Experiencing Life in Maramures

As you drive into the region of Maramures it feels as though you have gone back in time.  The remote region in northern Romania seems to have stood still while the rest of the world moved on, abandoning our traditions and adopting new technologies.

The first sign that this time warp has occurred is a horse cart on the highway. A man sits atop the cart filled with hay and trots along wondering why he is getting so much of our attention.  As we drive down the winding roads we are surrounded by lush green hills covered in wildflowers, trees and Romanian hay stacks.   Occasionally a herd of sheep can be seen on the hillside, a shepherd watching carefully over the flock.  Posts along the highway hold huge nests atop of which sit families of storks.  It is such a perfect, serene scene that you can’t help but breath it all in and wonder why we were all in such a rush to leave this life behind.

The people here are farmers.  Many live in traditional wooden homes that look like they may have been handed down for generations. These are the kind you might find in a museum anywhere else in the world but here they are still working farms.   The occasional modern, stucco home still sports a traditional Romanian wooden gate, a sign of how important traditions are to the people of this region.

We were lucky enough to be able to visit one of the traditional farmhouses of the region.  Unlike the west the farms here aren’t large.  Most farmers have a small home with a barn for their animals, a garden, and a small plot of land in which they grow hay to feed them.  We asked our guide why we don't’ see more animals in the fields.  His response was that with small plots of land farmers can’t afford to let their cows graze as they wouldn’t then have enough hay to feed them for the rest of the year.  So, in cases like the home we visited, a couple of small barns housed half a dozen cows, a few pigs, some sheep, chickens, rabbits and the family cat – all just a mere feet from the families residence.

A working fulling mill.

This family  didn’t just raise animals to make a living. They also used the wool from their sheep to make yarn and then weave that yarn into beautiful blankets and rugs.  It was a true end to end business all done in this tiny little Romanian home. We were taken to the back barn that housed a traditional water wheel driven fulling mill.  This is a device we actually did see in a museum in Bucharest just a couple of weeks before but here we saw it hard at work pounding a wool blanket into felt.  This particular mill has been in the family since 1605 and generation after generation have used it to make blankets and clothing.

We were also shown how to make yarn from raw sheep’s wool. With the help of the lady of the house both Amelie and I gave it a try.  Amelie was quickly a pro while I fumbled with the needle and decided I should probably stick to my day job.  For the next task in the process I decided to let Amelie lead the way. She sat with this grandmother and learned to weave on a traditional loom, much as this woman had learned to do when she was Amelie’s age.

Afterwards we were invited into the matrimony room, where they hang heirloom rugs that have been handed down for generations. Here we where we were treated to a cup of the families’ homemade palinka, a traditional fruit based moonshine that reminded us of schnapps.  Both of us chose to try the blueberry palinka and were surprised at how smooth and sweet it tasted.

The girls were then swiftly dressed in traditional Romanian clothing from the puffy blouses and aprons to the traditional head scarf.  Christian and I were not to be left out and she found outfits for each of us.  It was a sweet and endearing experience as this grandmother fawned over each of us to find us just the right outfit so that we would have a chance to feel like we were Romanian ourselves.

This was just one part of an incredible day, led by a wonderful personal guide who introduced us to locals, explained some of the traditions of the area and showed us some of the more interesting local sights.    If you find yourself lucky enough to be visiting this beautiful part of the world I can’t recommend him highly enough. You can find him online here at Maramures Tours.