Jetlag is a beast! I suppose I was lucky that I slept through to 5am but there was no way my bodyclock was going to let me sleep any later. We had another slow start, with a leisurely breakfast and a bit of blogging but we decided to head outside for a little stroll before we were due to meet Simon at noon. I wanted another look at the Market square, the sunflowers and pumpkins were so appealing!
The river really draws you here so we went back down to admire it again. We stopped to see another of the many statues along the banks.
Simon met us at 12 but Jatta had been working until 4am so she needed a bit more shuteye. Simon took us to the Museum Aboa Vetus just across the river. For anyone who has ever enjoyed Time Team it’s a treat! Archeological excavations in the oldest urban area of Turku have uncovered cellars and artifacts going back hundreds of years. The displays were excellent and really gave you a feel for what life was like here in medieval times. On the way to the museum we had to cross the path of the Turku Marathon which just happened to be running today. We watched hundreds of energetic, sweaty runners jog past with determination in their eyes. Better them than me!
The three of us relaxed for a while in one of the cafes by the river until Jatta came to meet us and we headed out in the car for the short drive to the gorgeous little seaside village of Naantali. One of the oldest towns in Finland, Naantali was founded around the mediaeval Brigittine convent, the church of which still dominates its skyline. It’s one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, not least of which because it’s the home of Moomin World. The Moomins are the central characters in a series of books and a comic strip by Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson. Moominworld is a theme park on its own little island, dedicated to the Moomins. For a Disneyland lover like me I was very drawn to seeing the place but the adults in the group werent keen! 🙂
We had timed our visit very well as there was a food festival on today with several food carts offering a variety of treats. Simon’s nose started twitching when he caught the aroma wafting from one of the seafood carts. He said we had to try “muikuu” , tiny little fish like whitebait which they fry with potatoes and serve with a garlic serve. We all shared a delicious plate.
On the way back to Helsinki we detoured our onto Ruissalo island , one of the thousands of islands in the Turku Archipeligo. It’s very sparsely populated but has several summer homes and is a popular spot for hiking. We walked through some of its beautiful forest out to the tip where we sat on rocks and watched boats cruise by. Neil and Simon had some fun trying out Neil’s new drone so I’m sure there’ll be some footage soon on offontour.com!
Jatta pointed out the wild blueberry and strawberry bushes and rhubarb that grow prolifically here and even managed to find a few late berries to eat. They learn fieldcraft in school here. We also saw a deer quietly grazing in a field , it wasn’t even fazed when Neil sent the drone buzzing over its way.
By the time we were back in the city we were all pretty hungry so we went down to one of the boat restaurants , Katarina, on the river for a burger. It was delicious and lovely sitting again on the riverside in the evening sunshine .
However as the sun dropped down it started to get a little chilly so they took us to another of their favourite pubs in town, the Uusi Apteekki , which is in an old pharmacy shop. A very cosy and atmospheric spot to enjoy our last drinks in Turku.
We were very pooped by the time we got back to the hotel so I only had the energy left to snap one last photo of the cathedral lit up in the twilight.
We have loved our time here in Turku, it’s been wonderful to see where Simon has been living for the last year, and it’s certainly a very lovely part of the world.
