Johnson is from Spokane, Washington; Gourde is from Saint-Narcisse, Quebec. Even though they had just skated, they walked through the cobblestone streets and arrived at the Vasa Museum not long before the sun set at 3:48 p.m. local time. They climbed stairs from floor to floor and stayed on their feet at the exhibits.
It was worth it.
"I'm not in Sweden too often," Johnson said. "This is my first time. So kind of want to go see all the sights, want to get the history, understand things. …
"I mean, this was even more than I thought."
The Vasa Museum is the biggest tourist attraction in Stockholm, in more ways than one. Millions of visitors have come to see the Vasa. Built top heavy in 1626-28, she sank in Stockholm harbor on her maiden voyage in 1628. But she was salvaged almost intact in 1961, and in the current museum since 1988, she has been a massive, magnificent monument.
Gourde and Johnson wandered through exhibits on the Vasa's women. They learned how the ship sank and how it was salvaged. They climbed into a full-scale model of the upper gun deck and checked out the cannons, marveling at cannonballs with spikes.
They learned about daily life on the vessel. Let's just say the sailors did not have the Lightning's medical staff.
"The barber was in charge of medical care," Gourde said, pointing to a plaque that said the barber performed blood-lettings, prepared medicines, bandaged wounds, amputated limbs and pulled out teeth.
"The barber?" Johnson asked.
"Yeah."
"Interesting job."
Johnson pointed to the only gold object recovered from the wreck, a ring that might have belonged to vice admiral Erik Jönsson.
"No relation," Johnson said.
"No relation?"
"I don't think so."
The more they toured, the more they learned, the more Gourde and Johnson wanted to tour and learn more. Martina Siegrist Larsson, the museum's information officer, caught up with them and asked if they had any questions. They peppered her.
