Mökki, Muumi & Mustikka

Mökki, Muumi and Mustikka are three words that you have to know in Finland. Lily made sure I knew what they are.

My first lesson was Mökki.
Mökki means hmmm...cottage I guess is the best word. Many families in Finland have a mökki where they like to spend holidays and weekends. Lily's friends Arto, Magda and Filip invited me, Lily and Lily's family to spend a weekend at Arto's family mökki near Kuusamo. 86% of Finland is covered in forest so we spent a lot of the drive there admiring the beautiful autumn colours.

There are also 187,888 lakes in Finland so many mökkis are next to lakes. It is very relaxing to sit an listen to the water and I have been told it is fun to jump in the lake after being in the sauna but I didn't try.

While we were out looking for mushrooms we came across a herd of reindeer.

Lesson two: Muumi.

...or the Moomins as they are known in English. Muumi are from a series of books by Tove Janssen . Muumi are strange white creatures who live in a fantasy world. You can get Muumi everything here; Muumi bags, Muumi pencils, Muumi mugs, Muumi toys, Muumi everything. The stories have also been made into and anime cartoon series.

The third 'M' lesson is Mustikka. I already said 86% of the Finland is covered in forest and most of that forest floor is covered in Mustukka or they are also known as blueberries. Blueberries are so fantastic though that the need a post for themselves.

Coming Soon: Blueberries

This is Oulu

Here is a funny little tour of Oulu looking it's worst.

Up in the Hills

This is Linus, Jaana and Anatol. They are friends of 3D Lily from Oulu but I got to visit them when they were on holiday at their grandparents' home in Austria. They were staying in Passail which a small village in the east of Austria close by to the the city Graz.

I went with the children and their parents to see their friend and her family who live in a very idyllic old farmhouse in the mountains outside the village of Passail. 



 

From there we went even further up the mountain, until we arrived at the lake Teichalmsee, a nice place to rent a pedal boat in summer or to ice skate in winter. Actually, 3D Lily herself was there just a few months earlier! But then it was winter and Lily, Linus, Janna, Ernest and their parents were skidding and sliding over the ice-covered lake.  


 


A few kilometers from the lake there is a zoo where you can see native wildlife, like sheep, deer, foxes, pigs etc. in an extensive forest area. A highlight for me and the kids there is the animal feeding - especially the little goats and rabbits cannot seem to ever get enough. I even dared to caress the goats a little bit.

 

I also went with pony riding with Jaana and her grandmother one day. Jaana was very proud to show me how to put on the helmet and mount the pony. I was very impressed and decided I wanted to have a go too.
 

Unfortunately, it was soon time to leave Austria, but not to worry, Linus, Janna and Anatol took me on the plane with them back to Oulu whe I get to spend some time with Real Lily!

Love from Austria