Day 17

I went to see the Vasa ship this morning. It was a Swedish battle ship from the 1600s that they were going to use to fight Poland. It sailed for about 1,500 Km before sinking. It was a windy day and it was believed that the cannons weren't tied down well enough, so when the wind blew the ship sideways, the cannons all shifted to that side of the boat and allowed water in the cannon holes. The ship sat on the bottom of the harbor for 333 years. Luckily the mix of fresh water from inland and salty water from the Sea wasn't salty enough for the wood eating worms to flourish, so the ship remained fairly well preserved. In 1961 it was found and efforts began to bring the ship up from the sea floor. The museum shows how they were able to raise the ship and preserve it's pieces. About 30 people died when the ship sank and about half of their skeletons were found in the restoration. I won't bore you with more detail, but it was a really interesting museum.

Then I went on a jeans hunt... But first I found a pair of shoes. =) Knowing I have some luggage limitations, I stopped myself from buying anything else that wasn't a pair of jeans. In the store a guy came up and asked what size I needed. I told him 36" length. He then looked at the top of my head and said, "Oh no no. 32 will do." Hmmmm okay. Maybe they measure differently here or maybe he doesn't realize my torso is about 5" long and the rest is leg. So I tried on the pair he gave me and it almost covered my ankle. I ended up buying the 36" pair. They're an Italian designer, but cheaper than my latest Italian pair that I had to order online (I think this is the first thing I bought here that I thought was a good deal).

After shopping, I headed a few subway stops away for some Hardrock Cafe nachos. My intent was to get the fajitas because I LOVE them there, but I decided lunch wasn't worth $30. No wonder Europeans are skinnier than we are, I'd go broke trying to eat as much as I do at home. In Des Moines, I live to eat... for the past 2 weeks I eat to live.

The Absolut Icebar is tonight and I can't wait, only because it means that we're closer to leaving. Stockholm is great, but 10 days is way to much. You can see everything in 2-3 days.

Can't wait to get home to softball, food, my bed and air conditioning. Looking forward to seeing you all!!