How often do families with small children put off traveling until later, expecting their children to become more independent or have a more stable financial situation? It's a completely different story with Claire and Ian Fisher from the UK. One day, after burying a close family member and friend, they suddenly realized that life is short and there is simply no point in waiting for this “later”. Thus began their long journey, which has no end in sight.
Claire is now 31, her husband Ian is 28, and they have two children - three-year-old Maddison and five-year-old son Callan. Life in Wales is good, but it is too crowded for them to live within one country. Once realizing that a settled life was not for them - at least not in their native Wales - the Fisher family decided to radically change everything. “We still travel a lot as a family. If we can, we go somewhere three times a year. We recently returned from Dubai,” says Claire. “We realized that we are only happy when we travel or when we plan our trips. So We decided to go on such a trip so as not to even think about when we would return."
Claire works as a business coach, Ian works in media. It’s not that they were the richest people, but they had enough money for the first time of travel. So that they would not have to be broke later, the couple decided to sell all their belongings - from the car to the handbag, everything. "We've roughly planned out our trip for eight months in advance, and then we'll come back, visit our families, our friends, and then we're thinking about heading out again and continuing our travels." Claire is very optimistic: "I'd like to travel all over the world, so we didn't really plan when to come back. I think as soon as we find a place where we all like it, we'll move there."
In case their savings do run out, the couple plans to find a job locally. At one time, they invested in purchasing a photo and video camera, so at the same time they post videos and photos about their adventures on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. “I work from home anyway, so basically I can make money even while traveling. And if something comes out of our social media project, that will be great.”
“We have always wanted to do not only work, but also help as volunteers, this will be especially useful for children - to learn how to early age how important it is to come to the rescue. When you work for full time, you spend little time on such things. But now that we travel, we can afford to volunteer too."
The couple doesn't want their children to just fool around while traveling, so they work with them together, following an online curriculum, and the children will go to a regular school when they decide where they will settle down for a permanent life. In the meantime, the family plans to travel until Christmas, selling all their belongings at the same time, then return to the family for the holidays, stay, and hit the road again. “When we announced our intention to our families, well, I can’t say they were happy,” says Claire. “But most of them are still happy for us.”
Dmitry and Maria Shevtsov traveled around the globe in 14 months, visiting all continents and discovering not only the world, but also each other. Anton MILEKHIN talked with travelers and realized that any couple can use their experience even on smaller trips.
Dmitry and Maria Shevtsov traveled around the globe in 14 months, visiting all continents and discovering not only the world, but also each other. Anton MILEKHIN talked with travelers and realized that any couple can use their experience even on smaller trips.
First there was an idea. It sounds very simple: Dmitry invited Maria to go on a trip around the world, and she immediately supported him. However, this simple idea many couples would find it funny but unrealistic. She seemed strange to most of Dmitry and Maria’s acquaintances. Relatives were perplexed as to how the mass could be resolved organizational issues associated with such an event. (“How much luggage will you have?!” exclaimed one of Masha’s friends).
However, what from the outside looked like a crazy idea was actually a mature and deliberate decision. Like many, Dmitry and Maria at a certain stage of their lives thought about summing up intermediate results and choosing the direction where to move next. Someone else, thinking about a new path of development, could, for example, go to business school - but our heroes chose a trip around the world.
RUSSIA - FINLAND - CANADA - USA - MEXICO - PERU - BOLIVIA - ARGENTINA - URUGUAY - CHILE - BRAZIL - ANTARCTICA - EASTER ISLAND - TAHITI - NEW ZEALAND - AUSTRALIA - SINGAPORE - THAILAND - CAMBODIA - MALAYSIA - CHINA - SRI - LANKA - JAPAN - SOUTH AFRICA - BOTSWANA - ZAMBIA - ZIMBABWE - MADAGASCAR - MAURITIUS - QATAR - UK - GERMANY - FRANCE - RUSSIA
International panorama
Of course, organizing the trip raised many questions one way or another. First of all, there is the problem of entry permits to all designated countries. Within a few weeks, each of the travelers had to receive about 20 visas. Not a single travel company took on this task: when they learned about the route, travel agents shrugged their shoulders. Several times Dmitry and Maria themselves had to visit embassies and explain to the consuls why they needed to get to this or that state. The difficulties did not end with the volume of work: it was necessary to take into account that each visa had to remain valid at the time of entry into the country. Meanwhile, as you know, some states impose additional restrictions: from the moment a visa begins to be valid for many countries, no more than 30 or 60 days must pass before entry. Dmitry and Maria found a way out: the embassies of some countries sent documents for their visas to those cities where travelers could obtain these visas in order to cross borders on time. For example, in Mexico they received several visas to countries South America, a Japanese visa was waiting for them in Australia, etc.
