Another example of Finland's old town beauties! And how marvelous when you can get to this special place by steamboat. Not any steamboat, but the historical s/s Ukkopekka with her ear-deafeningly loud steam whistle - they will announce when to cover your ears ;o). Take this 75-year-old lady at 10 am from Turku and you will arrive in Naantali at 11.45 am. You will have enough time to explore the small old town and to have lunch before getting back on board at 4 pm. The return ticket is 29 €. Within the old part of this coastal town, you will come across pictoresque and colourful wooden houses - many of them with shops, galleries, restaurants, cafés and even museums. Mannerheiminkatu became my favourite street ... one house nicer than the other with lovely decorated entrances. To my delight, Naantali had a real surprise in store for me: a pop-up shop by "Turku Design Now!" offering wonderful items designed in Finland. Amandis Café with its wooden swinging seats was the perfect spot to recover from the many tough choices I had to make - I am a design addict ;oD! Here I could enjoy extremely yummy Ingman ice-cream with mascarpone lemon-lime and pecan nuts. Always watch out for that logo in the shape of a heart when in Finland. All my wonderful experiences in Naantali made it very difficult to say good-bye to this charming place, but, on the other hand, I have to admit that I could not wait to hear "Lady" Ukkopekka's very loud steam whistle again ;oD! I really hope to meet both beauties again one day! read more

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