A Visit from Family: The Vasa Museum

Our first full day in Stockholm, we decided to explore the museums close to our hotel. We started with the must-see Vasa Museum, home to a 17th-century warship that sunk on it's maiden voyage.

I had visited this museum four years ago on my first visit to Sweden, but K and AJ were only 2 years and 7 months. They didn't remember much, and I didn't get to all the exhibits. I also learned how to take better pictures with the limited lighting this time around.

The Vasa Ship

 

Replicas of some of the carved figures and how they were painted



K and I in the replica of the diving hood they used when salvaging the cannons.



K and a wooden lady looking up at another wooden woman in the window



Ellie and K by a map of Scandinavia at the time of the Vasa



Timo and the boys looking at a model of the Vasa before it capsized



H on a cannon



AJ behind the cannon.



Timo and H with the Vasa in the background



Replica of the cannon holders




One of the original cannon holders



AJ in the replica of the ships' crow's nest. The kids had a lot of fun on this.



A view of the Vasa from the top



The front of the ship



AJ in the room that replicated a cannon deck.

 The kids enjoyed the museum for the most part. The very bottom floor holds the skeletons of some of the people who died when the ship sunk. Based on scientific evaluation, where the bones were located on the ship, and the posessions they had on them when they were found, they have created stories of who these people probably were. AJ was really interested in this part of the exhibit, and we went from the bones of each person (they named them) to the story on the wall close by to read about that person. Since this was one of the last parts of the museum we visited (and a part I had not seen before), I was relieved that he was so interested.

After browsing through everything, we headed to the gift shop, where I bought the kids the promised T-shirts that K had asked for. AJ and H got matching blue shirts, and K chose a pink one. We then headed outside for a picnic lunch before walking to the next museum.