I've been rather busy with work and other things and also have been lazy in writing since I've been fighting with doing documentations for the past few days. However I need to get it written soon before I forget our adventure.
I'm not a big fan of the hippos to be honest but my daughter seems to like them...ALOT! So I'm giving in to these fuzzy hippos.
Our trip to Naantali from Helsinki-Vantaa area was quite an interesting one as we had the location in our navigator. As our TomTom's map was last updated in 2007 (or there abouts) the new Turku (Åbo) highway was not showing, so it looked as though we are driving on someone's farm <.<"...ANYWAYS, after tunnels upon tunnels, it started to remind me of Norway, except that these tunnels were far shorter and the little one seemed to enjoy them. My main concern on this dreaded hot day was if the hotel (
Kultaranta Resort)would have air conditioning. Low and behold (curses Scandinavia <.<) it doesn't!!! It has this THING that circulates air in the room that just makes awful noise and to be honest does nothing to suck away the darn heat. I get that winter is far longer than summer but if you want to keep being #1 at Tripadvisor (out of 2 hotels at the moment) you better up and up the standard! For lack of amenities (no air-cond in MOST apartments/suites whatever you call them, , limited things to do for non golfers and kids etc etc...I'll cover that later) plus allowing smoking makes it even more unbearable for people who don't smoke and have to keep the windows open all night just to breathe in the hot summer nights (did I mention the blood suckers yet?).
What's in the hotel? They have a golf course...so for someone who doesn't play golf steer clear unless you want to spend time in the 'salt room' that cost EUR 14 for absolutely nothing (I call sitting around doing nothing but breathing in minerals sprayed into the air a bit silly, that was the description I got from the reception plus they also have magazines for me to read...yay! <.<") or just walk around the golf course. They don't have a swimming pool, so you'll have to rent a bike from the hotel to get to the nearest swimming beach or drive there.
 |
| Kultaranta Resort - Relatively new rooms, quite a distance from reception. |
In any case we weren't there for the hotel but even then we'd like to have a comfy night's sleep. The breakfast however did make up a little for the bad night's sleep no matter how good 'Unikulma' beds they had. It was funny to find hash browns being served with the cold cuts, cheese and salad section. I'm more used to them being warm. However the standard buffet style breakfast had everything and even more than what we normally have for breakfast, the first day we were there the strangest thing was the Bolognese sauce O_O. I couldn't figure what to eat that with. At some point I was thinking sarcastically maybe I'll just take a bowl of the sauce and put some muesli, yoghurt and some fruits with it for the lack of pasta. My husband liked his, he had Bolognese sauce with meatballs =.=".
IMPORTANT: If you're going with children that needs a highchair BE EARLY! Because even if the restaurant is equipped with a child play corner it is not very well equipped with baby chairs. They had one Ikea high chair and one Stokke high chair that is with the extra bit for babies...If you have a bit chunkier kid like we have...you'll get lots of screaming trying to put your child in or getting them out (especially out). So Dear Kultaranta, Invest in Ikea baby/high chairs...they aren't that expensive plus they can be hosed down easily if it gets dirty kapish?
 |
Kultaranta Resort - Restaurant overlooking the golf course,
very neat, nice staff, lacking some child facilities. |
Golfers, my most love to hate subject and sailors. From what I see they have quite a nicely maintained golf course and a marina coming soon (I don't know where it is as I didn't have time to make that visit). If you're lacking some items from your golf bag, they have a small golf boutique (pro shop) selling Kultaranta logo products plus a few brand names, Gant being one of the brands and cross is what I remember. There might be some other I don't know and I really couldn't care much. You'll also find some Moomin products for sale at the reception. I didn't notice much difference in prices there or at the Theme Park but of course there are more selections at Moominworld.
