 |
Vasa Museum (Stockholm, Sweden)
by loulou22
Vasa Museum, Stockholm, Sweden
Back in February 2012 I was lucky enough to take a weekend break in Stockholm. During this weekend we managed to fit in so many things that I came home feeling like I needed another break! One of the things we did was visit the Vasa Museum, we had not heard of this museum until we arrived in Stockholm ... and one of the other guests in our hostel was telling us about it. Having always had a 'thing' for ships I insisted that we 'needed' to go to this museum.
A Little Bit of History
The history behind the Vasa is very in-depth and I found it to be very interesting, I will give you a brief overview, but I wont go into much detail as most of this history you will learn at the museum.
Built in 1628 by King Gustav II, the Vasa was designed to be the biggest and most threatening ship of its time. At the time there was great conflict between Sweden and Poland and the King had designed the ship in order to defeat Poland. Had the ship been properly and evenly loaded and had more stabilisation there is a possibility this theory could have been validated, however, it was not to be and on its maiden voyage the Vasa ship keeled over and sank to the bottom of the sea off the coast of Stockholm where it remained for over 300 years until it was finally discovered and a salvage mission began in 1956. After a long lift to the surface, carried out in 18 stages the Vasa finally returned to the surface in 1961 and the beginnings of the Vasa Museum were formed.
The Vasa Ship Museum
The Vasa museum from the outside doesn't look very big, however, looks are definitely deceiving as once you enter the museum it is huge! The museum is built around the reconstructed Vasa ship and is set over 6 levels.
The main feature, of course, is the Vasa ship itself. You cannot go onto the ship as obviously scores of tourists would undo all of the hard work that has gone into preserving it, but you can get very close to it and see most of it in great detail. The ship is massive and still very much in its original magnificent form, even after over 300 years at the bottom of the ocean! When we first entered the museum I simply stood still staring up at the Vasa with only one word leaving my mouth... "WOW!" I don't think I can think of a word to describe what I was seeing other than amazing!
Looking at the ship itself it is clear to see that the larger part of the ships frame work has remained in tact and still holds its original beauty and exceptional detail. As you move closer to the ship and around it you will see just how well it has been preserved and not only this, but also how fantastic the reconstruction work has been carried out since it resurfaced. The areas which have been reconstructed do stand out as the wood is quite obviously newer and also a slightly different shade of brown, but this takes nothing away from the original beauty which still shines through.
As you work your way around the museum you will follow the history of the Vasa all the way from why it was built and how it was built right through to the doomed maiden voyage and of course the huge salvage effort over 300 years later. The way the museum is set out is fantastic, each exhibit has been made interesting with both written information in English and Swedish as well as countless artefacts recovered from the ship wreck and even a detailed history as to how these items came to be relevant to the ship and what they would have been used for.
All of the displays are very interactive and I personally found them to be extremely interesting, some of them even made me laugh, especially with the way the villagers at the time reacted to the sinking. The part I found particularly interesting was the large area dedicated to life on board the ship and while this opened my eyes to a lot of things such as disease on board, it also gave a really interesting look into the foods, clothes, entertainment, hard work and how life on the ship would have been in general had it not sank.
Another part of the museum I really liked and I think will appeal to children, is the to scale reconstruction of what one of the decks on the ship would have looked like, as this is not part of the actual ship you can walk on this reconstruction and get a feel for how cramped conditions would have been and just how low the ceilings were, I am 5ft 1 inch and my head was touching the ceiling in some areas!
As you move to the upper levels there is a fantastic display of one of the ships original cloth sails which has been preserved somehow at the bottom of the sea, on the same level as the sail you will see a beautifully detailed carving which would have been present on the rear of the ship.
The lower levels are dedicated more to the salvage of the ship and informative displays about how they succeeded as well as set backs they incurred along the way. There is one floor near the base of the ship which is more modern looking than the rest of the museum and focuses on preservation and future hopes for the Vasa and how the work with the ship continues today as they are still discovering many more articles and facts they did not know.
Guided Tours
Guided tours are available in audio and human tour guide forms. We didn't take one of these tours though as we wanted to take our time and be sure not to miss anything. I think this was the right choice as there is so much to take in as well as read and do that you are probably better off to do it at your own pace.
