Family Fun in Europe, Part 13: Stockholm

This is my thirteenth post about our family's 2024 trip to Europe. I recommend reading the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth posts before this one.

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Stockholm, Sweden

On Saturday, July 27 we were excited to start our second tour of Stockholm. Like I said in the previous post, we had an outstanding guide. We had a city tour and then visited two of Stockholm's many excellent museums.  

Guess which museum we visited first.  

This is what the entrance looks like. Does that give you a clue? 

If you guessed the Viking Museum, you're right!

 
 

The Viking Museum is an interactive look at the history and mythology of the Swedish people during the Viking Age. 

  

There are Viking artifacts behind glass, with touchable versions accessible to guests. 

The whole place was very interesting. 

  

The Vikings did not have horns on their helmets. The only place you'll see a horned hat in the Viking Museum is in the display of Viking-inspired toys. Horns were used as drinking vessels - why would anyone stick empty cups on each side of a helmet that they're wearing into battle?

  

I have been to hundreds of museums across the US and dozens in other countries. The Viking Museum has something I've never seen in another museum - a dark ride! The ride, called Ragnfrid's Saga, lasts 11 minutes. You ride in cars similar to the Haunted Mansion's Doom Buggies.  

Like the Haunted Mansion, the cars move slowly and smoothly. This isn't a thrill ride, despite the sometimes-thrilling scenes you pass. 

You can ride it as many times as you want. It's included with admission. I definitely recommend a visit to Stockholm's Viking Museum. 

Stockholm has a bunch of interesting museums. We walked by, but didn't enter, the Museum of Swedish Drinking Culture. A short distance the other direction is the ABBA Museum. I will be visiting both if/when we return to Stockholm. The museum we actually visited was the Vasa Museum. 

This 7-story museum tells the story of the Vasa. What is the Vasa, you ask? This.

The story of the Vasa is unfortunate. This mighty ship, the most powerful warship in the Baltic, was to be the pride of Sweden. Instead, it sunk on its maiden voyage, having not even left the Stockholm harbor yet. There was a large audience watching the sailaway, which took the lives of 30 people who were trapped inside. 

The museum goes into great detail about the faulty design, but the gist is that the Vasa was top-heavy. Not only that, but the captain kept the gun ports open during sailaway. If they'd been closed, water wouldn't have poured in and sunk it immediately. Instead, they might have been able to make some quick changes to improve the seaworthiness of the Vasa. Or, at the very least, prevent the loss of life. 

Here's a cutaway of the Vasa. 

The Vasa cost 5% of Sweden's GNP to build. All gone, in just a few minutes. 

I definitely recommend a visit to the Vasa Museum. And don't miss the gift shop. Everything there, appropriately, has a nautical theme. Even the candy. 

Licorice fudge? 

We spent a bit of time on the grounds around the Vasa. 

  

This was... disturbing. 

We got back on the bus to do a bit more sightseeing before returning to our ship. There are so many neat things to see in Stockholm!

A white S instead of a red light? Interesting. Turns out that signal is for transit, not regular traffic. 

Back at our home away from home, the Sky Princess. 

For the next few hours, we sat on our balcony watching as our captain navigated amongst Sweden's many islands. 

Not all of them, of course. Sweden has over 260,000 islands. We saw a couple dozen from our side of the ship. 

It was a nice way to spend time. 

Until it started raining. 

Fortunately, the rain didn't last long and we were back out enjoying the views in no time. 

We had one more stop to make in Sweden, but it would come later in the cruise. Next, we'd be visiting a post-Soviet state. I'll tell you all about that on Monday.