Moomins !
Turku – Day 3
We had quite a bit of rain overnight however we woke to only a few clouds and a good forecast. Our plans were to head to the nearby Naantali Food Festival around noon however when Jatta didn’t get home from work till 4am we pushed that back till later in the day.
And what an eventful day it turned out to be !
Simon was going to meet us at 12 instead and we would go to the Museum Aboa Vetus, just on the other side of the river. Adrienne and I decided to have a bit of a walk earlier and we went back to the Market Square to have a good look around the farmers market.
Sunflowers for sale in the market
From there we wandered down to the river. When we got there we realised that today was the Turku Marathon – in our walking over the past days, we had followed various “blue lines” around the town, the path of the marathon – and today was the day of the big event ! Marshalls were stationed at all the bridge crossings and major intersections along the course and “witches hats” laid out along the way to separate the runners and the lookers. The marathon is called the “Paavo Nurmi Marathon” named after the home town hero – a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was nicknamed the “Flying Finn” as he dominated distance running in the early 20th century. Nurmi set 22 official world records at distances between 1500 metres and 20 kilometres, and won nine gold and three silver medals in his twelve events in the Olympic Games.
Adrienne jumping the gun on the other runners !
We did a loop across to the otherside of the river and back and then set off back toward the hotel to meet up with Simon. As we walked along the street toward the Market Square, we could see a great crowd of people gathered and loud voices carrying toward us. There were a number of police vehicles and police gathered around and as we got closer we found it to be an anti-facist march. It seemed very well attended and organised and as they followed their designated path, the traffic gradually managed to return to order and the procession of buses which had been held up moved along.
We met Simon and walked to the museum. The marathon must have set off at noon – as we approached the river, we could see in the distance a vast wall of people heading along the street across the river. As we got to the point to cross the river, we hit the main pack of the runners coming past. So we watched as they passed until we could get a gap and sneak across.
The museum was very interesting – it shows excavations of various “existences” in that area of the town over the ages and the piecing together of old buildings and foundations and artifacts from those times. After an hour or so at the museum, we found the marathon runners had spread out now so we could make our way back to the other side of the river. We found a spot at one of the cafes overlooking the runners to have a coffee and snack.
As we sat, we noticed a rush of police heading to the road near the cathedral and we could hear loud voices coming toward that area. Sure enough, it was the pro-fascist march ! Not as many in number it seemed but certainly louder. The police herded them across the bridge away from the marathon runners and the noise gradually disappeared. But that was not to be the end of the commotion just yet !
Here come the runners !
It seems that the river area can attract a few of the local “drinkers” and some didn’t seem too happy that their territory was being inundated with runners. One took objection to being told by a track official not to cross the track and decided he wasn’t going without a fight – literally ! So the two traded a few blows whilst the observers in the restaurants took videos of the altercation and called the police – who were quickly on the scene and taking all the evidence from the observers. They were soon after the perpetrators, evidence in hand ! Meanwhile Simon sat in dis-belief – he hadn’t seen this much action in Turku in his whole 12 months here ! 😂😂😂
We finished our coffee and went back to the hotel to collect our bits for our trip to Naantali and Simon collected Jatta.
Naantali is not very far away, about a 15 minute drive, but sits right on the edge of one of the numerous islands forming the nearby archipeligo. There seems to be lots being crammed into the end of summer and the Food Festival there is one of these. We were soon there and after finding a parking spot we walked amongst the food stalls as we were certainly ready for our lunch by this time ! With Simon & Jatta’s guidance, we settled on sharing some “Muikuu” – a local dish of fish – much like white bait – fried and mixed with bits of potatoes and a garlic aioli sauce – really, really yummy !
Lunch !
Along the waterfront at Naantali
There was also a beer garden nearby – Jatta told us the people on stage were discussing all things brewing but as we couldn’t understand a word we wandered around the rest of Naantali. It is a real marina area, with lots of classy looking boats tied up on the docks and the many restaurants along the dock pretty packed with patrons. We walked all along the waterfront out to a little walking bridge connecting to another island – Moomin Land !
Moomins are about the closest Adrienne is going to get to Disney this trip ! 😂 They are the central characters in a series of books and comic strips created by a Finnish illustrator and a theme park has been created here in Naantali. Sadly, she had to content herself with a picture of the entry gate !
“That close !” to the Moomins !
We walked back through some of the old cottages in the area. Most of these seemed fairly quiet – probably a lot of summer houses by the water now closed up and ready for the coming winter – I can imagine it would be quite a different place in the cold and snow !
From here we drove back closer to Turku before turning off again out to a little island – Ruissalo. The area has one of the largest old oak forests in Finland and many parts of it are included in nature conservation programs. In early times it was the hunting island for the court at Turku Castle. Simon had been here with some mates for a BBQ by the water and really liked the area. After a slight delay in getting across the small bridge to the island – Ruissalo was also part of the marathon track and there were obviously a few stragglers ! – we found the spot where he had been and after parking the car, wandered along gravel paths through the beautiful trees to the waters edge. It also gave us a chance to test out the drone ! Footage to follow (hopefully !). Jatta also gave Adrienne a lesson in finding wild berries along the path. It was a really great spot !
On the waters edge at Ruissalo
Tummies were rumbling so we drove back to the hotel to park the car and find somewhere for dinner. We were keen to try one of the river boats so “Katerina” was the pick. The riverside was buzzing being a Saturday night but we managed to get a spot on deck and tucked into to some really nice burgers. From here we walked a couple of blocks to a nice pub for a night cap and talked about our plans for tomorrow – and Iceland !
We have had such a great time in Turku. Definitely a different way of holidaying for us with late starts and late finishes but we have certainly seen a lot during our stay – certainly spoilt with Simon & Jatta to show us around. And there seems to be lots more for us to see on another visit 😜
Today’s Tour Trivia – Speeding fines are based on how much you earn – the largest is said to have been 116,000 Euro !