We started the day walking over to the Djurgarden Island in Stockholm. This area holds many museums. Walking from the hotel was interesting as we looked in shops along the way. I think the 70s might be coming back? Look at all that pink and green.
We walked along the waterfront (hard not to in Stockholm) admiring the scenery along the way.
One favourite was an area showing the tree of life and Jormungandr.
Our first stop today was the Vasa Museum. The co-op student at the accounting office where I worked when talking about this museum kept saying “it’s just a boat”. However, Trey’s reaction was much better. Standing looking at it with a huge smile on their face and staring in wonder was the right level of interest for this artifact. The Vasa might be the only ship with a worse record than the Titanic. The maiden voyage on 10 August 1628 did not even make it out of the harbour. The ship sank in the harbour and was recovered 98% intact 333 years later. What a magnificent piece of history to be able to see (there are a great many more pictures on my iPad for those who wish to visit me to see it all).
Now I know what a long boat looks like (for the drunken sailor).
I stood looking with the locals from the day.
We had lunch at the museum. Chris told me to post pictures of food. I’m pretty sure he didn’t really mean it, but just in case – here are a couple of Swedish meals. Meatballs with pickled cucumber and ligonberries and a shrimp and egg sandwich.
The museum had a separate exhibition of women in the historical context, which was fascinating as well. Of course, the visit could not be complete without some palaeography.
After lunch, we headed to the Historika Museum. The museum was much larger than I expected and showcased from pre-historic times to modern day. There was a skeleton from 7,000 BC who was a mother/hunter. It was interesting how many of the skeletons they have found are women and how much they have been able to find out about life because of these remains.
The main reason for this museum, though, were the rune stones. One of the stones is written in older futhark and has been dated to the period 520-570, and is one of the few runestones from this early period.
Looking at an old tomb and seeing both Swedish and Latin (I knew I had to study both).
On the way to the museum I found an Archives (did not stop for a visit though).
Our feet were definitely tired at this point and we headed back to the hotel by a different route and found more interesting sites to see in Stockholm. Resting now so that tomorrow we can see some more.
