The post you’ve all been waiting for. A deep dive into the wonder of Moominworld.

Before that: I accidentally went a bit viral on Twitter for saying happy birthday to Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins. The tweet spoke about things I’ve touched on in this blog – her queer identity, the fact she protested Hitler during WWII. So, if you’re here because of that tweet – hello! Thanks for stopping by.

On with Moominworld!

WHAT ON EARTH IS A MOOMINWORLD?
Moominworld is a visitor attraction for those who love the Moomins whether they be adults or children. It’s built on an island and contains several small parks, a restaurant, several hot food stalls, cafes, and ice cream shops, a post office, a shop, a beach, a play-park, three theatres, and interactive recreations of the houses and places found in Moominvalley including Moominhouse, Sniff’s house, Mr. Hemulen’s house, the Groke’s cave and Snufkin’s campsite.

WHERE ON EARTH IS A MOOMINWORLD?
It’s on a tiny island near Naantali Finland. It’s accessible by boat or a bus then a short walk. We stayed in Turku, Finland (2 hours from Helsinki), then took a bus for an hour and walked for twenty minutes.

We arrived at 12pm. I felt that was pretty good seeing as our flight landed in Turku around 1am the night before. We walked through the marina and onto the island. The very first thing we did was catch a show at the Theatre Emma starring Stinky, Snork and Little My. All the shows were in Finnish (except one a day in Swedish) and have English and Chinese subtitles.

After that we swung by Moominmamma’s buffet restaurant because I hadn’t yet eaten that day and was (a) hangry and (b) still recovering from food poisoning (more on that in the last blog…)

After rejuvenating myself with meatballs, mash and a lot of water, we hit up Sniff’s shop next door. Imagine an item, any item, with a Moomin on it. They probably definitely have it. Some notable items: Moomin chocolate, Moomin wine, Moomin coffee, Moomin tupperware, Moomin bedsheets, Moomin wallets, Moomin rain-jackets and a pair of boxers with Stinky on them.

We then wandered through all the promenade games, much like a wee beach front on some postcard, and the post-office: where you can send letters straight from Moominland.

We then trekked uphill to Snufkin’s camp. And there he was.

Snufkin hangs out in a wee tent all day telling stories to any kids who sit down and listen. I wanted to sit down and listen but my boyfriend looked a little jealous. And I don’t speak any Finnish (…sadly).

Wandering around the periphery of the park was actually really nice. It was mostly wooded, with lovely views out onto the sea. Aside from being somewhere to meet the Moomins, it was actually just a nice space to be in – away from the city in fresh air and sunshine.

After an hour or so of wandering and checking out some of the beach and smaller attractions, we headed to the main event: Moominhouse. You can go inside but also: meet the Moomins.

There’s also another wee stage beside it with smaller shows during the day. Mainly starring Mrs. Fllyjonk (who we haven’t yet spoken about on this blog, but when we do it will be very exciting).

And then. It happened.

The moment songs are written about, people give their lives away for and babies cry for. A life-changing moment. A moment that shapes us and makes us smile for many years later, with a single poetic tear rolling down our face. Earth-shattering, heart-thundering, hair-tearing, agonisingly beautiful moment.

I met Moomintroll.

I know. I know. Don’t all get too jealous now.

After this we did some more wandering: Groke’s cave, Hattifatteners, a maze for children I got lost in, another show at Theatre Emma (this time about Little My and the witch).

We wrapped up the day relaxing in a wee park eating chips which we had to hide from the seagulls. Just before closing time, everyone gathered outside Moominhouse where we all sang the Moomins theme tune whilst Moominmamma and Pappa danced together on the porch and the sun began to set.

We made our way back, tired and content. I honestly didn’t want to leave.

I don’t know what it is about the Moomins. Even after all this time re-watching, reading, writing and even visiting them. There’s something to be said about their innate comfort. Large and soft and cuddly with a spare room and cup of coffee available to any visitor who needs it. They promote the idea that any problem can be solved when we all speak and work together.

Beyond that, I have a love of children’s characters. Miffy, Paddington (after I watched “Paddington 2” at the cinema last year), Totoro, Gigi from “Kiki’s Delivery Service”. Maybe growing up with cats made me love anything cute and cuddly.

But maybe, more importantly, I love these things because their main message is safety. It’s good to spend some time in a world created for children; it’s relaxing, comforting and full of wisdom that makes your problems seem more manageable. It’s good to revisit these things knowing, whatever you’re dealing with, this too shall pass.

The Moomins promote this message above all: there’s nothing Moominmamma can’t solve by digging into her handbag. Moomintroll treats everyone he meets with kindness. So much time is spent playing, exploring, giving and looking after one another.

It’s the kind of world I want to live in.

And maybe that, above all, is the true charm and magic of Moominworld – it lets you do exactly that.

