Getting there - Getting to Vasamuseet is amazingly easy. By public transport, I took the T-bana from Mariatorget to T-Centralen and changed to the #47 bus. I combined this trip with a visit to Junibacken and a Royal Canal Tour, so we were able to get a lot of sightseeing accomplished.

Tickets - Admission to Vasamuseet normally costs 80SEK per adult, with children admitted free of charge. I presented my Stockholm Card and was once again good to go.

The Ship - The ship itself is massive. Although you can’t actually board the ship, you have excellent vantage points from all sides. The sculptural carvings on the ship are not to be missed and really convey how important it was to kings in those days to build an impressive and awesome navy. Also of note were the huge number of gun ports on this ship (two decks worth).

The Vasa Film - This short 25-minute film covered the ship-building efforts, as well as the inquisition into why the Vasa sank. Overall, the film leaves you with the impression that the sinking was caused by two main factors: not enough ballast and too top-heavy as a result of the double gun decks. You get the sense that in a rush to war, costly mistakes were both made and overlooked.

Dining - There is a nice café on-site which served wonderful köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) with boiled potatoes and lingonberry sauce. Both my son and I enjoyed this meal immensely.

Gift Shop - Also not to be missed is the gift shop. I bought a shot glass and for my son, I bought a story about the Vasa Piglet, as well as a little stuffed Vasa Piglet. All in all, it was a nice and well-rounded selection of merchandise.

Overall - A perfect introduction to some of the more historical aspects of Stockholm, wrapped in a kid-friendly context.

Official Vasamuseet website

The pictures don't do justice to the experience of seeing the Vasa. It is huge. The first sight of this this large warship in the darkened light of the museum will never be forgotten.

We came with Collette tours. They allowed 1.5 hours at the museum. That is actually not enough time. I would suggest at least three hours, maybe even more.

First, there is an excellent film lasting 30 minutes that details the history and recovery of the Vasa.

Second, there's touring the ship itself. There are several floors of viewing platforms to see the ship at close range from several angles. Viewing the Vasa is helped by guided tours. The tour guide provided by Collette just repeated the information already given in the film. Since our time was at a premium, we joined the museum's guided tour instead. It was much better and highlighted the details of the ship.

Third are the exhibits associated with the Vasa located in spaces on the exhibit floors. This museum really gives a perspective on life in Stockholm and on a ship like the Vasa. Each exhibit is worth viewing time. Descriptions are provided in English.

Fourth, there's quite a good museum store. Leave time for that. One and half hours was just not enough time here.

The story of the Vasa is well enough known. She was built to be the jewel in the crown of the Swedish fleet, only to sink on her maiden voyage in 1628. She was salvaged in 1961 and has been transformed to the point where all the bottom of the ship and most of the upper part are fully restored.

There are various ancillary displays, including the work of salvaging the boat, which give a good idea of the life of a mariner of the time. However, it is the ship itself which steals the show. The carving is meticulously done and quite stunning.

There is a film every hour, a shop and a restaurant.

That should have been the end of the story, buried within the silt of the bay holding the silent tomb.

Anders Franzen found reference to the ship and spent 3 years searching for her remains. People thought he was nuts, but when the ship was found intact in the cold worm-free waters of the north in the year 1956, an impressive plan to raise her began. Swedish Navy divers flushed 6 tunnels under the ship and strung steel cables underneath to try and raise her in one piece. It was a slow process, but she broke the waterline in 1961.

How did this happen? Sigismund was a Polish king who had rights to the Swedish throne...along with his cousin Gustarvus Vasa. It helped that Sigismund was in Poland and Vasa was sitting on the throne....occupancy amounts to something! The rivalry escalated to war. Gustarvus wanted a mighty ship with a double canon decks( never done before) with 48 gunposts to shiver the timbers of any approaching warships. The king hired the sculpture marten Redtmer who painted the sculptures in gold gilt, indigo, Spanish green ad red lead for an impressive bravado. The main ship required 500 live oak trees to be felled in winter when the timber would be stronger. At full staff the ship was meant to hold 150 seamen and 300 soldiers of war in stiffling....filthy....smelly....dangerous....confinement. The museum has displays to give you a smidgen of an idea of what it would have been like to live below deck. Movies show what the era was like, and everyday artifacts show how the common man lived with items like wooden backgammon games. One display addresses the 25 skeletons that were found...including 2 women in their twenties.

There is a very nice cafeteria here to grab lunch. They serve hot and cold items along with gourmet sweets. A hefty sandwich will cost about $7us. There is a garden here in summer that highlights heritage plants of the late 1600's. This is one of the most unique and interesting museums of the world !