In searchof home

Want to hear how two Moomins, and later a very small third one, went looking for a home? Press the button below.

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Chapter one

Siberia

Our first home was where it’s snowy and very, very cold: Siberia. Sergei was born in Chelyabinsk, and Evgenia in Krasnoyarsk, where winter lasts half the year and minus thirty is just an ordinary morning.

Maybe that’s why, years later, the home we’re looking for is in the north.

Siberia, in winter

Chapter two

Evgenia

Evgenia grew up and moved to Germany. She lived a quiet life there, until one day she decided she wanted to surf.

Somewhere at sea, with a big furry friend

Evgenia smiling on a sailing yacht — Evgenia, before Morocco

Evgenia, in short

Marketing, stages and dance

Work: creating, communicating and delivering

Evgenia found her passion for marketing at the University of Indianapolis, and has since worked for big and small companies from Europe to Latin America, and from the Middle East to the UK. She organises marketing events and conferences, and speaks on stage.

Evgenia in a cap and gown receiving her diploma on stage at an American university graduation — Graduating from an American university

Evgenia speaking on stage with a microphone at a marketing conference — On stage, talking marketing

Away from work

Her favourite thing in her free time is dancing: she has danced since she was a little girl, still performs, and teaches dance to little children and beginners.

Evgenia dancing on stage in a silver sequin top, one arm raised — On stage, dancing

Evgenia with her dance group on stage after a performance, holding an award — With her dance group

Evgenia as a girl at a dance performance with her friends in costumes — Dancing since childhood

Evgenia with her cheerleading squad holding blue pom-poms — With the cheer squad

Chapter three

Sergei

Sergei, meanwhile, grew up and set off into the world. He travelled, worked from wherever he happened to be, and was forever looking for socks: the second one of a pair always went missing.

He didn’t know yet that it wasn’t a sock he was looking for.

Somewhere in a forest, stick in hand

Sergei in the forest — Sergei, somewhere on the road

Sergei, in short

Code, talks and deep water

Sergei is a software engineer who builds things with AI and often speaks at conferences and meetups.

Away from the keyboard he keeps busy: he dives, does 3D modelling and volunteers. That’s him at a firefighter training.

Sergei on stage, in Moomin form

Work

Sergei works a lot in IT: he builds products with AI and shares what he learns in talks and articles.

Sergei giving a talk in front of a room of developers, pointing at the projected slide — On stage at a meetup

Sergei next to big screens showing a talk titled MCP for developers — Talking MCP and AI

Card for Sergei’s article on testing software — His article on testing software

Away from work

In his free time he dives, does 3D modelling and volunteers, like at this firefighter training.

Sergei in a drysuit and diving gear on a pier, showing a peace sign — Diving

Sergei in firefighter gear with a breathing apparatus at a training — Volunteer firefighter training

Evgenia sets off

Majorelle blue

So Evgenia packed a bag and flew to Morocco on her own. Her first stop was Marrakech, and its Jardin Majorelle, the garden Yves Saint Laurent fell in love with and later saved: cobalt walls, yellow pots, cactus everywhere. The waves could wait a day.

Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech

Evgenia in a long floral dress in front of the cobalt-blue and yellow walls of Jardin Majorelle — Evgenia, in Majorelle blue

And meanwhile, Sergei

Goats in a tree

Sergei, for his part, climbed an argan tree to get a selfie with Morocco’s most famous locals: goats that live up in the branches.

Sergei smiling and scratching a goat, more goats standing in the branches of an argan tree above him — Sergei, up in the goat tree

Morocco’s famous tree goats

Chapter four

Catching love on the waves

Ocean, boards, sunshine, and somehow Sergei turned up at the very same surf spot in Morocco. So they started catching waves together.

They thought about it, and thought some more, and decided: why not travel together?

Evgenia on a rooftop in Morocco — Evgenia, alone in Morocco. For now.

Evgenia and a friend in wetsuits next to a rack of surfboards, the ocean behind them — Suited up for the waves

Sergei with a surfboard and a donkey in Morocco — Sergei and a local fan

Chapter five

Turkey

Their first trip together: Istanbul. They went for a walk, liked each other a lot, and thought: what are we waiting for?

Istanbul

Selfie of Sergei and Evgenia in a red headscarf under the gilded domes of Hagia Sophia — Istanbul, Hagia Sophia

Selfie of Sergei in a teal beanie and Evgenia in a red scarf in front of rock-cut cave dwellings in Cappadocia — Among the fairy chimneys

Sergei and Evgenia among the rock towers of Cappadocia — Cappadocia

Chapter six

And off they went…

A couple of months later they met again, this time in Georgia. From then on, their roads were the same road.