Now I got that covered...you get breakfast, hooray! So if you're not playing golf where is the closest lunch place...awww man?! the hotel again? I had a coffee, a croissant and my daughter had a cup of milk with sausage and french fries and it cost me about 16 EUR. I'd recommend that you take a drive to Naantali...there isn't much there either xD but at least you won't be paying hefty prices for simple stuff. Better yet you could bring your own stuff as there is a fridge for use at your room plus there is a child care corner on the top floor of the studio apartment rows that has a microwave (at least the row we were staying in) They even have washing machine and dryers for people who intend to stay longer and have laundry to do (detergent not provided so BYO). You are provided with coffee and tea making facilities but you don't get refills too easily...again BYO. Oh and the fridge is empty just in case you are wondering. It's not really a minibar so feel free to use it. The water out of the tap is safe to drink in Scandinavia, unless you're paranoid you can always preboil your water.
 |
| My miserable lunch |
At last! Day 1 was over...I could not wait for day 2 when I finally get to spend the entire day away from the HOTel. It's just my damned luck that after breakfast we left during the sunshine to Moominworld and arrived when it was raining cars and trucks! We were drenched, at least we couldn't complain that it was hot. We decided to be 'smart' and went straight to town to park closer to the Moominworld (don't do this! It cost alot plus you might not find spots) There is a specific area to park if you're going to Moominworld, there is a bus driving you there from the parking spots for a fee but it beats paying the parking in town if you're planning to stay the entire day.
Tickets to Moominworld can be purchased beforehand for a discount rate and bonus (
S-bonus in Finland). We didn't know about this until we got there but heck it was 4 EUR more for both me and my hubby but children under 3 is free. Since it's more child oriented park they have lots of amenities for caring for your children if there is a need. Unfortunately ours decided to do a squeezy attack with her smoothie pack and got herself, her babybuggy and anything within 30 cm radius covered in blueberry =.=". We were glad that she had her raincoat on so the mess wasn't too great but it was still a mess. My hubby could change his wet shirt into the new t-shirts he got from the theme park but I couldn't find a corner at that time to just remove the wet clothes and change into my very own theme park t-shirt. So I just continued my 'adventure' with my wet top, pants and shoes....did I mentioned covered in blueberry smoothie?
 |
| Mamma's kitchen facing the boutique |
 |
| Nipsu/Sniff's Boutique |
 |
| Another restaurant |
 |
| Muumitalo - Moominhouse the trademark house |
 |
| People lining up to visit the Moomin house |
 |
| Pikku Myy/Little My, The cop, Hemuli/Hemulen in character |
As you can see that now the sun is shining and I'm sticky and sweaty hence I wasn't going to crowd into the house. My hubby and my daughter went in and my daughter loved it so much she was stuck in there for quite some time. Tip: If you're looking for the characters going up to the Moomin House is the best way to see them as they gather around there. If you go around you'll not bump into them so easily or at all.
 |
| The sea creature at Moominworld |
 |
| Sign to Pappa's ship |
 |
| Pappa's ship |
 |
| View from Pappa's ship |
 |
| Snork's story |
 |
| Snork's camp |
 |
| The train to and from Moominland to Naantali center |
Now you've seen some sights in Moominworld...there are still quite a lot of sights to see. It may be quite boring to kids who don't know the character much. So it's up to the parents to make the experience for them. This is not those traditional theme parks that have rollercoasters and what not. It involves ALOT of walking. Sort of like going into a character play cross museum. So before going make sure your child is aware of that and introduce them to the character or else they'll find themselves kicking trees and rocks, asking when they can go home etc (I know this because I witness a Spanish family with a 5-7 yr old trying very hard to get their kids excited and all they wanted to do was sit and have ice cream and then leave).
 |
| Naantali |
 |
| More of Naantali |
 |
Valio Ice-Cream Kiosk in Naantali,.
There is a Moominshop close to it if you think you've missed
some items from Moominworld. |
 |
| Kaivohuone @ Naantali |
 |
| The end of Naantali |
Overall the trip was good despite some minor inconvenience and unpleasant heat. I'd say we may go back again and do things a bit differently to make the trip splendid. :)