Accessibility
Obviously being set over so many levels there is a lot of walking involved, so be prepared for many staircases and aching legs at the end of the day! For those visitors in wheelchairs or who can't cope with stairs there are a few lifts available to take you directly to every level and once you are on one level the floor is generally flat and everything is spread out so you can move around with great ease.
Facilities
The Vasa museum has toilet facilities which were kept spotless at the time we visited. There is also a reasonable sized seating area to rest your legs and a large area to hang your coats if you wish. The coat area is unattended though so you would be leaving them at your own risk.
Location
The Vasa Museum is located on the island of Djurgarden. We walked to the museum with the use of the free map given to us by the hostel and it took us about 45 minutes to get there from the hostel, from the city centre it is only about 25 minutes as we walked there afterwards. We found the museum with ease as it is quite distinctive with the ships mast poles sticking out of the roof of the building and it is also very well signposted.
Opening Hours & Entrance
Vasa Museum is open 7 days a week from 10am until 5pm and 8pm on a Wednesday. The entrance fee is 110 SEK (Swedish Krona) for an adult over 18 years and free for anyone under 18.
Current exchange rate as of May 2012 £1 = 10.90 SEK
Overall
Overall I highly recommend a visit to the Vasa museum if you are ever in Stockholm. We spent almost 3 hours here and in all honesty I could have spent much longer had we not planned to do other museums as well! A great museum which was worth the entrance price and 3 hours of our time!
Thanks for reading :)
Read the complete review |
 |
Schloss Belvedere (Vienna, Austria)
by helenc72
I lived in Vienna for three years (and my first flat there was about 5 minutes away from the Belvedere) so I thought I would add some Vienna reviews to Dooyoo.
Vienna has quite a large number of galleries and Belvedere is a very well known and esteemed one, but visitors who don't have much time to see the sites often opt to ... head straight for the Museumsquartier, a square containing a variety of galleries all in one place, and the famous Kunsthistorisches Museum (art history museum) which is just across the road. However, I think it's a real shame to miss out on the Belvedere and if you have the chance I would definitely recommend venturing just outside the "Ring" and going to this gem in the third district.
Belvedere is split into two parts which are Baroque palaces, upper and lower Belvedere. These were originally palaces of Prince Eugene, which is why the street running alongside is called Prinz Eugen Straße. In between the two buildings there is a large garden on a slight slope, with flowers in patterns, some sculptures and fountains and water which reflects the upper palace. There are steps for you to climb on either side. When you get to upper Belvedere you have a nice view down over the gardens which looks really lovely whether in sunshine or snow.
The lower Belvedere contains temporary exhibitions whereas the upper shows the permanent collection. You can buy separate tickets just for one part or you can buy a ticket combining both, which gives you a slight discount.
The main attraction for most visitors will be the works of Viennese Secession artists, especially Gustav Klimt who is one of Vienna's most celebrated cultural figures. You will see hints of Klimt all over the city (and you can buy plenty of Klimt related souvenirs, books, prints etc in the gift shop at Belvedere) but if you want to see his most famous piece, The Kiss, in person you need to go to the Upper Belvedere. They also have other Klimt works in the collection, such as Judith I, Water Snakes, The Bride... seeing Klimt works in person is a great experience as the colours and the gold comes across really vibrantly and you can see how intricate the works really are. Prints don't really do them justice. They also have works from the likes of Edvard Munch, Ferdinand Hodler, Max Klinger.
An artist I personally find very interesting, and whose work is very famous in Austria but doesn't seem to be so well known in the UK, is the often controversial Egon Schiele. Some of his work can also be found in the Belvedere. The first time I visited I was really interested to see sketch books of his as well as the more developed, finished pieces. I always love to see pencil and charcoal rough sketches of artists because I like to see how a vivid idea of shape and movement can be created with a few bare lines. Schiele features a lot of nudity and can be crude and shocking, so be warned that he might not be up everyone's street especially if you are sightseeing as a family with younger kids! It's worth mentioning that if you like Klimt and Schiele you should also check out the Leopold Museum (in Museumsquartier) which houses some more from them. The Belvedere also includes Oskar Kokoschka, who you will probably like if you like Schiele.
