We wake fairly early in the church’s parking lot on Kustavi. The Finnish legal concept known as ‘everybody’s right’ makes it possible for us to park the van almost everywhere for one night if not disturbing anyone. It goes without saying that this means leaving no trace behind. The people in the graveyard behind us didn’t complain and we were happy having found a peaceful, quiet spot to sleep the night before. And again, there is even a clean bathroom we can use.

We are slowly reaching then end of our version of the Archipelago Trail (Saariston Rengastie). Promising Mats another ferry ride we take off to look for a breakfast stop. We find a nice bench by the sea close to the ferry. However, this small version of the yellow ‘lossi’ does not transport vehicles other than bicycles. We have to take a small detour that does not include a ferry ride. Well, at least there is another attraction coming up.

Apparently, there is no driving past Naantali without stopping at „Moominword“,a small theme park devoted to the hippo-resembling creatures created by Tove Jansson. Before we made plans to move to Finland, we had not heard about those little fellows but here they are very popular amongst the kids. We have been reading some of the books to Mats and he is quite familiar with the characters from daycare, so we decide to stop here, too.

While most museums and attractions in Finland are usually very family-friendly regarding fees, this place is definitely the odd one out. 29€ per person with ‘online discount’; children above the age of 2 pay the full price.

The park is cute, you can visit the Moomin family’s house, Snuffkin’s tent and Snork maiden’s & Too-Ticki’s science center (gotta give them credit for that: a ‘science center’ run by the lady characters) and walk on a ‘saga trail’.

But overall, we are a bit disappointed. Most ‘attractions’ are food stalls, sweet-shops or restaurants and we are missing a play area and ‘’hands-on’ activities suitable for toddlers. Still, the park is carefully designed and perfect for families with children between three and six who are very familiar with the stories. Besides that, Naantali old town is a pleasant stop along the road and has more to offer than Moomin. The wooden houses, a beautiful marina as well as many little shops and restaurants create an inviting atmosphere.

From here, it is about an hour and a half to drive Rauma where we find nice camp-site to stay and enjoy the late evening sun.