MARVELLOUS

still respected.

Heidi Savolainen from Adventure Apes introduces me to the region’s sauna culture, on a trip to Rauhaniemi, set on the birch tree-lined shores of Lake Nasijarvi.

“There is always room for one,” she declares as we squeeze our pefletti (wooden sauna seats) into a narrow room heaving with sweaty flesh and plumes of steam.

Fat men with bloated, braised bellies line the benches like a coconut shy, and gasping women shake rivulets of sweat from their cleavages. It’s a level of body confidence that would send shivers through most Brits.

After 20 minutes spent boiling my blood, I step outside and climb down a set of metal stairs into the crisp, satin-soft lake, where the stinging shock of cold water becomes perversely addictive. Afterwards, I follow a path into the forest, picking plump blueberries and fan-leafed wood sorrel so sharp it leaves me grimacing like The Groke.

The herb appears on my dinner plate that evening, as part of six-course taster menu at restaurant C. Ilka Isotalo and his team take pride in using ingredients sourced from a maximum 50km radius. Snowy elderflower sprays dance around a party of peas and roasted rooster, and slithers of rose petal perfume a sweet brown butter cream.

Although Jansson spent much of her time on Klovharu and visited Tampere, she lived, worked and died in Helsinki. Throughout her life, she was desperate to be taken seriously as an artist and several of her murals are on display at the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM).

In Electricity, a piece commissioned for the Pitajanmaki factory of the Stromberg company, luminous lightning veins strike just like they do above Moominvalley, and in the fresco Party In The City, a small Moomintroll hides in the corner.

In fact, the fairy-tale creatures can be found all over the capital; since December 2016, five themed Mumin Kaffes have opened, with play areas, plush toys and peaceful surroundings.

Next month, fashion label Chinti & Parker will launch a range of limited edition Moomin cashmere jumpers, and in October London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery will host a major UK retrospective of Tove Jansson’s work.

Clearly, Moominpappa’s humble ship is setting sail for world domination, and we’re all invited to jump on board. Several decades on from my first encounter with the adorable flumpy characters, it’s an adventure I’m happy to embrace.