Vasa

One of my favourite things in Stockholm is the Vasa museum.  Today is my third visit.  The Vasa is a massive war ship, built to the King’s specifications.  The King was determined that his new warship would boast two gun decks and that is what she had.  However when she set sail on her maiden voyage (1628) she sailed only a kilometre before the wind caused her to list to one side, flooding the ship through the lower gun ports.  She sank quickly, with 30 of the 450 strong crew losing their life.  The Vasa was a top-heavy ship and with too little room in the design for ballast it seems her fate was sealed before she ever sailed.   There was an inquiry but no one was found at fault – a bit hard to blame the King it would seem.

The Vasa sank into thick mud which preserved her until she was raised in the 1970’s.  Many years of restoration occurred to preserve the water logged wood before placing her on display.  Surprisingly only a small amount of timber needed to be replaced.  She is 98% original.  Not just the boat was preserved but many more items including sails, clothing and a ring from the Captain.

The museum does a great job of setting the context in which the Vasa was built, how and why she sank and the laborious efforts to raise and preserve her.  The Vasa is huge and yet she fits well in the space, although several scale models are used to help appreciate the design.

Ultimately, the story of the Vasa is one of the folly of war and the hubris of man.

We enjoyed a yummy lunch at the Vasa Museum before moving onto Skansen.  The air was cool outside with the kids marvelling at the icy frozen puddles and the adults stepping gingerly around them (except for Anthony who is really just a big kid and couldn’t help himself).

Skansen

Skansen is another great place in Stockholm and a popular one today with many locals attending for the Christmas market.  We caught the funicular up the hill and walked through the buildings from Sweden’s past.  Our first stop was the seals – we had missed feeding time but loved watching the seals swim around their enclosure.  We walked on and viewed a variety of animals not found outside a zoo in Australia.  We saw wolves, otters, moose, buffalo, wild boar, lynx and the notice of sleeping bears (not on show).  We did see the otters being fed … mice … that really grossed Megan out! (Note from Anthony – the crowd were all oohs and aahs watching the otters being fed, with everyone assuming they were being fed fish. It was very funny hearing a mix of yucks, urghs and aarghs when they realised the food was dead mice.)

Skansen has an amazing collection of Swedish homes through the ages.  It was fun to visit and hear about how whole families lived in rooms not much bigger than our modern bathrooms.  This was eye opening for the children who asked where everyone slept, having seen only one bed.

It was cold, so we stopped frequently to warm our hands at fire pits.  Simon and Nils bought everyone cinnamon donuts which warmed our hands and our stomachs.  I also replenished our supply of wooden knives at the Christmas market.  I still have my original from my exchange visit in 1989.

It was another great day.  We headed home for another traditional Swedish meal of scampi for entree and steaks for main.  Yum!