Moeciu de Sus: Pastorally yours

Miles upon miles of pastoral landscape is what Sue and I came across while aking our way towards Moeciu de Sus, a lovely Romanian hamlet- so friends had mentioned to us. Taking the Transfagarsan was hardly the best idea, the way being too long , but neither Sue nor I had issues with driving stretches of beautiful road under a bright mauve sky. Once in a while an odd horse cart would draw up close and the farmer seated atop would cheerily wave at us. We were met by several hitch-hikers on the way. We decided not to stop for anyone initially.

But then we saw two women all by themselves and I pulled over at Sue’s request. Mother and daughter, their names were Gina and Sophia. They didn’t speak a word of English and we knew no Romanian but we still managed to communicate courtesy of miming. We saw an assortment of cattle on the roads, especially cows. At one point I had to stop and let a gaggle of geese cross over. Surrounded by such bucolic wonder, who could complain?

It was Sue who took the wheel by the time we pulled up at the guest house our travel agent Sheena had fixed for us, the Casa Dragoslovean. “Sounds dragon-ish, doesn’t it?” Sue had exclaimed before setting off. Hardly, was our collective verdict on beholding it. The interiors are even prettier; very comfortable and inviting. What I really liked about the place was the food prepared entirely from local produce. Much of it is grown in the kitchen garden and simply delicious for that reason.

There is a strange calm energy about this Romanian village that makes its visitors feel rejuvenated and relaxed akin to the feeling of having just woken from a deep sleep. Stepping out of the guest house Sue and I were content to simply walking around, soaking in the pastoral landscape with its story-book scenery. We also watched the hay stacking and dairying activities. Among the places I absolutely recommend is a village called Bran which is pretty much next door to Moeciu de Sus and, like the latter, breathtakingly beautiful with little hills and waterfalls. A memorable vacation spot, certainly.