Impressive though the building is, nothing prepares you for the sheer size of the ship: 62m long, the main mast originally 50m over the keel, it sits virtually complete in a cradle of supporting mechanical tackle. Surrounding walkways bring you nose to nose with the cannon hatches and restored decorative relief, the gilded wooden sculptures on the soaring prow designed to intimidate the enemy and proclaim Swedish might. With the humid atmosphere (as the ship takes literally years to dry out) and the immediacy of its fiightening bulk, it's not difficult to understand the terror that such ships must have generated. Adjacent exhibition halls and presentations on several levels take care of all the retrieved bits and pieces. There are reconstructions of life on board, detailed models of the Vasa, displays relating to contemporary social and political life, films and videos, excellent English notes and regular Englishlanguage guided tours in short, a must. Thielska Galleriet « fte far eastern end of DjurgSrden (bus #69 from Central Station), the Thielska St Wh noon4pm. Sun l4pm; SOkr, students 15kr) is one of w№olm's major treasures, a fine example of both Swedish architecture and house was built by Ferdinand Boberg at the turn of this century for an ад Thiel. who then sold it to the state in 1924, when it was turned into ered . Tel, who knew many contemporary Scandinavian artists, gath (jjg ""Pressive collection of paintings over the years, many of which are on bino rr ~ works by Carl Larsson, Anders Zom, Edvard Munch, enoiioi, t August Strindberg. The views, too, are attractive "gn to warrant a trip out here. Sodermalm An area largely neglected by most visitors to the city, it's worth venturing beyond Slussen's traffic interchange for the heights of Sodermalm's crags. As you look over from Gamla Stan, you'll see turrets and towers ahead of you, the skyline punctured by church spires and a wall of rocks to the right. The perched buildings are vaguely forbidding, but get beyond the speeding main roads skirting the island and a lively, and surprisingly green, area unfolds one that's still, at heart, emphatically working4;lass. By bus, take the #48 or #53 from Tegelbacken, or use the Tbana and get off at either Slussen or Medborgarplatsen. Walking, you reach the island over a double bridge from Gamla Stan into Sodermalmstorg; just to the south of the square is the rewarding Stadsmuseet (TuesThurs llam7pm, FriSun llam5pm; 20kr), hidden in a basement courtyard. The Baroque building, designed by Tessin the Elder and finished by his son in 1685, was once the town hall for this part of Stockholm; now it houses a set of collections relating to the city's history as a seaport and industrial centre. Nearby, the Renaissancestyle Katarina Igrka stands on the site where the victims of the so4;alled "Stockholm Blood Bath" were buried in 1520, the betrayed nobility of Sweden who had opposed King Christian II's Danish invasion.