RUSSIA
Kamchatka became the last point of the trip across Russia - Dmitry and Maria traveled the entire Trans-Siberian Railway from end to end, from west to east. They managed to find the Valley of Geysers untouched, which was hit by several mudflows last year. Thinking that there is little that can surprise them anymore home country, travelers were amazed by the variety of natural wonders. Geysers, thermal springs, schools of fish on the Sea of Okhotsk, acid lakes, 10 thousand volcanoes - and all this on one peninsula.
Dmitry and Maria are not backpackers or hitchhikers, although they were guided by some of the principles of the most unpretentious of all travelers. Nor can they be called tourists, for whom the main thing is maximum comfort and safety. Their path, as a rule, did not coincide with traditional tourist routes. When constructing the next segment “from point A to point B,” travelers were guided primarily by the opportunity to gain new impressions. For example, having managed to travel around almost all of respectable Europe, this time they did not plan to stay there (the exception was Scandinavia). At the same time, when determining the time of stay in the country, they did not strictly record it. Having gotten bored, Dmitry and Maria could hit the road earlier than the planned date. And vice versa: where they liked it more than they expected, travelers could stay for a much longer period. This happened, for example, in Buenos Aires: instead of the planned three days, Dmitry and Maria spent ten there, and then, after visiting Uruguay, they returned to this city again. And the real discovery for them was China, where they stayed for almost a month.
SOUTH AMERICA
Mount Machu Picchu in Peru rightfully claims to be the place from which you can watch the best sunrise in the world. In addition, there is an Inca city, which was abandoned by the inhabitants back in the 16th century and may never have been discovered if a local boy guide had not shown the way to it in 1911. The location of the city was so well thought out that if you took the first step along the road leading away and looked back, it could no longer be seen.
Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world, about 3800 meters above sea level, and is divided between Peru and Bolivia. Local population, the Uros Indians, fleeing from the Spanish conquistadors, once learned to make floating islands from compressed totora (a plant like reed growing along the shores of a lake). These islands are still “active”, houses still stand on them, local residents are born, study, work and die there.
Light
Despite the fact that one of the goals of the trip was to search for opportunities for new investments (Dmitry is a specialist in direct investments, and Maria heads a financial Internet portal), all incoming calls, including those related to work, were taboo. When you admire the sunrise on the Peruvian mountain Machu Picchu and in other exceptional moments of reflection and contemplation, you don’t even want to think about the fact that a business partner from Moscow might call. Dmitry and Maria used phones “unilaterally” - they turned them on only if they themselves needed to dial a number. Second important rule- minimum luggage. Each traveler had a suitcase - and buying new bags was prohibited. Sometimes, for example in some countries Latin America, suitcases were replaced by backpacks. If at one of the destinations one of them bought an item, he had to immediately throw away something he already had. Relatives and friends were not left completely without souvenirs: several times parcels with gifts were sent to Russia. To make their task easier, Dmitry and Maria built the route in such a way as to always be in the warm season. This way they got rid of the need to carry warm clothes with them. Maria admits that during her travels she absolutely got used to taking things lightly and even a whole suitcase seemed too big to her. Upon returning to Moscow, she looked with surprise at the belongings accumulated at home.
Flexibility and lightness - this attitude has helped travelers more than once. After all, even the brightest, most delicious impressions can be too much. When one of them got tired, Dmitry and Maria had the wisdom not to bring the tension to a critical level. Feeling that the time had come to digest the impressions, they took a time out - for example, they stayed for several days in Tahiti. But as a result, out of 14 months, the young people spent only two weeks on the beach.
ANTARCTICA
Antarctica was not initially included in the travel plan - Dmitry and Maria simply did not imagine that such a possibility existed. They learned in Chile that a tourist could land on a continent covered with ice. It turned out that places on such a trip need to be booked a year and a half in advance. Such expedition cruises involve not only ordinary travelers, but also scientists who carry out quite serious work at the same time: they watch birds or whales, and give lectures to others. Our travelers were already in Uruguay when information suddenly appeared that two places had become available.
They quickly equipped themselves and set sail. It turned out that in December, that is, when it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, it is not so cold in Antarctica - around minus two. The glaciers are melting, exposing the land, and you can land on the mainland and visit scientific stations. The entertainment on board is those very lectures, which, despite their optionality, everyone attends, and with great pleasure. Scientist-enthusiasts are doing their best to make you learn as much as possible about the continent and become imbued with its environmental problems.
