I slept in for a while because the archipelago wore me out. I had arranged to meet up with some people to go to the Vasa Museum in the afternoon. Luckily they also slept later than expected. After a quick lunch/breakfast at the hostel, we (Cassie, Megan and I) made our way down to the museum where we met up with Bernie to explore the museum. Thanks to my student ID, paying in cash and the very small amount of Swedish I have picked up, I was able to ask for and receive the student rate for the museum (about $5 off!). The Vasa museum is all focused around a large boat (the Vasa) that sank in Stockholm long ago. The cold water with low salt content preserved the ship remarkable well and it was recovered. The ship is on display in the middle of the museum. Most of the exhibitions are about maritime life in Sweden during the time period of the ship. A free audio guide was included with entrance to the museum by using a smart phone to stream the different sections. I’m glad I went to see the Vasa.
After the museum we stopped for some coffee by the harbor. A very fancy looking coffee shop had decent prices (great prices for Sweden). I bought an espresso for US$2.50 and it came with a chocolate. Some of the girls wanted to go shopping in the area. Instead I headed back towards the hostel to make it in time for the sauna hours. The hostel has a sauna that is free to use for 2 hours each day. Otherwise it is 50 SEK (~$7.50) to use at other times of the day. It was nice and I talked with a few people in there. Then it was time for a late dinner at the hostel followed with some chatting and drinks. I turned in a little after midnight.
