Shipwrecks and Vikings
My trip to Copenhagen and Stockholm - Day Five
By day five of the trip, the late nights and long walks were catching up with me. It was my final full day in the city, so I took my time in the morning, lying in until 10:00.
The original plan was to do the Vasa museum, then look around the old town. I thought about seeing if I could squeeze in the Viking museum, the Abba museum, another boat trip and a hop on, hop off bus too, but as I was already running late, I decided to just play things by ear.
I had planned to use public transport, but with time being the biggest enemy, I decided to get a taxi instead. The taxi driver was really nice, we had a good chat about AI and the financial markets. I have to say, the people I’ve come across on my trip have been really friendly.
The vasa museum is a 17th century Swedish war ship, that sunk on its maiden voyage in Copenhagen harbour, due to the fact that nobody wanted to tell the King of Sweden at the time that they made a mistake with the design. Basically, the boat was very tall but quite narrow and didn’t have enough ballasts to stabilise the weight. A slight breeze struck the ship, and it keeled, taking in water through the gun turrets and sank. 300 years later, it was rediscovered in tact at the bottom of the harbour and was carefully re-floated.
Had the boat been built properly, it wouldn’t have survived. It is in fact unique in that regard. The boat was preserved so well because the Baltic sea is brackish, i.e. more freshwater than saltwater, and the sludge from sewage dumped into the harbour acted as a preservative.
When it was raised in the 1960s, it had to be kept wet for years and preserved with the same chemical compound four in liquid.
It was an unbelievable site, just the sheer scale and attention to detail with the hand carvings all over the ship. You could imagine what a spectacle it would have been at the time for any enemy vessels, had it actually been structurally viable.
There were some preserved bones from the sailors that drowned in the disaster. At least 30 people drowned.
The museum itself has viewing platforms all around the ship at different levels so you can see it. The preservation work is ongoing but they don’t know how long it can be kept intact, with the result of body heat from visitors and oxygen reacting with the chemicals in the wood. The iron bolts have had to be replaced twice due to the rust process. It’s a reminder that everything we build may feel very permanent but in reality, it’s only a matter of time before nature reclaims it. I’m fascinated by the thoughts of what technologies ancient civilisations may have had that we don’t know about because we only know about the things that have some how been preserved and survived.
There was also an exhibition about James Cameron’s under sea explorations, sparked by his curiosity into the Titanic.
After Vasa, I headed for the Viking Museum. The Viking museum was not so big, it had a few helpers in traditional dress telling you about what life would have been like, the money, the jewellery, the games they played etc. There was a lot of effort to try to separate the reality from the mythology surrounding the Vikings. I got to try on a nice heavy Viking helmet. At the end of the museum, there was a “ride” that took you through the story of a particular Viking family. It was a bit like a ghost train but not scary, more interesting.
By the time I had finished with the Viking museum, I was hungry. I wanted to find somewhere to eat, but by that time it looked like my plan to squeeze in another boat trip was already too late. I settled on an ice cream then I was going to fit in the ABBA museum but my body had a bit of a reaction to the ice cream. It’s not that there was anything wrong with it, it’s just my body does occasionally react strongly to certain foods post surgery and sometimes a food that is absolutely fine one day, can be rejected the next.
Given I was feeling a bit queasy, and given the fact that I was going to have to drive back from Stockholm to Copenhagen, some 425 miles in the early hours of the morning, I decided that instead of trying to fit more in, I’d get a taxi back, have a rest then start preparing for the trip back. I needed fuel and I needed supplies, and I needed to repack.
I did manage to pick up a few more magnets for my collection on my fridge before I went. Magnets are great because they’re small, their cheap and they’re collectable. Exactly what I needed when I’m flying hand luggage only.
That afternoon, I had a little nap and recovered from the ice cream, then I tried to find a supermarket for cheap supplies. When I’m on a long drive, I need cold coffee or sugar free red bull to keep the concentration levels up. The fuel stations are very expensive.
Google maps found a Lidl but when I got there I realised it was a city centre one with no parking so it was completely useless. I eventually found a big, out of town one. I love driving and driving in foreign countries doesn’t bother me, but I must admit, driving through city centres is not enjoyable. Suddenly you find yourself stuck in a bus lane with no way out or the sat nav says left but the map shows right and you’ve got a split second to decide. When all the signs are in a language you don’t understand, at times you’re just guessing and hoping for the best.
Anyway, I survived and made it back to the hotel, ready to rest for a few hours before the long drive back.