Wakey Wakey! Vasa - Viking

Day 10 (19 September 2006). Sun - beaming, birds - chirping, Stockholm - glowing, Lily - smiling ...

Why? Backgrounder.... we left early morning since Elaine & Boon Han are going to their Sunday church service thus the night before they've suggested places that I can go on my own. Oh boy! They were superbly worried the night before on whether I can handle Stockholm alone for the day. Boon Han kept briefing me on how to take the train, very much concerned that I might confuse and gotten myself lost in the city - sweet of him huh! (You one lucky girl Elaine!). To dismiss their “highly concern brain” on my “capability” (with a tiny sense of perasan here of course), I open up Paris Metro map (which I still have it with me then - phew!) and put next to Stockholm Tunnelbana map. After looking at "it", they basically .... Err .... calmed-down, but not without "hai yaaa" & plenty "giggling" sound effect. Hahhahaha... I guess they slept peacefully after that. Hahhahaaa.....Back to WHY do I sounded so happy? Simple. The Stockholm morning mood pic tells no lie....

... BACK TO REALITY! But, don't you just fall in love with Stockholm?

I've chosen 2 tourist sites to visit; the first is a MUST for it happens to be my favourite - SHIP!!!! Not just any ship, an original-one-piece-still-standing-strong VIKING SHIP! Unfortunately it doesn't sail lar... tak apa, janji dapat pegi tengok - LIVE!

Seriously, I think as a kid I read way too much Asterix (And Tin Tin of course), hence once I know am going to Sweden = E.X.I.T.E.D. It's Viking-away for me man!

What makes it so special?

From Wikipedia : Vasa was a Swedish warship that was built from 1626 to 1628. The ship foundered and sank after sailing less than a nautical mile (ca 2 km) into her maiden voyage on 10 August 1628. She was located again in the late 1950s, in a busy shipping lane just outside the Stockholm harbor. She was salvaged with a largely intact hull on 24 April 1961. She was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet ("The Wasa Shipyard") until 1987, and was then moved to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm.

Vasa was built top-heavy and had insufficient ballast. Despite an obvious lack of stability in port, she was allowed to set sail and foundered a few minutes later when she first encountered a wind stronger than a breeze. Vasa sank in full view of a crowd of hundreds, if not thousands, of mostly ordinary Stockholmers who had come to see the great ship set sail.

Kinda funny right, sunk on its maiden voyage barely 2km from harbour. I thought that was classic (joke), I spent hours and hours here as they also show how - during that time - with minimal sophisticated technology help - they are able to locate/lift/bring the ship to surface.

Once completed, I took a tram to meet up with Elaine for lunch and a visit to the Old Town centre. I thought Stockholm is so cool since almost everywhere can be done on foot which is much to my luck (or maybe only these places are of a walking distance, I might be a sucker here. Hehheee…).

We walked by the river near Stockholm National Museum. By the way, did you notice that most of the buildings in Stockholm are bit more squarish then those in Paris, Barcelona, Rome? Do you think it is because of the location & weather impacted their design & character? Hemm… interesting right.

We took a walk near the Royal Palace, and I as usual would ask the silliest question; whether the royal families take a walk here and whether I stand a chance to “bump” into them? NO! Of course not lar…. But one thing for sure, they are much loved by their fellow country man. Who wouldn’t!!!

It was getting dark and we decided to head home, Elaine was such a good sport for taking me around despite her bad morning sickness. I feel so bad, I can only offer what I do best - being the live wire. To a point she laugh and laugh and laugh so hard that got me worried whether she gonna deliver right there and then (Definitely not in 1st trimester lar… But mana lar tahu kan…! Risau gak).

So love my host! Bestest couple!



PS : Elaine, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Muaks!!

Credit Hyperlinks : Wikipedia, Vasa Museet