumla, about 10 km from Visby. There is not much here beyond the church and the houses. Our accommodation was in an old stable building. The whole place looked very nice.
Õhtul võtsime ette väikese jalutuskäigu. Maa on siin täiesti kivine ja ega siin ka suurt midagi ei kasva. Vili oli üsna niru ja maha niidetud hein oli rohkem nagu üle kasvanud muru. Puud on ka üsna kidurad. Nagu allpool oleval pildil näha, siis mõnes kohas ei kasvanud praktiliselt midagi muud kui kadakad ja veel mõned põõsad.
In the evening we went for a short walk. The ground here is completely stony and not much grows. The grain was rather poor and the mown hay looked more like overgrown lawn. The trees are fairly stunted as well. As can be seen in the picture below, in some places practically nothing grew except junipers and a few other shrubs.
Kõigest sellest hoolimata on Gotlandil väga huvitav ajalugu. Kunagi oli tegemist ühe Põhja-Euroopa rikkaima alaga. Selle rikkuse aluseks oli kaubandus ida ja lääne vahel. Ei saa muidugi välistada, et oma panuse andsid ka mõningad rüüsteretked. Siin pidavat olema kõige suurem viikingite aardeleidude tihedus, väidetavalt on järgmisel kohal Saaremaa. Visby oli oluline Hansalinn, kus tegutses palju saksa päritolu kaupmehi. Tänasel päeval on põhiliseks tuluallikaks turism.
For all that, Gotland has a very interesting history. It was once one of the wealthiest areas in northern Europe. That wealth was built on trade between east and west. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that a few raiding expeditions played their part as well. This is said to have the highest density of Viking treasure finds anywhere, with Saaremaa reportedly in second place. Visby was an important Hanseatic town, home to many merchants of German origin. Today the main source of income is tourism.
Meie tänane teekond | Our trip today
