Ruminations from Romania: Part 6: Market and Countryside.

An uncomplicated Saturday which comprised of a visit to the local weekly market in Bratca, followed by a longer than anticipated walk (7 hot miles) back through the fields and lanes to the B & B for a very late picnic-style lunch. The latter was rather more substantial than the term picnic might imply as there was a wedding happening at the same time and we were served some of the same food. 

Here's the usual random selection of images to give you just a hint of what we've seen.

1.  The market at Bratca. One photograph does not do it justice as it sold everything from piglets to pyjamas to powdered milk to peppers to plastic mallets. And some rather delicious fried bread pancake type things called placintas. The best came with chocolate spread.

2. More envy. This time it's trailer envy. I want one of these. Just imagine the kudos I'd get at the tip in Launceston.

3.  A typical landscape for this part of the world. What I like about it is that it's a working and productive landscape with lots going on. A Bruegel painting of a landscape. And what's more, everything that was grown was available in the market. Food miles? They just aren't applicable.

4.  A fairly typical wooden farm house with it's well in close proximity.

5.  A delightful wooden church we passed by. Most were destroyed during the Communist era but this one survived due to some subterfuge by the locals. The tower was taken down and hidden and the main body of the building was disguised as a barn. It has a beautiful shingle roof and precision wall joints. It is still in use and has strong family connections with our B & B hosts.

Ruminations from Romania: Part 5: It's picnic time.

Weather a little overcast today with a few drops of rain every now and again. What better day to choose for a picnic? We were taken into a gorge by our hosts and there we messed around in the woods and by or in the river until they called us over for the barbecue they had prepared. After that, we wandered back along a track to a nearby village (4 miles-ish), where we were picked up and driven back to the B & B.  And after that we lounged around until dinner came our way. Here are a few photos  to mark the day.

1.  Here's what happens if you fall in the river. Not recommended. And I did have a licence from the State Police to show those legs.

2.  Gabi, Christina and Ella doing some serious barbecuing.

3.  Have I shown you this shot of our shower? Low on privacy but high on getting back to nature.

4.  Rush hour in Bratca. Note the stork's nest on the telegraph pole in front of the church.

5.  A screen grab off my camera of a map butterfly. An usual butterfly to see and this one landed on my knee and stayed there for a few minutes.

6.  Another screen grab and another butterfly - this one is a silver washed fritillary. Not particularly rare but very attractive nonetheless.

Ruminations from Romania: Part 4: Half way through already.

A quick postscript on yesterday's police saga. Apparently most of the local businesses that did not take some form of evasive action were fined, causing much distress and annoyance. So much so that some form of legal challenge is going to be brought by one of the larger premises (part of a chain so there's likely to be something lodged centrally rather than out in the sticks).  I do hope that something positive does come out of this as we heard some horrendous stories of the impact on a few local small businesses.

 Today we gave our boots a rest and were taken on a sight-seeing trip to the nearest big town - Oradea - the motto for which could have been "once is enough". I think we were glad to have seen it but it wouldn't be worth a second visit.

Here are a few photographs to mark the day:

1.  An interesting breakfast platter which featured little cheese mounds covered in grated coconut - very tasty - and a potato and onion frittata (equally as tasty).

2.  The town market had lots of stalls of denim, which explains the dress code of Eastern Europeans in the UK.

3.  A view of the largest monastery in this part of Romania. It's fully functioning and dates from the 1990's.

And the one immediately below shows the impressive range of patisserie on display in many venues in Oradea. Maybe it is worth a second visit just to sample more of these?

Ruminations from Romania: Part 3: Unexpected visitors and a long walk

Nobody expected the Spanish Inquisition and no one expected the Romanian State Police! A frisson of excitement yesterday afternoon. We were relaxing in our chalet after our walk when the call came "put everything away, lock up and head for the hills - the police are coming". Not being in any position to argue, that's exactly what we did and picked up some more details as we went along. Apparently, every now and again the State Police get some pretext to inspect businesses and, if things aren't all correct (and the definition of this seems to be capricious and variable) swingeing on-the-spot fines are imposed. Think harassment and corruption and you'll understand both the context and the reason local people were concerned to avoid a visit from them. Businesses play safe by closing or appearing to be closed. In the case of our B & B, the best option was to get us all out and away and lock the gates! So, the 11 of us hid behind bushes (only a very small exaggeration) until the coast was clear. How exciting, eh? Certainly not something that happens in Cornwall, although we have felt like taking to the hills when certain visitors are expected (with the exception of any readers of this blog, of course).

Today the boots were back on and we had what turned out to be a 13 miler (admit it - you are impressed) in the countryside around our accommodation. All very rural, passing through fields and hamlets. The natives so far have been uniformly friendly and I think we are getting a good feel for how the small-holdings operate. Subsistence level, yes. Low mechanisation, yes. Basic, yes but not at poverty level.

Will I have enough room to describe the photos? Let's try.

1. A panorama from the hilliest part of our walk, looking deeper into the Carpathian Mountains.

2. Oh dear - envy is back. This time it's log envy. Just look at the way these beauties are stacked. This is a thing of beauty and the sign of an obsessive stacker.

3.  An old fashioned pump. Simple but effective - just like me, really.

Ruminations from Romania Part 2: A relaxed day in the country.

The day dawned bright and sunny and our first task was breakfast. Simple, fresh and local - what could be better? And after that came a not-quite 7 mile relaxed meander through the neighbouring countryside. It was a combination of ridge and valley, through fields and farmsteads and gave us a good feel of rural life in this part of Romania. There are no large fields, or large farms for that matter, and the impression I gained was something almost akin to the old strip-farming method we used to have in the UK. What tractors we did come across seemed to be used for hauling rather as the basis of mechanised farming. Apple, pear, almond and walnut trees are abundant and it looks like it's going to be a good cropping year for all four. One of the most obvious signs of the farming methods was the patchwork of relatively small plots of different crops. Quite a few areas were either deliberately fallow or set aside for winter grazing and, whatever the reason for this, the visible product was small wild flower meadows all over the place. A little late in the year, perhaps, for too many flowers but there were enough there to keep us happy and interested.

My configuration of gadgets means that I have to tote the i-Pad around with me to get any photos for the blog so illustration is hampered somewhat by this. But they are better than nothing. You'll have to guess what they are as I've just found out, after typing lengthy and extremely witty explanations for each, that I've reached some sort of space limit. Woe is me.......

Post Script: The day finished with concerns about a visit from the State Police. More tomorrow?

Ruminations from Romania: Part 1: Three countries in a day.

Discounting yesterday's journey from Cornwall to Luton, today is Day 1 of our trip to Romania. Arranged to a very large extent by a friend of ours, we are spending 7 nights in the region of Transylvania, which is in the north-west of the country. Our accommodation is Casa Delurini, which has a charitable status in that profits go to support an orphanage. But more of that later - probably - when I find out more. Until I do, here's the view from our chalet. It was interesting to see the stooks of hay drying in the sun and the grass being cut by scythe.

And here is a view of the chalet complex in the distance, as seen on a leisurely evening stroll through the surrounding farmland. The yellow building is at the bottom of 'our' plot. One of our number collected a bouquet of the wild flowers we came across. Nothing we don't come across in the UK but, perhaps, flowering a little later. What is striking around here is the quiet. Cornwall is quiet but here is another notch quieter. Problems with the internet connection means that this post must end here: I can't see if it's successful until it's gone. Here's hoping.

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