Vasa Museet

Vasa

Wasssupppp!! Vasaaaaaa!!!!

Reese got a new jacket. She wanted me to let everyone know. Kristy spoils her, and I'm OK with that, because she spoils me too.  

Anyway, back to the lecture at hand, we finally made it to Vasa Museet (Museum) tonight. I believe it's the most popular tourist attraction in Stockholm, and for good reason. It was really cool! I love history, and have a special interest in shipwrecks, so this was right up my alley. The Vasa was a ship that went down shortly after leaving Stockholm on it's maiden voyage in 1628. It was built for war, and was one of the biggest and most spectacularly decorated ships of it's time. It was built during the time when Sweden was the power in the Baltic Sea region. It was built to instill fear just by the way it looked, and it must have looked really cool in dry dock. Problem was that it was built top heavy, and as it was leaving port, it's said that it started listing to one side, but righted itself a couple of times. Then it looked like it was going to be OK, but then started tipping again. This time, water started filling the ship through the port holes for the cannons, and it slowly started to sink. There it sank, and there it stayed until the 1960's, when a historian spent months looking for it. He finally found it, and divers started bringing up items, which were very well preserved.

Eventually, it was decided that they would try to raise the ship, and had the backing of the King of Sweden. They were able to raise it, and bring it into more shallow water where they continued the salvage. They continued to painstakingly remove artifacts as they sifted through the silt in the ship, and found among other things, articles of clothing, coins, tools, all of the other things you'd expect to find on the ship, and 25 bodies. Most who perished were trapped under cannons and the like, which were not properly secured, and added to the boat capsizing as they shifted to one side of the boat. Bummer for those guys. There skeletal remains are also on display, as were some ridiculously realistic heads that they had on display. Honestly, it was creepy how much these heads looked real. 

All in all, it was really an interesting exhibit. They had a 25 minute movie in a theatre that told you the whole story of the boat from beginning to end, from creation, to how it got to the Museum, which was built specifically to house it. I told Kristy that I could see myself loving a job like finding a sunken ship, bringing it up to the surface, and restoring it. I think it would be an exhilarating experience to see that boat slowly rise to the surface, and above the water. 

Today we went shopping, and I finally got a watch. I never wear a watch at home, and never thought I'd need one here. I do. So I got a Casio knock off at the marketplace "downtown" near Sergles Torg for 149 Kronor, or about $10. Hopefully it will work for at least a couple of months. Look up Sergels Torg on Google, and you'll probably see the statue in the center. It's what I would call the center of Stockholm's shopping/business district. (Not the actual vendor below)

I also had lunch with Leaf Klingborg, an old Bandy acquaintance, and very nice guy. I saw him briefly up in Vasteras, and he suggested we have lunch. So I took him up on it. Leaf was a very good Bandy and soccer player, and also coach. He coached many teams, including the Swedish National Bandy team. He took me out for lunch at one of his favorite places, and I had a traditional Swedish meal. It was basically a potato pancake, with some kind of thick bacon, and lingonberries. When we first started walking, he asked what kind of food I liked, and I said pretty much everything except mushrooms and fish. We went to his first choice, and they had nothing but fish on their menu. Seriously. I'm glad I spoke up. After lunch, we went back to his office, and he showed me some things he's been working on. He's a very interesting guy, but very busy. So I left him alone, but not before we made tentative plans to go have a beer one of these days when Kristy is able to join us. 

This is boring, isn't it?

Later.