Up and out early as Alex works (like most people). I sat in a cafe for a bit then headed to a ferry crossing where I went to Djurgarden - a peninsula that is in the Eastern part of Stockholm.
My first attraction: The Vasa Museum
In the 1620's and early 17th century, Sweden was constantly at war with mainly Poland, but also with Denmark and Russia for dominance over the Baltic. In 1625 King Gustav Adolf built up his navy and 4 ships - one being the Vasa.
Dimensions: Weight: 1210 Tonnes
Length: 69 meters (226 ft)
Height: 52.5 meters (172 ft)
It was tough to fit the whole thing into one picture. I took several. I also took pictures of the information so I could blog it properly.
The Vasa is a 64-gun warship.
The location was forgotten over the years until the 1920's and during the 1950's, a private research, Anders Franzen began to search for her. In 1956, with the help of a Navy diver, Per Edvin Falting, the Vasa was found.
The Vasa stood on an even keel, sunken in mud and clay.
Divers drove 6 tunnels under the hull at a depth of 40meters below the sea. They worked alternating in 1 hour shifts at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. Their diving suits were made of thick canvas and rubber that weighed nearly 100kg.
In 1961 they used hydraulic jacks to raise the ship slowly to surface. And after 333 years the Vasa was returned to Gustav V.
It is the only 17th century ship that has been salvaged almost fully intact.
The museum opened in 1990 with the Vasa as the main feature, there are 6 different levels for viewing it.
The museum also included various exhibits related to the archaeological findings on the ship. For example; after excavation, they found the skeletal remains of only 30 people.
I hope that was as interesting for you all as it was for me. I spent a lot of timing putting this piece of the blog together!
After spending quite a bit of time in the Vasa Museum and having some lunch I went to the Skansen Museum next.
This museum is the first open air museum and zoo in Sweden and was founded in 1891.
It was huge! - 75 acres of Swedish history.
The museum is focused on the way of life in the Northern and Southern parts Sweden for 5 centuries before the industrial era.
It was really neat because each little hut had a different piece of live history with guides dressed up in old traditional wear and they were actually performing olden day functions. For example there was a bread making hut, where they actually made bread like they would have centuries ago.
(I do not have pictures of the huts.. I got camera lazy)
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I was enjoying my time very much... and then all of a sudden from having the beautiful sunshine, it started to thunder and down pour rain! Of course I am in the open air museum when it decides to rain. There were so many people and not enough over hangs to hide under. I had seen the majority of the museum at this point so I made my way to the exit. I ended up waiting out the rain under a hot dog stand umbrella anyway.
At this point the sun was shining and the rain was still just pouring down. I was like how can that happen at the same time?!?!
It eventually did stop but I was feeling a bit grumpy, so I made my way to a pub by the Ferry crossing. I had a beer and watched the Olympic women's soccer game, which happened to be Sweden vs. Canada. I was highly out numbered in the cheering section.. 1 vs. the whole bar! Ended in a tie so that was good and fair.
Back at Alex's, he was hosting another surfer just for one night. So once he arrived we chatted for a bit then set out for some supper. After a delicious salad, Alex took us to the top of a hill where we could enjoy a city view! It was beautiful.
Thanks for putting together the piece about the Vasa. Amazing that after 300 years they were able to salvage it in on piece! Cool stuff.
ReplyDeleteCouch surfing sounds exciting. It must be a great way to get to know the places and people you are visiting.