There are shoes and boots in great condition,and awls and pegs that were used for attaching and mending soles. There are ordinary soldiers'wooden bowls and spoons,and officers'metal bowls,glassware and ceramics. There are rifles and fishing sinkers and sliding-lid boxes,two bronze cannons,a barrel full of butter and a backgammon set.Below the prow of the ship,you can look down into workshops where conservationists are still working on artefacts and skeletons."The research and knowledge continues,as we are always finding out new things with new technologies,"says
Martina proudly."There's no end to it,it's fantastic. It's important we keep on learning."
Upper deck (towards the stern) of the Vasa.
The museum is brilliantly presented. It has to be,given that it really has only a single exhibit,even if it is an entire ship. Vasa sits in humidity-controlled,dramatic gloom,like a ghost ship fromPirates of the Caribbean. Because you can't walk through the fragile ship itself – and it is so intact you can't see inside either – parts have been recreated in separate areas of the museum,including the captain's cabin and the upper gun deck. A cross-section of the ship provides a useful snapshot of its interior layout. There's also an interesting exhibit on how the ship was raised in a considerable feat of engineering and archaeology.
You enter the museum at roughly the ship's waterline,but one of the best places from which to admire the whole magnificent thing is from the seventh floor,right at the back of the building,where there are hardly any visitors and you can see over the entire vessel. The carvings at the rear of the ship are remarkably ornate,depicting sea creatures,mythological Greeks,angels,and Roman and Swedish kings. They would have been brightly painted,as a model garish in reds and greens shows.
Several other floors,however,bring you up close to different parts of Vasa,so you can admire it from almost every angle,get an up-close look at gunports and carvings,and might even see museum staff working on preservation. Currently the ship,which is sinking under its own weight,is having its 1960s iron bolts replaced with stainless-steel alternatives.
The Vasa seen from the upper floors.
"We're always the pioneers,since there's no other ship like this in the world,"says Martina."Whenever any problem shows up,we just have to work it out."
And,to its credit,one of the things the museum works out is whether they can identify the people on board who lost their lives. That's likely an impossible task,but DNA analysis can now show where they came from,and whether they're related. Ivar,it seems,had a brother the museum has called Martin,who perished as well. As did Filip,an oarsman in the steering cabin. He was maybe only 30,163 centimetres tall,skinny and probably a vegetarian. He could have scrambled up a short ladder onto the open deck. Maybe he stayed to try and steer the ship ashore. You have to wonder here,in this museum full of wonders.
FIVE MORE STOCKHOLM MUSEUMS
Young visitors at a map of the Baltic at the Vasa Museum.
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM
If you're interested in more maritime history,this free museum near the Vasa takes a look at Swedish naval and merchant shipping from the 17th century onwards. There are entrancing model ships and parts of a salvaged World War II submarine. Seemaritima.se
SWEDISH HISTORY MUSEUM
Exhibits here put the city into its historical context from the Stone Age to current times. It has especially good galleries devoted to prehistoric gold objects and jewellery,and one of the world's most extensive Viking-related collections. Seehistoriska.se
ABBA:THE MUSEUM
Take a break from high culture (and say thank you for the music),at this unabashedly kitschy,nostalgic museum devoted to Sweden's greatest export. Sing along with ABBA holograms,boogie on a dance floor and inspect outrageous costumes and memorabilia. Seeabbathemuseum.com
SKANSEN
Care for fresh air? You could dawdle around this open-air museum for the better part of a day,especially with kids in tow. It brings together 150 relocated historic buildings,including farmhouses,churches and manors,brought to life by costumed and crafts-making staff. Seeskansen.se
NOBEL MUSEUM
Find out more about Swedish industrialist and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel and his prestigious prizes at this museum. There's an interesting examination of what produces creative minds,and a focus on some of the most significant prize-winners. Seenobelcenter.se
TRIP NOTES
MORE
traveller.com.au/swedenvisitstockholm.com
FLY
Emirates flies from Sydney and Melbourne to Dubai (14.5hr) with onward connections to Stockholm (6.5 hr). Phone 1300 303 777,seeemirates.com/au
TOUR
Entry to the Vasa Museum is SEK130 ($20),free for under-18s. Guided tours,which run regularly,are included. Seevasamuseet.se
STAY
Centrally located Clarion Hotel Sign provides design-conscious digs with friendly staff,a buzzing atmosphere and great buffet breakfast. Seenordicchoicehotels.se
Brian Johnston travelled courtesy Celebrity Cruises and Visit Stockholm.