EASTER ISLAND
Easter Island is famous primarily for its mysterious story: its population once died out, but huge stone sculptures remained. But Dmitry and Maria discovered that the island is also a great place for a secluded, relaxing holiday. There is a very pleasant, peaceful atmosphere, hospitable people and beautiful views.
Flexible planning distinguished great trip Dmitry and Maria from the traditional round trip. When you come to an unfamiliar place to relax for a week, taken out of your work schedule, you cannot change anything: neither the duration nor the place of stay. In any case, you have to be content with what you have, and even if the desired resort disappoints, you convince yourself that your vacation was a success. And vice versa, by planning just a couple of days in a city that instantly makes you fall in love with you, you force yourself to believe that there was nothing special there... And thanks to your flexibility, you can communicate more with new people. In Peru, Dmitry and Maria became friends with very interesting couple from San Francisco and decided to spend the next three days traveling as a foursome (they went to Lake Titicaca, on the border of Bolivia and Peru). This would, of course, be impossible if they had a rigid plan for the week or month in advance.
Dmitry and Maria found real freedom because they did not book hotels and plane tickets in advance - a maximum of two or three days in advance. Here Dmitry and Maria are once again coincided in their preferences: not everyone can live and travel in this format. Flexibility is flexibility, but you can’t fly from every point on the globe at any day and time, no matter how much you pay. Nevertheless, with the help of the Internet and telephone, travelers were able to resolve such issues within 24 hours. The only city, where it was not possible to find a hotel right away - Quebec City, where a major conference was then taking place. Since the hotels in the city were full, our heroes had to seek shelter in the suburbs.
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand is remembered for its beautiful beaches. And this one is also one of the longest in the world (50 miles). There are abandoned cars there: attempts to drive along the beach usually end in failure - the cars become hopelessly stuck in the quicksand.
Closing the circle
So, Dmitry and Maria were not complacent tourists who explored only fashionable resorts. Ordinary routes have their own meaning, but they would not allow us to see the vast majority of the beauties of the countries where our heroes visited. Moreover, the couple had to endure several unpleasant and even downright dangerous moments. Bangkok tickled their nerves with an 8-magnitude earthquake, which forced them to leave the hotel and spend several hours on a ship several kilometers from the coast in anxious anticipation. There were no casualties among the city residents, but there was no shortage of thrills. In Africa, in Zimbabwe, Dmitry and Maria witnessed the terrible actions of the government of President Mugabe. The police burned houses, forcing the population to return to their native villages. Hurrying to leave the country, travelers drove to the airport past burning houses, and they were scared not so much because of the possibility of not being on time for the only flight, but because of worries about local residents.
Dmitry and Maria asked for another extreme episode of their journey. They flew by helicopter from the Valley of Geysers in Kamchatka and persuaded the pilot to land on the edge of a volcanic crater. The landing was successful on the third attempt - as it later turned out, he had never experimented like this before. They wandered along the edge of the abyss, falling into volcanic ash. And below it shone unreal turquoise color acid lake...
But our heroes avoided the most important danger. Going on a trip around the world, Dmitry and Maria were in the process of getting to know each other and, of course, took a certain risk. Many of their acquaintances believed that the trip would end in two months: Dmitry would decide to return to business, and Maria would prefer a more relaxing holiday somewhere on the coast. However, after 14 months together they still had general topics for discussion, and overcoming all the difficulties of the journey together only strengthened their relationship. Moreover, they decided to get married and have a child. “We can climb together to the very top high mountain or jump with a parachute, but joint adventures do not at all guarantee that things will work out for you in your common life. If you want to test your feelings, go with your loved one on at least a two-week trip,” advises Maria.
And a trip around the world, unlike any other, gives an idea of the finitude of our world, of how small it really is. Remember how, after spending some time in a foreign city, you gradually begin to navigate it. Don’t just memorize the names of streets and areas, house numbers, but feel the new space. When you feel the city with your fingertips, you no longer think about which alley to turn into to get to the square you need. Dmitry and Maria had approximately the same feeling, only on a global scale, as soon as the chain of countries they crossed closed. The desire to learn new things is still alive in our heroes. Dmitry and Maria organized a photo exhibition in the Nashchokin House, began writing a book in the footsteps of this journey, and are always happy to have the opportunity to put another flag on the map of their wanderings. Their daughter has already visited six countries with them in just the first eight months of her life.
Spring has arrived in Argentina.
