Saturday 2 June 2007

Misty and Mystical


This misty, mystical scene is a ship grave, an elongated stone "circle" that marks a Scandinavian iron-age grave field (about 2000 years old). This one is in Bohuslan, in Western Sweden, just below the Norwegian border. As you can see, the weather was pretty dismal, but it gave plenty of atmosphere for this particular site.

We drove down into Goteborg to see a prehistoric labyrinth on top of a hill on the edge of the city. Unfortunately, recent winter storms had felled several trees, obliterating about half the labyrinth. This seems to be a trend.... we have found a number of labyrinths in varying states of disrepair and overgrowth. One we visited today was in particularly poor condition and we felt that we were probably going to be the last people ever to see it. This is particularly sad in that they have managed to survive for so long, only to disappear in our technologically advanced modern age.

Leaving Goteborg, we drove east across the southern part of the country, spending the night in Nykoping, home to another prehistoric labyrinth. Yesterday we took the ferry out to the Baltic island of Gotland. The main city, Visby, is an ancient walled city, full of charm and beauty. Yesterday's weather was so bad that our afternoon ferry was cancelled so we had to take the evening ferry which didn't arrive until nearly midnight. Today, however, dawned bright and clear. Our hotel is right on the city wall, overlooking the harbor. Between the seabirds and the plethora of labyrinths int he area, Jeff is really in his element!

Tomorrow we will exlore the southern half of the island, hoping to see at least 6 labyrinths. And while we're at it, we might even make a new one to leave as a mark of our having been here.....


1 comment:

Lea said...

Absolutely stunning...