June 2023

Just a day and a half left in Stockholm, but it was a beautiful weekend and time for the Vasa, a must do in Stockholm. After a leisurely breakfast, we caught a tram to Djurgården. People were out in force, enjoying the sunshine and the waterfront. We walked to the ship like Vasa Museum. This houses the almost fully intact 17th century ship that sank on its maiden voyage. It is perhaps the most visited attraction in all of Sweden and you really should plan a visit if you go to Stockholm.

A Third of an Hour Tour

Since I had purchased our tickets earlier that morning we had a set entrance window and were able to walk right in. It’s cool inside the museum and somewhat dark. The building and main chamber is several stories high with viewing platforms built at different levels. You can get a pretty up close and personal view of every part of the ship. There are exhibits on life aboard the ship (short lived as that was), scale models with carefully researched paint colors, etc.

The big 64 gun wooden war ship was completed in 1628 and was considered a big feat of engineering. It sank about 1300 meters into its maiden voyage right in the Stockholm harbor. It was too top heavy and completely unstable and unseaworthy. They believe it succumbed to the second slightly strong wind it faced and went under. The people on shore who had come for its ceremonial send off watched in horror as it sank. Its bronze canons were salvaged in the following decades. After that, it lay in obscurity until it was rediscovered in the 1950’s.

The Right Place for a Shipwreck

It was found to be remarkably well preserved three centuries later, largely due to the oxygen poor nature and high salinity of the Baltic Sea. No bacteria or worms to consume the wood or to contribute to its rot. Sea lore aficionados can read more here. In 1961, they pulled it out of the harbor, not far from where the museum now stands and housed it in a temporary structure. The Swedish Government decided a permanent site should house the ship and the museum opened in 1990. More than a million people a year visit the Vasa, making it the most visited museum in all of Scandinavia.

While nothing can be preserved forever, the curators maintain optimal conditions in the museum, including low oxygen levels. Be aware that this affects lots of visitors with any oxygen related health issues. Dan’s headaches kicked in eventually, but not before we both got a chance to really explore this ship.

Fika Al Fresco

We spent the afternoon in Djurgården, having lunch/fika along the waterfront, watching boaters on the canal and strolling the parkland. Eventually we made our way to the ferry and headed to Gamla Stan. On some future Stockholm visit I’d love to check out more of Djurgården, including the Nordiska Museet and the Skansen. Back in Gamla Stan, we walked along near the ferry landing, Where we saw a classic wooden sailing vessel with a huge American flag.

Recognizing it as the same Coast Guard vessel we had seen across the harbor in Helsinki the previous week, we decided to check it out. Clearly, it was a wooden ship day for us. It seemed the Coast Guard was holding an open house, or em…open ship, on the USCGC Eagle and all were welcome to come onboard. We boarded and explored the ship and chatted with several young cadets. They were doing a goodwill tour and were tickled to hear we had spotted them the week before. After Stockholm, they would be setting sail back across the Atlantic.

After disembarking, we meandered back to Downtown Camper through the Kungsträdgården or King’s Garden.

A Stockholm Stroll to Say So Long

Sunday morning, we packed up our room following a last excellent breakfast at Downtown Camper and stored our bags in the lobby. We had a couple of hours to enjoy Stockholm a little bit more before our midday train to Malmö. So we headed to our subway next door and took a train a couple of stops past the Stadshuset. We walked to the park along the water’s edge and strolled back towards the Stadhuset. We encountered hundreds of Stockholmers (I looked that up) picnicking, strolling, playing games and sports, jogging and generally enjoying a lovely summer Sunday along the sparkling water’s edge.

Perhaps the sweetest thing we encountered was a full-on birthday party for an aging cocker spaniel. She was seated on a cement “throne” and wearing a floral lei and a little golden crown. We of course stopped to join in the singing of Happy Birthday but did not stick around for cake. It was time to head back to the hotel and then the train station to head out to Malmö and the next part of our Scandi adventure.