Page 10 - Hobe Sound Reflections - February '21
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Page 10, Hobe Sound

                                                                    travel




      Visby, Gotland: Starting Its                       capital of Gotland, is a city
                                                         frozen in time. Very little
      Fifth Millennium                                   has changed since the 13
                                                                             th
                                                         century when it was in
      By Don Kiselewski,                                 its heyday. To protect the
      MCC, D.S., Palm Beach                              riches of the city, a two-
      Gardens Travel Leaders                             mile, 30-foot-high wall
         Perhaps you watched                             was built to surround the
      TV, as I did, 20 years ago                         town. Included in the wall
      on New Year ’s Eve, when                           were some 40 towers and
      we celebrated the end of                           numerous gates. The wall
      the second millennium                              was capped on the end
      and beginning of the third.                        with the Powder  Tower,
      As the world turned, the                           which was the munitions
      television presentations                           storage for the town.
      from  each  of  the  most
      prestigious  cities in  each  time zone  created  an  image   Travel on page 11  Windmills dot the countryside in Gotland.
      of the occasion that excited the imagination. It was
      communications and technology at its best and it rightly
      should be given credit for the spectacular event that we                            Choosing The Right
      witnessed. But, it was the beauty of the cities themselves
      that left the lasting impression of entering into the new
      millennium. Man has truly built wonders on our earth.                               Wine For Your Perfect
         As I watched, it became apparent that the majority
      of the cities highlighted during the presentation weren’t
      there a half millennium ago. And then, there are cities                             Or Imperfect Valentine!
      like Visby, Gotland that preceded Christ by 2,000 years.
      Names like Sydney, Paris, Washington, and New York
      automatically paint pictures in our mind – but Visby?  By Laura Berrio,                                 If all of this seems overwhelming, try starting simple. Plan
         I tried a little experiment last week and asked a few   Freelance Writer/Blogger                  a dessert date! A beautiful bottle of rosé (hot category in wine
      people whether they had ever heard of Gotland or Visby.      There is so much                        currently) or champagne pair nicely with chocolates. The
      As one might expect, the replies were about the same as   pressure on couples to                     lighter the chocolate, the lighter the wine and the darker the
      Jay Leno gets when he conducts his “person on the street”   pick the perfect gift for                chocolate, the darker, more full bodied the wine. If your love’s
      interviews – lots of positive answers, but none were right.   that special someone on                favorite is in the middle with buttery, Belgian milk chocolates
      Visby, Gotland got the same results.                 Valentine’s Day. Planning                       or white chocolate, a sweet wine such as a muscat pairs nicely.
         The first thing you should know is that Gotland is   a special evening and                        If you decide to forego the wine and have champagne, select a
      an island. It’s actually the biggest island in the Baltic   picking that perfect bottle              sec or demi-sec so the sweetness complements the chocolate.
      Sea, some 75 miles long by 35 miles wide. The island is   of wine can seem daunting                     If this is not your first Valentine’s Day and you need to
      located about 55 miles off the west coast of Sweden, with   on this holiday of “love.”               step it up a notch … pick a vintage from a special year (first
      Latvia as its closest neighbor. Several bays interrupt the      Let’s make picking                   date, wedding anniversary, birthday, etc.).
      limestone coastline of Gotland, while the interior of the   a perfect wine an easy part of the planning. Once you      A couple of mid-priced favorites of mine would be a
      island has numerous clay-covered bogs. The western side   decide on what you are going to do and where you are   2016 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon or a Taittinger
      has steep cliffs and is covered by conifers, while most of   going to do it, the wine choice is narrowed down. A picnic   Champagne. Although a little pricey, if you want that very
      the island is used for farming.                      outside vs. a formal dinner call for a very different wine.   special bottle, 2007 Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne and
         Examples of the Bronze Age were found in coinage      If you want to plan a sunset picnic on the beach,   the 2002 Michael Magnien will not disappoint!
      discovered on the island. Gotland’s inhabitants traded   you need a wine that travels well or opt for a bottle of      Just remember to stay true to your tastes and stick with
      during this period with peoples on the eastern and   champagne! If you are planning on cooking, then the wine   what you know. Follow your heart and sip
      southern shores of the Baltic. Later evidence pointed   choice needs to pair with the featured entrée. If you are   with the one you love!
      toward the ties the island had with Rome and the Islamic   channeling your inner Julia Childs and preparing Beef      ~ Cheers
      and Byzantine empires. The 12  century brought Gotland   Bourguignon, a full bodied, deep red wine would be my      ~ Keep the conversation going and
                                th
      into prominence. Its traders – representing the peasant   first choice. Valentines come in many shades of crimson   the wine flowing!
      society on the island – had trading houses to Novgorod   … uncork the perfect red to complement your special      Follow the  Vine at: www.
      and dominated the routes between Western Europe and   cupid celebration.                             VineVibeUncorked.com.
      Russia. The German trading class was quickly drawn to
      Gotland activities and as a result, Visby was invited to
      join the Hanseatic League. Trade flourished until the mid-
      14  century, with most of the Novgorod (northwestern
         th
      Russia) trade passing through the island. The prosperity
      of the time was reflected in the many fine churches and
      cathedrals built during this period (97 in the countryside
      and 17 in Visby).
         Gotland  became  part  of  Sweden  around  900 A.D.,
      paying its taxes and looking only for protection.
      Otherwise Gotland wished to remain an independent,
      passive community. It remained fairly peaceful until
      1361, when Danish King Valdemar IV Atterdag conquered
      Gotland in a battle just outside the wall at Visby. The next
      300 years brought shifts to the trade route and dominance
      by Denmark, the Hanseatic League and other privateers,
      as well as the Teutonic Knights. Sweden got it back in
      1645, but by then the island had become impoverished
      and had lost its importance in the Baltic.
         Visby, “the city of ruins and roses” and administrative
























      An eye-catching alley of red roses in the medieval town
      of Visby
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