So I went to Moominworld in Naantali, Finland!

Maybe that explains the break between blog posts? (Sorry!)

Before I get to the magic, I have to post about the journey to Moominworld and explain just how chaotic this holiday was (and how much sweeter it made the Moomins!).

On our journey to Moominworld, we actually had a full trip planned through Denmark. This was due to my inability to pick one place for a holiday and just stay there and not do things and partly due to my boyfriend’s love of all things Viking.

We landed in Esbjerg – the littlest airport I’ve ever seen. Seriously. It was just a room. There were thirteen of us on the plane (including the staff).

I then promptly directed us onto a bus going the wrong direction. An hour into what should have been a thirty minute journey I realised something was up. Long story short, we arrived at our hostel 10 minutes before we would have been locked out.

The next day we walked the forty minutes to Ribe Viking Centre – a live Viking Centre was with actors who run shows, including falconry, archery and axe-throwing-general-coolness. The whole walk was along the side of the road but we knew it’d be worth it!

As soon as we arrived it started raining. But not the “light showers” the forecast promised – Noah-like, fat-dropped, the-pavements-are-flooding rain.

I should mention I was wearing: one skirt, one t-shirt, one denim jacket (no hood), one pair of canvas trainers (not waterproof). Around us were Viking actors in felt really trying to keep up the bravado, five sad sheep and soaked Danish children.

At this point we realised our bags weren’t waterproof and my boyfriend’s books were looking decidedly damp.

It was so wet that we made our way back to the hostel to shield from the rain. After an hour we thought we’d catch an earlier train to Odense where it wasn’t raining. There was one hitch: we got to the train station and there was a wee old man in the room which connected the section of the train station to the platform. He had locked the doors and wouldn’t let me pass.

In a last ditch attempt to get out this town in my soaked clothes and failed rain poncho (now resembling a butcher’s apron) I found another door, pushed on it very hard and accidentally (!) broke into the train master’s house which was inside the station. At least that’s what I think it was. There was a fridge, some books and a lot of sad train station dust. Who lives there? Why is his house so dusty? Mysteries we will never know.

Long story short, we missed the earlier train. I think Ribe, some small Danish town, really had a vendetta.

Drying off we arrived in Odense. The sun was shining and we sat in the park with København Stang slushies (slushies based on the “Copenhagen Pole” ice lollies: best taste description is they’re like pineapple lemonade).

Odense was awesome – a wee town nice for a wee wander – and also the home of Hans Christian Anderson which meant plenty of bizarre fairytale pop-up plays. We got some fantastic street food in a large warehouse, relaxed in the fantastic parks and indulged in my love of weird old dollhouses.

At this point, my phone broke.

More accurately my phone charger broke and I did buy a new one (for roughly £25… get it together Denmark!) but the new one took a while to work. So for a whole day I was wondering around Esgeskov Castle facing the possibility of not being able to take pictures at Moominworld. A true tragedy.

But! We got it fixed and travelled onwards to Trelleborg Viking festival where there was a hundred pop-up tents with people travelling across the world to live as Vikings did. Well. They did sneak into the cafe toilets and some of the kids had ice creams. A real highlight was seeing big scary Scandi men in full Viking regalia having to take their – decidedly modern – lapdogs for a pee (there’s something very funny about seeing a Viking hang out with a bichon frise).

From there we went to Copenhagen. We had a full day at the Danish National Museum followed by the best vegetarian buffet meal I have ever had, and a more relaxed day that involved swimming in Copenhagen harbour, walking to Nyhaven and giggling the at the overly keen tourists photographing the Little Mermaid. It was bliss! And I was so thankful to have moved past the broken phones and rainy days into exploring such a wonderful city.

And then… the trouble hit.

The next day I had the worst food poisoning known to humanity. I have never been so ill in all my adult years. I spent all day between a bathroom and the hotel bed feeling sorry for myself and watching episodes of “Glee” on Netflix. Douglas saved my life by buying two bottles of blue raspberry flavoured sports drink – and reader, I have never loved him more. He went to three shops to find it and it was worth it. Even if he spent the rest of the holiday money on it, it restored me to being a human instead of a stinking and withered creature.

The day after we had to check out the hotel. I was still a bit rubbish, but was restored with a walk around Tivoli Gardens and Copenhagen Aquarium. Guys – they have beanbags in the aquarium. Nothing cures food poisoning like lying on a beanbag watching a tank full of hammerhead sharks and sea pancakes.

Before long it was time for us to catch our flight to Turku. We arrived in Finland on our (delayed) flight at 1am and were taken to our hotel by a taxi driver who blasted heavy metal the whole way.

The next morning we woke up and travelled to Moominworld… but more on that in the next post. 

Until then – blue Gatorade, I owe you my life.