Free time in Scandinavia - THREAD 2 OF 2 - COMPLETE! About This Page:

[CRCrazy]

Cheryl - this report is classic Chez - you are such a natural trip writer!!

I love the photographs as well - your words compliment the pictures perfectly. I love touring the world through your eyes! Thanks for posting all your travels to share with us, rather than just the Disney ones!

[2princessmom]

Thanks for showing me beautiful Stockholm. I am sorry about the bad news but your resolve about living life to the fullest was the best way to handle it!

I just love the pictures and can't wait for more!

[chezp]

Thursday 7 July – part five: a sight to take your breath away

The ferry docked right in front of the museum, so we barely had to walk a couple of hundred yards and we were in there and what an impressive sight greeted us.

The Vasa capsized on its maiden voyage in calm weather in Stockholm harbour in 1628 and was re-discovered in 1956. It was then salvaged and a 17 year conservation programme was undertaken before the museum opened to the public in 1990.

The second you walk in there, you just get the most sight in front of you. This thing is pretty much intact and yet it’s nearly 400 years old. Until you see it for yourself, you can’t believe how well preserved the thing is. We have similar boats of a similar age at home, but nothing in such a good condition. Unfortunately, I don’t think my photos really do it justice:







The accompanying museum is fascinating and really covers everything that you can think you from life on board to what the skeletons they found may have looked like, using the latest technology to work that out. The whole process is fascinating and we spent a lot longer here than I thought we would. If you do ever make it to Stockholm, this museum is not to be missed.



Models showing how the Vasa would’ve looked

The diving suits they had to use to go down and survey the wreck


Mark having fun with the “sailors” in the life on board exhibit, which included life-size wooden replicas

The colours that would’ve originally been on the ship

When we eventually got out there, we got ourselves a bit lost. Let’s just say that the signs to find the other museums weren’t very good. We headed first for the Nordic museum:



and then realised that there was no way through that way, so we had to backtrack to the waterfront and make our way from there.

We quickly picked up the signs and headed for Aquaria, an aquarium as the name suggests:


We went in there at around 4.35 and it was due to close at 5.00. I joked that you can get round a lot of aquariums in about 15 minutes, as that’s often been our experience with them in the past and this time was no different! There was a nice rainforest area, which we had to get through as quickly as possible, because it was just way too hot for us:



The other section – yes that’s right, there really were only two sections to this! - contained sharks and various fish:









And then we were outside again. Grand total of time in there? All of 10 minutes! Thank goodness that was free with our Stockholm card, otherwise I wouldn’t have been happy!

Next: how just one sign can make you happy!

[lauren-roxy]

Beautiful photos Cheryl!! That is quite an impressive ship! I really like the photos of Mark with the sailors!! Can't wait to read more!!

[Colexis Mom]

What great pictures Cheryl More please

[GoofyMom]

That photo of Mark tickling that statue is priceless!

[DopeyGirl]

Looks like Mark had a great time with his wooden Swedish friends!!!

[chezp]

Thursday 7 July – part six: how just one sign can make you happy!

Our next destination was Skansen and, as we walked there, we passed an old tram depot:



Trams still run in this part of Stockholm, all lovingly restored by enthusiasts… and don’t they look great too?

Anyway, Skansen. It took us a while to find it and it was quite a walk, but I knew that it would be worth it, as this is another of Stockholm’s main draws. The entrance may not look much:





but as you can see from this model, it’s a huge place and I think you probably do need to have more time to go round it to get the best out of it than we did, although we were still able to cover the major attractions and all the sites I wanted to see.

This sign made Mark’s day:



By now, we were feeling pretty weary and I knew that the park wasn’t exactly small (think Epcot to get an idea of the size! ) and there was a hill just to get into the park that didn’t go down well with either of us, but particularly Mark.

Let me explain a bit more about Skansen. It was the world’s first open air museum, opened in 1891, and it’s now home to more than 150 homes and farm buildings from all over Sweden. It’s a bit like the one we visited in Oslo two days earlier, but there are lot of differences. This is a far bigger site and this one also has animals, which turned out to be the highlight of our visit, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The escalator brought us out in the town quarter, which replicates a medium size 19th century town:







And we had fun here as well:



We then headed for Sagaliden and the Yellow House:




This area offered us some wonderful views back towards Gamla Stan:




and the nearby theme park. I don’t know if I quite caught it right, but hopefully you can get the idea, this is their version of Tower of Terror – it goes up to the top and then it drops very quickly!



Next: meeting the native Scandinavian wildlife!

[lauren-roxy]

That museum looks so cool Cheryl!! Very neat photos!! Can't wait for more!!

[DawnDenise]

Wow...You can tell I had been away for awhile. I had about 5 updates I hadn't read. More wonderful pictures Cheryl!! More please!

[DopeyGirl]

Very neat museum!!! Those pics of you and Mark "playing" in the gardens were too funny!!!

[BritDisFan]

Just catching up Cheryl, the museum looks like a lot of fun .

Looking forward to reading more.

Karen

[katspjs]

Great photos!

[GoofyMom]

Skansen looks like a place I could pick around in for hours and hours! Love the pictures of you and Mark "working"!

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update