Old ships at the free museum

The most famous ship in Stockholm is the Gustav Vasa which has got its own big museum where it is protected from the elements so it should survive for generations. But right outside the museum down at the water is a small collection of old ships. Hence if you haven’t got enough of ships after visiting Gustav Vasa you might just head outside and go and see more ships.

A great advantage of this outdoor museum is it is free – you can just wonder around the old ships. You can go inside three different ships and see what they look like inside. The first ship we go inside is an old light house ship. I have seen these ships often in Copenhagen harbor where a couple of old ships has been converted into house boats – but this is the first time I am onboard such a ship. I guess this boat is more traditional than the ones converted into house boats since this one still got a lot of cabins where the crew used to live when the ship helped the boats navigate safely pass different obstacles.

The other boat is a big old ice breaker which was one of the first build like a modern icebreaker almost a hundred years ago. The basic design of this boat is basically the same as more recent icebreakers the modern ones are just bigger and more powerful. The ship is pretty interesting with a big kitchen and a big hall where the officers could have their dinner. The officer’s mess is surprisingly big – the reason is it doubles as a place used for meetings and small cruises during the summer time when the boat isn’t used to break ice.

The last boat in the museum is a small mine sweeper. This boat is pretty tiny compared to the others and I find it a bit difficult to get around the boat because the passages are pretty narrow. I feel this boat is built for small people and not fully grown men. I do manage to get down under deck from the cabin to have a quick look around and the boat is certain a place where you need to be able to live closely together with the other members of the crew.