Rauma Finland

Travelled : 342km
Stay : near Mantantie lovely picnic area beside road next to lake with small beach and jetty. N62.1272 E24.7352
Visited: Naantali,  Rauma

This morning we went for a stroll through Naantali.  We started venturing along the waterfront until we reached the church and the idyllic horseshoe shaped harbour with its colourful bayside restaurants. 

It's is here you will also find Moomin World for the kids. This is an image of a moomin on a very expensive plate.

 After a wonder through their wooden house area we made it back to Bluey before the students filled up the carpark. 

Our next destination was Rauma which was granted the status of a UNESCO site in 1991 due to its unique old Nordic wooden old quarter with more than 600 wooden buildings.
We parked near the Church of the Holy Cross, which had a lovely interior. 

We then walked to the Market Place and to the Old Town Hall Museum built in 1776 which displays the traditional artisan skill of lace making.

A couple of the buildings are museums, others are shops but most are still residential homes. It is nice to walk around a historic area that is used in current times.

Finlands narrowest street 

We then drove through Tampere and continued north towards Petajavesi,  stopping along the way as we could go no further...
We enjoyed a BBQ dinner and a nice bottle of wine ( 1 down, 29 to go)

As we drove along the road we saw many moose/elk warnings signs. Which prompted me to search out more information.  So for those who are interested here are a few Finland facts: population = 100,000, male bull =700kg,  very timid but may be seen in fields in the twilight hours (ie dusk around 11pm and dawn 3am so we are not likely to see one!) So we will need to go see them in a wildlife park, 35,000 to 50,000 calves are born during the season in May/June, the male will shed their antlers every year after the autumn ruting season and regrow then each summer. Amazing.