Day 2: Stockholm's Old City and the Vasa
Old Town
After breakfast with Lori and Abby, we met the group for a walking tour. Our guide for the morning was Hakan. His wife and daughter are Rick Steves guides, and he lives in Old Town. He was a very colorful character and a joy to listen to. He talked about Sweden being the most “woke” country. It’s also the most secular country in the world as fewer and fewer people are attending church. In 2000, the government changed the law making everyone Lutherans at birth. The country is a firm believer in climate change and the need to protect the climate. In fact, Hakan feels climate change is the only real threat to the Swedish people right now. The country is also very progressive and tends to set world trends. Right now, there is growing trend of “flight shaming” which shames people for flying because of the carbon footprint. During our walk, we saw a 1,000 year old runestone in the corner of a building. They date back to the Viking age. A lot of homes have them integrated into their structure. However, many are covered up with plaster. They were basically reused for building because they were valuable raw materials. Asa called it early recycling. As Hakan took us through Old Town, he described the section of town that was once such a run down slum that people called for it to be torn down. However, public protests also called for its protection and preservation. Slowly, people began to renovate the area, and now it’s the most expensive place to live in Stockholm. Hakan even took us to his own Old Town apartment. |
Vasa
We took a ferry to the island with the amusement park and many attractions. We used our 24 hour travel card to get there. Asa took us into the Vasa Museum and gave us an overview of the building, sinking, and recovery of this massive ship. Built by Gustavus Adolphus, it was to be the worlds greatest war ship, yet it sank on it’s maiden voyage. Apparently, it was a bit too narrow, the ballast was made up of round balls that all rolled to one side, the guns weren’t securely fastened, and the gun holes were too close to the water line. It was rediscovered in the 1950’s and raised. It is almost totally intact with original pieces. It was really cool and impressive to see. Fun fact: We have a Gustavus Adolphus college back home in Minnesota. That added an extra layer of interest for us. |