LAZY   WEEKEND
(Thursday, or Friday  -  to Sunday)

        Suppose you want a lazy weekend, away from it all, back to
Nature and Roots and Sense. We have it (that's where we revive
ourselves).  No crowds and blasting music from strings of bars, fumes,
dubious food and drinks, or company.
        Sorry, we cannot publicly disclose the name of the mountain
village we have in mind  -  to avoid the very crowds mentioned above. On
demand, we shall punctually share its location with you.
        Now, what is it all about?
        
        This is a remote, live, authentic Romanian village in the
Carpathians (unlike so many others which turned "touristic"). The
farmers here own pastures in the mountains (hay-gathering is a
summer-long occupation), raise sheep, cows, pigs, geese and hens, they
tend orchards and small vegetable gardens (enough for the family), brew
their own plum-brandy and gems and syrups and pickles, unaware of "food
preservatives", of "food or drink colouring, or taste" (their roast
chicken needs no "chicken flavour" injections). You should taste their
apples, the milk there, the eggs, the honey, the cheese, their tomatoes!
        We know of people who never saw a live cow in their lives, yet
instantly recognized the roots of life, of nourishment, stashed deep in
their memory. One gets re-born in a place like this.

        Yes, their houses have bathrooms and cable TV and telephones,
lots of lace-work, rather naive, romantic paintings and keepsakes, old
B&A photos of the elders, usually in folk costumes, matching the faint
smell of basil.
        You may visit the church, the old reeling houses left in place,
answering "buna ziua"  (good day) to those who greet you. Or stroll in
the woods, near-by. Or take a motor-boat ride on a 14 km. long lake, or
even fish there. Or just go fully lazy, letting your landlady refill
your glass and plate, listening to the sounds of the village. What a
life!
  
        And? As a rule, a weekend like this clears your mind and body,
returns humanity and raises unavoidable questions as to the sanity of a
life spent anywhere else. It's good to compare.

                                 Lazy  BTT
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