Ahoy, Matey!

This weekend we had the opportunity to visit the renowned tourist attraction, the Vasa Museum, and at the same time, develop our friendship with our new acquaintances, Patrik and Maria. We met Patrik and Maria at the July 4^th picnic sponsored by the American Club of Sweden (ACS). The ACS had extended their invitation to other area clubs including the English Speaking Community Club (ESCC), of which Patrik and Maria are members.  Patrik is a born and bred Swede.  Maria is an 18 year Brazilian transplant. We had a marvelous time with them exploring both Swedish history and getting a better on-the-ground sense of what it is like to be Swedish.

But first ... "the renowned tourist attraction." The museum houses the nearly perfectly restored royal Swedish warship called the Vasa. The Vasa’s fame was sealed on its maiden voyage on 10 August 1628 when, after about one nautical mile of sailing, it sank. Yes, a tragedy of Titanic portions, but a tragedy that now provides a unique opportunity today to see this huge war ship very much the way it appeared to the craftsmen who hewed her planks more than three centuries ago.

After the sinking, inquiries were conducted that concluded that the Vasa was top heavy, lacked sufficient ballast and that sailing with the lower row of gun port doors open was not terribly clever. Small design changes to the Vasa’s sister ship, the Äpplet, allowed her to continue in service from 1629-1659. The Vasa, however, remained at the bottom of Stockholm harbor for 333 years.

A combination of factors from the salinity of the brackish Baltic Sea waters suppressing the population of the shipworm, Teredo Navalis, to the absence of strong currents, stable water temperatures and the unintended consequence of raw sewage released into Stockholm Harbor preserved Vasa’s wooden structure. (Note: Today, the harbor waters are clean, providing recreational opportunities for fishing, boating and swimming.)

The Vasa was raised from the harbor in 1961. Years of painstaking preservation followed.  Today, King Gustavus Adolphus, who ordered the Vasa to be built to bolster his hold on the Baltic Sea, and her Dutch ship builder, Henrik Hybertsson, would clearly recognize her.  Missing, however, are the bright colors of her beautifully carved artwork and trim.  Aging on a seafloor and a zillion gallons of polyethylene glycol preservative do take their toll.  Computer animation at the museum, however, filled the void to provide a sense of how magnificently painted this lady was when she went to the bottom, sails and flags still a-flying.

Following our museum wandering, guided English language tour and a viewing of a short film on the history, raising and preservation of the Vasa, we had a leisurely lunch with Patrik and Maria on the open air museum porch.  Once the meal was completed and some time had passed, we engaged in a Swedish custom called fica. We drove to a small café abutting the square that houses the Nobel Museum and enjoyed coffee and cakes, a typical Swedish afternoon activity.

Here our conservation with Maria and Patrik revealed the deep satisfaction and love we have read that Swedes have for their social compact. “Yes, we pay high taxes, but we have access to healthcare that otherwise would condemn us to lives of fret and reduced health.”  “It is a just society; a society built for people…ordinary people...” Our American inner voice of individualism is tempered here by a quieter voice of communal connectedness. We all rise and fall on the tide…so to speak. No judgment reached, no judgment sought.  We are different in all our glories and imperfections.