We’d heard from many people that Naantali was one of the nicest towns in south western Finland and we decided to make the short bus journey over there for a look. The weather was lovely, and the old wooden architecture gave the town a cosy atmosphere. We had a look around the marina on our way to the main destination of the trip, Moomin World.
Situated atop its own island, Moomin World is a theme park in which guests can explore locations and meet characters from the books written by Tove Jansson. Some of the group are big fans of Moomins and excitement was at fever pitch.
Alas, as we reached the gate, we remembered that Moomins hibernate for the winter and the park was closed for the season. Luckily, we could still explore some parts of the island and a walk through the forest with some glimpses of Moomin houses helped us forget our disappointment.
At that point, it was about time for lunch. We decided to go and find a café but we discovered that Moomin world was not the only thing that was seasonal in Naantali. Almost every café and restaurant was closed, partly because it was a Sunday and partly because Naantali is mostly enjoyed as a summer getaway for Finns and a destination for fair weather tourists. Eventually we found a solitary open café, but we discovered that opening hours were the least unusual aspect of Café Antonius.
We were greeted in Finnish by the elderly owner and as we attempted to explain our poor grasp of the language, he instead began speaking in German, which we understood even less. After communicating through improvised sign language that we’d like a seat, we were shown to the back of the most bizarrely decorated café any of us had ever been to. Old pictures filling every wall, delicate tablecloths and taxidermized animals were some of the features which made it feel like we had broken into his home and helped ourselves to his coffee and cakes. After the initial surprise wore off however, it began to feel much cosier and the coffee was quite good, despite the typically high Finnish prices.
After a while, our host stood to make a speech with the help of a bilingual customer in which he explained that he had moved to Naantali to win the heart of the cafés owner, he was a well known opera singer and part time teacher, multiple Finnish prime ministers had stopped by his café during visits to Naantali over the years, and the café itself is one of the oldest buildings in the town having originally been an abattoir. He took great delight in explaining to another table that animals were slaughtered where they sat.
Who knows how much of this was true, maybe all of it was. Either way, it made for a very memorable experience. Knowing that nothing was likely to top that we made our way to the bus stop to head home.
~Iain~
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