Belvedere doesn't only focus on Viennese turn of the century. They have a medieval collection, Baroque art, Romantic and Biedermeier as well as a decent Impressionist collection including well known greats such as Monet, Manet, Pissaro, Van Gogh, Renoir and some Austrian artists such as Emil Jakob Schindler in the mix as well who may not be so well known but are definitely worth a look.
Lower Belvedere changes its exhibitions often, so you have to keep an eye on it, but they currently have one on gold and one called Utopie Gesamtkunstwerk which aims to explore the historical idea of art work, which should be a broad and interesting exhibition.
Tours are available and you can also get an audio guide, costing Euro4 for Upper Belvedere or Euro3.50 for Lower Belvedere. This is available in English and other languages as well as German.
Overall there should be plenty of interest in Belvedere for anyone who enjoys art, wants to get acquainted with some Austrian artists beyond just Klimt's "The Kiss", see a broad range of art works inside stunning buildings and take a stroll through a beautiful garden in my lovely old neighbour of the Viennese 3rd district. It honestly is really worth it. I hope you enjoy your visit there!
To see pictures of the buildings and grounds as well as some of the art and get more information, including information about current exhibitions, visit the official website at Belvedere.at.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Museum of Natural History (Helsinki)
by linzeelou
Another of the museums that I visited while in Helsinki was the Finnish Museum of Natural History. Even when looking at a map, my sister and I found this museum a little hard to find. It is in central Helsinki but it is a little walk away from the main train station. The street names are really confusing on a map but we did end up ... finding it eventually and after knowing our way back, it was only a 10 minute walk away.
As you enter the museum you cannot miss the huge taxidermed elephant in the lobby. This takes up a hell of a lot of space but it is positioned near the stairs so you are still able to get to the ticket desk and to the shop. If you don't want to tackle the daunting looking stairs there are lifts to each floor as well. I thought the elephant was a great way to start our trip here as it was eye catching and definitely caught my attention. The lobby with the ticket desk is quite small due to the elephant but there is still space if you need to queue although we didn't have to when we got there.
Going up to the first floor was quite exciting after the shock of the elephant and I didn't quite know what to expect. The whole of the first floor is dedicated to bones which was a little creepy once I got to looking around. I actually really loved this display though as it was so interesting. The museum holds bones off all kinds of animals, both big and small. While the smaller animals were interesting to look at, it wasn't what I was interested in. As well as animals like snakes and reptiles, there are also bigger animal's bones. One that captured my interest the most was a monkey because it looked so human like once it was stripped of everything else.
The bones collection is not as extensive as what you can see on the second floor though. This museum dedicates most of its space to nature, Finnish nature in particular and The History of Life. The second floor is home to an extensive range of taxidermy. The museum has the largest zoological collection in Finland so that is definitely something to see! While taxidermy does freak me out at times, the collection here is amazing. Set up into different sections, the museum has tried its best to house the animals in enclosures looking as close to what their homes would be like normally. Sometimes there are animals on the hunt, some with their new offspring and some just looking to be in their natural surroundings. I loved the way that this was done because it made the museum different and not just a collection of taxidermed animals.
The gift shop sells all kinds of things from the usual pens and pencils to books on taxidermy, books about different animals, many books about Finnish nature as well as a range of other items. I loved looking around the gift shop here after having such a good visit in the museum. Although I didn't buy anything, many people were purchasing items so it seems that the things on offer were well thought out.
I really enjoyed my trip to the Finnish Museum of Natural History and was very happy that we finally found it. This was one of the most interesting things we did while in Helsinki and I would happily recommend it if you are visiting the city. For the cheap price of 8 euros, it is well worth the money and I spent a good couple of hours here.
Opening Times
Wintertime 1.1.-31.5. and 1.9.-31.12.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday - 9am until 4pm
Thursday 9am until 6pm
Summertime 1.6.-31.8.
Tuesday to Sunday - 9am until 5pm
Prices
Adults - 8 euros
Family ticket - Max 2 adults and 4 children - 20 euros
Groups - 4 euros/ person
Season ticket - 35 euros
Read the complete review |