All mourning matters were completed. Nick's body was cremated in Illinois.According to Indian custom, the ashes were scattered to the wind on the farm where Yves was born and raised. Elena-Maria met her sister Iva and her husband, who also took part in this sad event.
After all these rather difficult events, they returned to Argentina, to Salta. The husband started working at the factory. He was still very depressed, but no matter how hard and gray and almost black life was for him at that moment, it continued.
And Elena Maria still knew nothing about Amparo and Adriano. She didn’t ask her husband again. Why reopen the wound? Most likely, these two simply ran away in cowardice. After all the police investigations on the Brazilian side when preparing the documents, this was the most reasonable option for them, because bothserious time, both in Argentine and even BrazilianMerkam - death penalty by hanging for premeditated murder and causing grievous bodily harm to members of the film crew. However, realizing how cynical and unprincipled these two were, she knew that Adriano Planos is the head of the Argentine Federal Police, and Amparo’s husband is a commissioner in Buenos Aires, and once he had already saved his wife’s neck from a noose for the death of Evan Moralez, he would save him again second time. In addition, both Amparo and Adriano had excellent support from the headCIDErepresented by Belen Garcia-Marquez de Peru. She was Adriano's sister and Amparo's friend.Even in totalitarian Argentina there was no control over these two, and from thisYves had a feeling of complete powerlessness. He understood that these two would continue to live peacefully, but Nick and Clemente Salamanca would never be returned.IN in this case law beforeI was simply powerless with connections. Yves understood this too. There was no legislative force in Argentina that could hold these two to account for crime committed. Unless they wouldwould have suffered God's punishment. For some reason, Elena-Maria was firmly convinced that there was justice in the world. She was a Catholic, albeit not the most devout, but the only thing she believed in was that there would be retribution, and it would be equally cruel. And Amparo, and Adriano and Clayton. The evil that they gave will return in full, a full cup to each of them. However, Yves did not believe in justice, and she knew that he just wanted to kill them. It was extremely difficult to restrain her husband from hatred, but she tried.
After the death of Leo and Nick in life Iva formed a hugean incomparable emptiness, he had previously devoted his entire life to children, and especially to Nick, because Nick lived next to him, and the eldest was raised by his mother. But Yves lived with thinking about the happiness of your children. And after their death, Yves had no aspirations, no desires. Wasonly his huge empire, which suddenly became worthless becauseit was built only in the name of children. Where and for what it was all, he didn’t even seem to know. He also didn’t know how to fill his emptiness.
Elena Maria saw it all. The term of their contract to hire her as a wife was coming to an end, and she was thinking more and more about what she should do next. It would be simply inhumane for her to leave him at this particular time. Yes, he is strong, he will rise to his feet on his own, but she did not want him to become completely bitter and waste his life on revenge. It was an inner, deep desire to help himget back on your feet after a hard blow in life, maybe find yourself or just help wait afterthe darkest night of his life present dawn. Then he can do it himself. And we had to go through the “night” together. “For better and for worse, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health,” as befits a wife. Their little one family life for a period of a month suddenly endowed them with the entire spectrum inherent in real married couples- both a joint venture and a flooded onesunlight, quite bright“honeymoon trip” to Brazil, and the severe pain of losing the dearest and loved one. Fate turned out strangefrom the moment of the Transaction. “I want us to have a family like everyone else!” - it seems that is exactly what he wished. They survivedtogether, perhaps, everything... except love...
Yes, she had to make a decision whether to leave or stay with him a little more. Yes, she grew gloomy, remembering Coull, she remembered how Eveyelled at her and fired her. She understood that sooner or later, when all his polished self-confidence returned to Yves, she herselfmay end up in exactly the same situation,that she will be kicked out.After all, she was in exactly the same position as a wife hired for money, as was psychiatrist Coull, hired for money. He was sleepingwith both, and didn’t seem to see any difference. Yes and nothing one “hired woman” is no different from another. She understood that for Yves there are things that are many times more important than hers, and the incident with the flying saucer and his flight to Argentina proved this to her. She knew that her opinion was not important to him, because a bottle of whiskey for him could be many times more important than all her interests - she remembered this too from Brazil.And so far she could not make a clear and clear decision. But she still had a few more days to decide for herself what to do next.
In the meantime, we had to finally sort out the filming. Because the film was her goal, and the presence or absence of Kramer in her life did not affect this.
