Bucovina – a piece of heaven

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The tough and cold air, green coasts and swishing spring waters, this is how most of us imagine paradise. But you can enjoy all these to the fullest in a region that has kept its original charm unaltered since the beginning of times – Bucovina.

For the average tourist, Bucovina can be a great surprise. Over there, the signs of civilization are the railway stations and, just like in Romania, people as just as nice, the roads are and bad, in places.

But beyond them, the scape and habits are fascinating. The inhabitants welcome everyone; they show all the things enjoy will here: the gentle nature, the flavored food, the free breed horses, and the silence and peaceful monasteries.

At the end of a staying here you can’t be anything else but refreshed.

Bucovina

Green as far as the eye can see, virgin, impressive forests, clear air and huge sky, a certain waving of the mountains, the way in which villages gather between the crests, these are just some details of Bucovina. Nature is here a character in itself, overwhelming you through its presence. And the local people know that and chose not to transform the landscape, but to adapt to it. This is how you get the impres¬sion that nothing is changed, that you are in a corner of heaven. They learned to appreciate the beauty of nature in their daily life, using the bright colors for their traditional costumes, in their specific towels and especially in their carpets. Such a symbiosis of man and nature can only give birth to a seed of proud people, fearful of God and keepers of habits hundreds of years old.

Bucovina

Traditional carpets

The Romanian peasants had put in their carpets all the beauty of the surroundings they live in. And the ones from Bucovina had a lot to inspire them. True traditional art masterpieces emerged from their hands, appreciated by all those passing by. The colors they use are obtained from natural pigments, proof of these peo¬ple symbiosis with the environ¬ment. Add to this the fact that they wash them only with clear spring water and you’ll understand why are these traditional carpets so precious.

Traditional carpets

What lies ahead of you

At the guest houses in Bucovina, you may be sure that they are inherited for generations, some entirely built from wood. The hosts are waiting for you with sheets and towels woven manually by girls to be married, using weaving machines hundreds of years old. The water you will drink flows from the mountains and reminds of the water of life in the fairy tales. The food is tasty and flavored and all the ingredients are obtained from the household production. A breakfast with milk freshly taken from the cow, fresh cheese and warm eggs from the nest provide the energy for the entire day; you are ready to take on the charming surroundings of the area. During your walk, you will come acros horses bred almost exclusively in the wild, lively colored flowers scattered across the plains and proud fir trees climbing towards the sky. The slope is moderately difficult so that you can get to the top with not much sweat. If you are in search of adrenalin, you can venture on the pathways on a bicycle.

Bucovina

The figure of Stephen the Great

The most important personality of Moldavia is for sure Stephen the Great. Signs of its passing on this land are visible all around the province, from the fortress he built at Suceava to the numerous monasteries that give the specific of the region.

History has been kind with the Moldavian ruler, writing down all his victories and his important role as the defender of Christianity. The Romanians made much more then this, they put him in the calendar among the saints. Since then, on 2nd of July, they celebrate him around the country.

Stephen the Great

Inherited richness

Maybe you will be in Bucovina around the great religious holidays. You will understand some more about these lands: that God is everywhere around here. The locals in Bucovina put on their traditional costumes for the holidays, gather near churches and participate with piety to the ceremony. And if you want to live to the fullest the communion with God, you have to see Voronet, with its famous blue color, Gura Humorului, with its walls and geranium flowers, the glorious Moldovita and the defense walls of Sucevita. The paintings of these famous monaster¬ies, as well as the magical places where they are built opened their way to the UNESCO patrimony.

Gura Humorului

Blue of Voronet

One of the most important trademarks of Bucovina is the blue painting used by the Moldavian artisans to cover the walls of Voronet monastery in beautiful icons. The colour is freshly preserved despite the hundred of years and has raised questions about the technique used to obtain it to the conservation methods used.

Blue of voronet

Voronet monastery

The locals

The locals in Bucovina describe themselves as hardworking and witty, different from others. They are free to enjoy the forests – wood is the main resource; hay is also an element dictating the rhythm of their lives. Also they are friends with horses which they decorate with big, colorful fringes and they keep alive the special craft of making cheese. Water springs provide them with tasty fish which they roll in tree leaves and then smoke. Blueberies, blackberries and strawberries sweeten the childhood of the little ones.

The red, round and healthy cheeks are a feature common to every local born and living in these lands.

Their rapid and dynamic dances surprise those passing by, being mostly admired by the foreigners. If it’s not fasting time during the weekend you might be welcomed to the wedding of a young couple. The village gathers on the streets to celebrate and to take part to the joy of the grooms.

Suceava Seat Fortress

The land of peace

Locals have long known that they are on a blessed land. That’s precisely why they kept it as it was passed on to them. But their great talent is their ability to take the best out of this land and gather others to admire and take pleasure from here.

If you find yourself on these lands, you have to take a deep breath and put aside the daily con-cerns. You have to let yourself loose in the calm flow of the surroundings, to give a hand at gath-ering the hay, take the cows to grazing so that you can rest under a tree’s shadow and listen to the peaceful sounds of the bells in the afternoon. You have to enjoy Bucovina – a different world.