Stockholm

This is our second stop and third day here. We were at a different dock, so we saw different things and didn’t have far to travel. Lovely buildings all along the water. Nothing new, just the stately, historic design that is common in the cities we have visited.

We were able to visit two lightships.

One had an underwater bell.

The Vasa Museum was amazing. It was the best single subject museum we have ever seen. The Vasa was a Swedish ship that was to be the jewel of the shipping fleet. It sank on the initial sail. After being on the bottom of the bay for 333 years, it was recovered. The many displays are comprehensive and far reaching. The bones of 25 people were recovered and their life histories are detailed from clothes worn, location found, birth defects, evidence of breaks and malnutrition; and mineral content of teeth and bones. There is one skull showing how facial reconstruction is done using the skull bones. The build up of clay muscles and skin and the markers used was fascinating. The busts of all 25 people are seen dressed in period costume. The recovery effort is detailed as well as the continuing efforts to preserve the ship.

I had to pose with one of the wooden statues. She looks like she is singing and needed a partner.

The carvings from the inside of the ship were recovered and are extensive and restored in wonderful detail. There is a great interactive computer simulation you can use to redesign/reload the ship to make it more stable. Don’s ship sank. I got a citation from the King on my redesign although he encouraged me to include more cannons. Fun stuff.