And so they travelled together. There were many countries, but they kept coming back to the north: the Nordic countries and the Baltics were where they felt most at home.

Selfie at a holiday concert in Kazakhstan, a singer on stage behind us — Kazakhstan, with a star

Selfie of Evgenia and Sergei above the tiled madrasas of Samarkand — Uzbekistan, Samarkand

Evgenia and Sergei at the crater rim of Mount Vesuvius, the Bay of Naples below — Italy, on top of Vesuvius

Selfie of Evgenia and Sergei pulling duck faces, green Georgian hills behind them — Georgia, the second meeting

Sergei hugging Evgenia on a rock above an old stone monastery in an Armenian gorge — Armenia

Selfie of Evgenia and Sergei under a blue sky, a big Ferris wheel behind them at Issyk-Kul — Kyrgyzstan, Issyk-Kul

Chapter seven

Germany

Half the world later, they needed a place to unpack. They chose Germany, where Evgenia already lived, and made it their base. For now.

Prost! Moomin mamma and pappa at Oktoberfest

Selfie of Sergei in a yellow beanie pulling a face and Evgenia smiling, autumn hills behind — Germany, autumn

Evgenia in a dirndl and Sergei with a litre of beer in a festival tent at Oktoberfest — Oktoberfest, for real

Evgenia and Sergei by an old brick canal wall in a German town — By the canal

Evgenia and Sergei on a hillside with Neuschwanstein castle and a lake behind them — Neuschwanstein, Bavaria

Chapter eight

It’s a boy!

One autumn afternoon in Germany, a cloud of blue confetti gave the secret away.

So the third sock was going to be a small blue one.

Evgenia and Sergei under a shower of blue confetti — Blue!

And that’s how

the next chapter began

Seva, 3 months

Serbia and Montenegro

Seva was barely three months old when the three of us set off for Serbia, and from there took the train to Montenegro. His first big journey.

With three of us, the question changed: not just where to go next, but where to stay.

Belgrade to Montenegro, by train

Evgenia and Sergei with baby Seva on a terrace above the Montenegrin coast — Montenegro, the three of us

Sergei holding baby Seva’s feet in little grey socks while Evgenia holds him, under an olive tree in Montenegro — Montenegro. The smallest socks in the family

And then

Denmark

We chose it because we love the culture of the Nordic countries, and we brought our families there, parents and brothers, to the little town of Tønder, where the two of us got married. With Seva there, of course.

Tønder, Denmark

Evgenia in a white dress and Sergei in a turquoise jacket walking hand in hand across a bridge in Tønder — Just married

Seva, 6 months

Norway

At six months, his first ship. The three of us boarded a red-and-white coastal ship and sailed past the fjords, the whole length of Norway, all the way up to its northernmost point: Nordkapp.

Along the fjords, all the way to Nordkapp

Seva climbing up to a round porthole on the ship, looking out at the sea — Seva’s window on Norway

The three of us under the globe monument at Nordkapp, Seva in Sergei’s arms — Nordkapp. The top of Europe, at six months

Evgenia, Sergei in a yellow hood and baby Seva in a striped hat on a white northern beach with mountains behind — Norway, the three of us on the beach

Seva, 11 months

America

At eleven months, the next big trip: America. We landed in San Francisco, then went on to Las Vegas, Arizona, Yosemite, San Diego and Los Angeles, and came full circle back to San Francisco.

Somewhere on Route 66

Seva, 1 year

countries by his first birthday

And we didn’t stop. By car, by train, by ship and by plane, and very often camping. In every country we asked ourselves the same question: could this be home?

Little Seva seen from behind, sitting in the open doorway of a tent, looking out at the grass — Not yet one, already camping

Seva from behind in a striped jumper, looking out of a train window at another train — Somewhere on a train

Sergei holding Seva inside the big RIGA letters on Town Hall Square, a giant dog statue on top — Riga. Sergei and Seva, in the Baltics again

Now

Seva is two and a half

He’s a big boy now, and he loves nature, travelling and meeting new people. Just like the rest of his family.

By the time we head north he’ll be three, and he’s ready.

Evgenia, Sergei and Vsevolod

Seva giving Sergei a kiss while Evgenia laughs, somewhere at sea at sunset — Somewhere at sea

What we’re looking for

A home in the north

Since Seva was born, we’ve been looking for a place to put down roots. We’ve tried many countries, and our hearts keep pointing north: to the snow we grew up with, the quiet, the sea and the nature.

Norway is the place we’d love to call home. That’s why the Digital Arctic Nomads competition means so much to us. It could be the start of our next chapter.

Every thread we followed led north.

Coming next

North

We’ll add photos from our journey with the Digital Arctic Nomads programme here. The story goes on.

Help the Moomin family get to the Arctic: tap or press Space to jump