Turning military land into civil land

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Bungenäs is situated at the north-east of Gotland. It is a peninsula. It has a history with stone industry and then as a military training area. Today Bungenäs is civil and owned by Joachim Kuylenstierna. He wants to turn this area into a place where people like artists, surfers and naturelovers can feel free and inspired.

Right now there is an exhibition made by ten artists on Bungenäs. The picture show a part of the art. Miniature soldiers figthing on a wall covered by authentical shooting holes.


This is also military remains. But today people are sunbathing just beside.

Smoked fish

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When I was a kid and we went to Gotland for vacation, I remember how we bought smoked flounders and then my parents would choose a really nice spot in the nature where we could sit and eat our smoked flounders. Part of the delightful experience was eating with our fingers. Ah how good the smoked flounders tasted!

When we had moved to Gotland and there were still codfish enough in the sea, my father fished codfish and smoked it. He smoked flounders as well. We had big parties with smoked fish. Really nice memories.

When my daughter Alice was a kid we bought smoked shrimps. I remember once when we sat in the park in Slite and ate smoked shrimps. We were surprised because Alice ate so many. Since then me, Roine and Alice have moved to Gotland we have eaten a lot of smoked shrimps. One of the most beautiful places to eat smoked shrimps in is Ihrebadens restaurang. Another good place for eating smoked fish and shrimps is Katthammarsvik.

Coincidence or just logical?

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A couple of days ago I made contact with a man living in Santa Cruz, by the coastline in California. Our connection had originally to do with computer software, but when he found out that I live on Gotland he said that he was interested in runestones and would like to visit Gotland and see the stones with ”valknutar”. Valknutar? I didn’t know anything about valknutar, so I had to google and soon I found that these stones with valknutar are found about 10 km from where I live!

Yesterday my company got a request about making a website. As inspiration we got a link to a website: Hotels by the Californian coastline. Eh? The request came from a swedish company. He could have choosen any website from Sweden, Europe, Thailand or anywhere! But, he choosed a website with hotels by the Californian coastline.

This is a bit strange, isn’t it?

Update. Today I saw a trailer in the port of Visby.

California Trailer! If you ask me, this is not more than selective perception. I have activated the ”California-center” of my brain and that’s why I noticed this trailer. And this is ”fake-California”, the company is polish. But, I don’t know this company, maybe they have a good connection to California?

Small world or Expanding world?

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When I think back to 1982 when I was twenty, Gotland seemed to be a very remote and dull place in the middle of the Baltic Sea. Even if I thought the nature was ever so beautiful I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that ”everything happened somewhere else”. Gotland was not the center of the action. Being young I could even feel a bit ashamed of my connection with this boring island.

Then I moved to the swedish mainland and it wasn’t long until I realised that people I met were very impressed by Gotland and my shame converted to pride. I lived twenty years on the swedish mainland but I visited Gotland at least twice a year, often more. In the autumn 2000 I moved to Gotland with my family, Roine and Alice.
Now it was Alice turn to be young on Gotland. When I compare with my young years on Gotland it is obvious that information technology – computers, internet and television have changed the ”growing up-conditions” to the better. The distance between Gotland and the mainland has shrunk – actually the distance between Gotland and the rest of the world has shrunk as well. And it’s easier to travel to Gotland by ferry or plane. Now it’s more up to yourself if you want to keep in touch with friends all over the world, if you want to share a common interest globally or if you want to buy the newest, coolest stuff it is probably accessible on the internet and might even be delivered to your own house on the gotlandish countryside.
At the same time Gotland is getting more popular for tourists, Bergman-lovers, car-lovers, politicians, moviemakers and other creative people. Sometimes it feels like ”everyone” is coming to Gotland and some of the VIPs even buy their own property here. Gotland is no longer a remote island, Gotland is becoming more of an active and attractive center of the Baltic Sea.
That is why I feel like I am living in the middle of the world and now when my daughter is ready to move to Stockholm she is proud of Gotland. I don’t know what will happen in her life, but I am pretty sure that she has ”moving back to Gotland” as one of her future options.

Gotland is second best at Facebook in Sweden!

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This blog is really not writing itself. Somehow I doesn’t seem to get the right angle. What can I write about from my small part of the world that might interest people all over the world? Let’s give it a try. Again.

I read an article about Facebook and how common it is in different parts of Sweden and of course Stockholm is the most facebook active part. But, to my surprise Gotland got the second place. That is interesting. How come an island with 57 000 inhabitants can embrace a social media tool like Facebook?

Historically Gotland has tried the new technical solutions early. Like train, television and today actually 4G-network for cellphones. Maybe the gotlandish people feel that we have to accept new solutions early to balance the fact that we live in the middle of the Baltic Sea. Surviving skills.

Another fact is that we are only 57 000 persons living here and maybe it sometimes can be like belonging to a big club and when something gets popular, it can get popular really fast in a close group. When you get the feeling that ”everyone” is doing a certain thing, your need to do the same increases.

Living on Gotland also means that you rather easily can get in touch with politicians and other important persons. Some of these persons joined Facebook rather early and found new ways to connect with people. I think that was a very smart move that have made all the participating politicians more human and less political. The distance between VIP and ordinary people is shorter on Gotland and gets even shorter with Facebook.

In the old days one talked about things we read in the paper, but nowadays when I meet people we talk about things we read in Facebook. We are more up to date with the small stuff that is happening in our facebookbuddies daily life. I think that is good. It makes us feel more alike. To read about ordinary things that people do, like feeding the cat or playing football with your kid gives a balance to all the glamour-articles and scandals with famous people. We are getting bored by traditional media and their stereotype way to report about our world. Facebook gives us an ordinary relief.

Even so, some articles are still worth reading. This article in New York Times, about Gotland, for example!