At the end of September, I spent another week wandering through the Romanian countryside—this time through the Apuseni Mountains. And it was different from Maramures and different from the first time. First of all, it’s a completely different landscape. Although Maramures, located in the foothills of the Carpathians, is also mountainous, the Apuseni Mountains are a true mountain range. And that just gives it a different vibe. It’s a stunning landscape. Second, I was better prepared this time for what lay ahead. I’d gotten to know Vlad by then, so seeing him again was nice and felt familiar, and I entered the cottages with less hesitation.
But some things remained the same: this time, too, some visits were emotional. Because we never just take a photo—we often spend a lot of time with people—stories emerge, and with them, sometimes tears. Tears for a husband who drowned in a well, for an alcoholic son, or for the worry about a child with intellectual disabilities who will be left to fend for himself when his parents are gone. As you grow older, you look back on a life that hasn’t always been easy, or you face a future that seems difficult. Now that I, too, am getting older, I understand those emotions better, and it moves me—time and time again—especially because these people don’t have the financial means to cope with setbacks. Money can’t take away suffering, but it can make life a little easier. Many elderly people in rural Romania still have to provide for their own food and daily needs in the fall of their lives. After a lifetime of hard work, you’d wish them a well-deserved, peaceful retirement—yet that is by no means always granted to these people. I still find that hard to accept. But most of them were so cheerful, kind, and approachable—and above all, proud of their homes, gardens, yards, and livestock. And rightly so. I’m always amazed at how readily people in Romania welcome you and let you take their picture.
There wasn’t a set itinerary this time either. This type of photography can’t be planned. The days unfolded one after another, filled with chance encounters and unexpected opportunities. A few hours of landscape photography when we opened the curtains and looked out onto a misty world. An early-morning ride offered in an old-fashioned horse-and-carriage (try saying no to that). An old man who invited us inside, where we stepped into what felt like a 17th-century painting, because his handsome wife was sitting by the window reading in beautiful light. You don’t come to Romania just to take pictures.
We took many photos in what are known as mutături. You won’t find these in Maramures either. Mutături can best be described as traditional summer settlements high in the Apuseni Mountains, where families stay with their livestock for several months, often from mid-May to early October. It is mainly the older generation that can still be found here. Scattered across the mountain pastures are simple wooden houses, barns, and haylofts. In the summer, a small, close-knit, self-sufficient community forms here. Sometimes there are makeshift churches, small grocery stores, and bars. As the cold season approaches, the residents return with their livestock to their lower-lying villages. The cows often find their way back on their own. I wasn’t familiar with this phenomenon and found it very interesting. This year, quite a few residents had already left, returning to the lower-lying villages; due to the drought, there wasn’t enough grass or water for the livestock. Fortunately, we still found a few residents there, all of whom were already packing up. We shouldn’t have come a day later.
I’ll keep it short this time and let the photos tell the rest of the story. I’d like to conclude with a lovely saying from Maria, whom we ran into in her yard while she was cooking apples for the pigs:
“When you go on a trip, you prepare food to sustain yourself along the way. It’s the same with our journey to eternity. What you prepare for yourself here on earth is what you’ll take with you when you appear before God.”
Contact me if you'd like to take these trips to Romania yourself.
