On the (coastal) footsteps of Tove Jansson

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On the (coastal) footsteps of Tove Jansson

On the (coastal) footsteps of Tove Jansson

Tove Jansson is arguably Finland’s most famous illustrator, artist and writer of all time. What she loved more than anything was the sea. To get into Tove’s mindset, we decided to take a trip to Pellinge islands in Porvoo where the artist spent a great part of her life.

Finland is full of places to go and see artwork of Tove Jansson or experience the magic of the Moomins. However, to truly understand Tove’s uniqueness and peculiar view of the world, one has to visit the place she loved so fiercely – Pellinge islands. This is a place where Tove spent most of her summers since childhood. She also built a cabin on a small, remote island Klovharun, from where for over three decades she and her partner Tuulikki drew inspiration for their artwork.

Coast and Archipelago

Coastal Finland with its stunningly beautiful archipelago offers a variety of fascinating destinations that are easy to reach.

Coast and Archipelago

first stop: Porvoo old town

We started our journey on a hot summer morning by taking a bus from Helsinki to Porvoo. The journey is short – less than an hour – the scenery beautiful and the fare cheap, around 9 euros. Old town of Porvoo feels like a place from another world. Houses from the 18th century line the cobbled streets with a small river running through town. The time stands still.

SECOND STOP: SÖDERBY-BODEN – TOVE’S LOCAL SHOP

After spending half a day in Old Porvoo, visiting shops and cafes, we took a 25 km taxi ride to Tirmo, a small port by the sea. From there, we took a cable ferry to Suur-Pellinki (Greater Pellinge), and then drove all the way to Söderby-Boden shop.

Söderby-Boden is a tiny, old-fashioned, everything-you-could-ever-need kind of shop in the middle of the most picturesque scenery of wooden houses and meadows. It has stood in the same place since 1927 and Tove frequented the shop even as a small girl. Tove and Tuulikki did all their shopping in Söderby-Boden once or twice a month. Their first shopping list in the spring was very long – it always included a lot of coffee and cigarettes.

Note that daytime buses also go to Tirmo port. You can arrange a pickup with your host or prebook a rental bike from Söderby-Boden.

On weekday afternoons one bus comes all the way to the islands and on summer Fridays and Sundays there is a direct bus connection to Helsinki.

SPENDING THE NIGHT IN PELLINGE

Pellinge islands offer many long-term and short-term rentals as well as accommodation found on Airbnb. We spent our night in Lilla Nätiholm – a beautiful private island, just off the coast of Great Pellinge. We were taken there by Lasse and Anne-Maj who own and manage various cottages in the area, two of which are located on an island. In addition to Lilla Nätiholm’s cottage (pictured), the island has a small sleeping cabin and a sauna building with a space to spend the night. Wish we could have stayed on this island for a whole week!

Klovharun Island – tove’s hideaway

After our night in Lilla Nätiholm, we took a boat to Klovharun Island. We were lucky, as the visit is entirely dependent on the weather – if it is too windy, you won’t be able to get to the shore.

The island is only open to tourists for a very short period of time every year due to weather conditions, bird nesting season and the place being reserved for artists as their inspirational residence. In 2019 guided tours to Klovharun were arranged during the open house week from 13 July to 19 July, and on a Saturday 27 July. The boat departs from and returns to Sturjan, Söderbyvägen, 07390 Storpellinge. Enquiries and bookings: klovharuntours(at)gmail.com.

Those who manage to visit will find Tove’s hideaway simply magical.

Klovharun’s little cabin – just like it has been for decades.

Here you can really see how Tove enjoyed the very simple joys of life. She was not into material things, they did not interest her the slightest. In her little cabin of Klovharun you only find one bare room with minimal amenities. The surrounding scenery was all she needed to find inspiration for all her work. Here, she was in heaven.

ISLAND RIDDLES FOR MOOMIN LOVERS

After our visits to the two amazing islands, we returned to the mainland and Söderby-Boden shop. From there, the shop’s owner Erika Englund organises a warmhearted and quirky adventure game, Island Riddles. We took part in this two to three-hour outdoor adventure hike through the woods and seaside, enjoying every minute.

The trail is inspired by Tove Jansson’s book The book about Moomin, Mymble and little My and you will get to walk the same paths that Tove Jansson did. On the trail you will not meet any of the familiar Moomintrolls but you will find the resemblance between the book and nature. The idea is for adults and children alike to put their heads together and solve hidden messages and tasks along the way.

The experience is available from April to October. The tickets should be prebooked on islandriddles.com

You can choose to also have a backpack lunch included hand made by local fishermen on the island. We had ours – sweet and savory pancakes! – in the sun on the rocky seaside.

We also visited this great rock – “mörkökivi” – near the Söderby-Boden shop. The rock is painted to look like the Groke in the Moomins. It is somewhat of a shrine for many Moomin-lovers and easily accessible from the shop.

Coastal strolls

Most of the shores in Pellinge are privately owned but as we took part in Island Riddles, we were given the permission to take a stroll by the sea before leaving. We felt that this was the perfect end to our trip – finding inner peace and calm, just like Tove did.

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On the (coastal) footsteps of Tove Jansson