Toamnă şi poamă

A note on the pictures in this entry: while some images may seem bleak, this is both the reality of the season (autumn is after all, the prelude to winter’s death) and the reality of some areas of Moldova. After years of poverty, many villages such as Cîrpeşti, where I am currently staying, face a mass exodus of population, especially with the ability of Moldovans to now possess Romanian passports through hereditary means and thus travel freely in Europe. With many places abandoned, houses stand unfinished, gardens and communal spaces are unkept, with the majority of residents now emigrated to Italy, the nearest major European country. Still, amongst the harsh landscapes and lonely streets, I hope I can reflect some of the rustic and natural beauty this area displays to me.

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The rain seemed to have followed us from the airport all the way to my girlfriend’s home, and it looked as if it was there to stay for the next few days, changing intermittently between soft patter and tempest like torrents with howling rain which ran around the isolated house. On the first morning after my arrival, we even had the first snow of autumn, first in drabs, then in thick flakes, unable to stick to the ground because of it being drenched the night before. I moved from the living area of the house to the kitchen area, where my girlfriend’s mother was diligently preparing a continental breakfast for us.

In contrast to the cement coffee of the day before, we now drink Italian latte macchiato, with bread and butter, topped with homemade quince jam.

We eat well, and when nature calls my way to the outside toilet is blocked by chickens, who cluck around the back garden contentedly a make way for me once I advance. The privy is obviously a new experience for me, and although having to go out into the cold seems a chore, once I’m left to my own devices I am more relaxed that I would be in an indoor toilet, where I could be disturbed at any minute. Leaving the privy, I see the snow is thickening and the chickens now huddle under the corn shed.

While the outside is bitterly cold at times, the house is never chilly, having been built with clay, it retains warmth in winter and releases it during Moldova’s stifling summers. Furthermore, the house is well heated by a brick fireplace (that kind of looks like peanut brittle) which radiates both sides of a wall, a living room on one side and a bedroom on the other. The house itself is separated into summer and winter rooms, with only the latter having a strong fire. In addition, there is a separate kitchen and bathroom section, which helps keep cooking smells away from living section, and allows for more efficient heating.

We head to my girlfriend’s cousins for lunch, on the way a gaggle of geese gather at a street corner, and dogs bark as we pass houses, marking their territory and scaring the geese, who honk and hurry away from the noise. On arrival, I meet my girlfriend’s two nephews, one of whom is still a baby, the other is two years old, but almost silent, as he has seemingly realised he can get what he wants without making a sound. Wise indeed. 

Lunch is served: plain boiled rice, crispy fried potatoes, and a carrot and cabbage salad. (With meat for the non-vegetarians!) Once this is gone, it is followed by bergamot tea accompanied by plăcintă cu cartofi.

On the way back home, the cruel wind is in our faces, and I long for the warmth of the house. The surrounding countryside is desolate, with distant rolling hills softly powered white with snow, which has now ceased but has left a chill in the air. Once home we take the last of the good grapes from the vine, and eat them with homemade pastries. On this subject, it was brought to my attention that the shape of Moldova is more like a bunch of grapes than a banana, which is probably more agreeable considering the wine culture here.

Specifically, this type of red grape is called Moldova, a testament to the country’s place amongst the top wine exporters in the world.

 Now holed up for the rest of the day, we await the arrival of my girlfriend's sister from school. When she comes she is stone cold, and we nap together on the divan like two lazy cats.

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Picture Source: http://wineofmoldova.com/en/