July 2009 - Baltic Cruise / Stockholm Sweden

The Vasa Museum from outside The preserved Vasa ship from the 17th Century Anette and Kimberly taking a rest at the Vasa Museum From the ship coming into Stockholm Wood carved back of Vasa ship Stockholm Port of Call Our first port of call was Stockholm Sweden.  We had planned to have a champagne breakfast on our balcony as the ship sailed amongst the various small islands leading to the Stockholm port but unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating as it was cooler and rainy lightly.  We still had our champagne breakfast but unfortunately needed to eat inside as we watched the upcoming activities on the ship TV wake-up show. We arrived at the Stockholm port about 9am and needed to be back onboard about 5pm so this didn't leave much time for exploring the city.  Since Anette is originally from Sweden we decided to explore the city by ourselves rather than taking one of the organized tours offered by the cruise line. Our primary focus was to visit the Vasa Museum (see notes to the right) however we also had an opportunity to stroll through the city enjoying its architecture and natural beauty. Some useful web links      Stockholm Visitors Information Wikipedia on Vasa Museum The Official Vasa Museum website Wikipedia on Stockholm Facts About Stockholm The Vasa Museum The Vasa Museum was the highlight of our Stockholm visit.  Anette and Bill had visited this museum back in the mid-90's and remembered how much we enjoyed our visit so we wanted Kimberly to see this amazing museum.  On August 10, 1628 The Vasa ship set sail on its maiden voyage but after only a few minutes of sailing the ship began to heel over. She righted herself slightly - and heeled over again. Water started to gush in through the open gunports. And, to everyone's horror and disbelief, the glorious and mighty warship suddenly sank! Of the 150 people on board, 30-50 died in the disaster. For the next 333 years The Vasa ship rested on the bottom of Stockholm harbor in 30 meters of water.  The ship was discovered in 1956 and raised to the service in 1961.  Because of the environmental conditions (cold brackish water, mud, etc) the ship is extremely well preserved. In addition to the actual ship the museum includes all sort of artifacts including the personal effects from the sailors (pipes, leather shoes, clothing, combs, etc).  The artifacts found give us a glimpse into what life must have been like back in the 17th century. We spent about 2 1/2 hours at the museum which was enough to see the highlights but if you wanted to read all the plagues you could easily fill an entire day at this single museum.  We all enjoyed our visit and hope to return soon. Some more Stockholm photos Stockholm Town Hall Stockholm waterfront Cannon display at the Vasa museum Pier outside Vasa museum The Vasa museum Stockholm Church Stockholm waterfront The Vasa museum Stockholm waterfront Stockholm castle