Filming was scheduled for September 2. Nancy andMichaela promised to be there, both were serious, and this could not but please.In general, by the end of filming, Nancy amazed me with her composure and efficiency. ApparentlyI realized that just because she had received an acting diploma somewhere and sometime, no one would give her any discounts, and I realized that I had to work for my success, and even literally work for it. In addition, the presence of professional actresses nearby sharply reduced her competitiveness for receiving the coveted Oscar statuette, and she worked on the set much more diligently than on the first day. And in the end she completely stopped being capricious, pretending to be a superstar,around which everyone had to flutter, catering to her whims. Stillthere is competition great power- Elena-Maria understood this. Without this competition, she would still have to deal with the whims and ambitions of this girl, but the presence of professional, experienced actresses in the filmSignificantly improved the quality of Signorina Blackwood's work.
But now Indiana was hesitating, whining that they would film without him, that there was no point in coming because of the few minutes that would be included in the film.How difficult it was with these unprofessional actors! And another actor or actress was needed to play the role of the head of the space security committee. This time she wanted to invite a star. But where to get a star? She could not collaborate with actresses who were genuine stars - they were unlikely to be able to pay the fees that true stars demanded. She had money in an Argentine account,but she wouldn’t spend huge sums on a minute of film. She simply didn’t want to disturb Yves; somehow he wasn’t in the mood for a movie yet. And who to invite? I would like to invite a star who would not need money at all. But where can I get one?
Again, where did she get the idea that only actresses can be stars? Maybe take a politician? At one time, Evita herself really wanted to star in the film, but here’s the catch. Evita and Gilla Emort have the same type, and there were some similarities in appearance. Evita was no longer needed. Then, perhaps, return to the old thought and invite him to the role American politician? Ultimately, they are going to receive an American Academy Award. But the proud William Roy didn’t really want to write. Who were some other politicians she knew? Dick MacDonald? But does he need to act in films with his career?
Elena-Maria sat down to study the American press, and suddenly decided on American Congresswoman Nicole Martin - she loved to pose in all sorts of photographs,give interviews thatI probably wouldn’t mind appearing in the film. Mrs Martin's husband was soa rich man, that she would hardly be interested in money. In addition, all of America knew Mrs. Martin by sight, and this was exactly what Elena Maria needed. Beautiful, elegant and famous woman, flashed in a couple of frames - all that was required for the finale.
Ms. Martin accepted the invitation to filming very kindly and promised to come to Argentina on an unofficial visit. The fee in Argentine pesos did not interest her at all.
Elena Maria flew to Buenos Aires in the morning; she needed to prepare props for the film. It was necessary to make a suitcase full of money. After burning a bunch of American dollars on the set, sheThere were no dollars left, so I still had to order a printout of counterfeit bills from a printing house. But a suitcase full of stacks of money,looked nice. She didn’t need anything else, the main thing was for the actors to gather
At the right time, Elena Maria approached the building of the dance school near the Plaza de la Repúblicawith a suitcase of counterfeit dollars.
Nancy, Kelly, Belen, Diego were already there. Indian came over to her great relief. Michaela rushed from Matadores. Mrs. Martin promised to be there, but was delayed from the airport.
The most unpleasant moment for Elena Maria was seeing Senora Small. Actually, she did not invite her to this filming, but the American, apparently out of curiosity, came to the set again, because Elena Maria did not hide the fact that she would be making a film, and regularly published messages about it in the newspaper.Elena Maria had no idea why this woman evoked persistent and strong hostility, and why the presence of the American woman simply weighed heavily on her, causing her to feel short of breath. As if togetherwith this woman, a heavy, enveloping nightmare entered her life, trying to deprive Elena-Maria of air, to strangle her,squeezing the soul, heartvague, dull pain.
The American chatted with everyone incessantly, and Elena Maria realized thatfor her, all the colors of the day simply faded away at once, her mood fell, and she felt weak, lethargic and incapable of any active action.
I think Señora Small was going to Neuquén? Why is she still here, why did she come to her place, and is pursuing her, pulling her out of her? vitality just by your presence?
Yves, oddly enough, was also here. Elena Maria was surprised by his arrival from Salta. But, apparently, the husband finally came to his senses, mobilized and flew in for the last day of filming. Helena Maria felt so relieved that he was nearby. She had no strength to take off, ElizabethSmall, with her presence alone, sucked all the energy out of her without a trace. Elena-Maria knew that Yves was capable of taking everything into his own hands and simply saving her. She couldn't work, she was depressed, she needed her husband to save her from the nightmare that was coming and overwhelming her. The husband usually took care of all the organizing work, and she could relax in his presence, knowing that everything would be under control
She didn’t care that everyone was looking at them, as they stood in the middle of the hall, hugging each other. Yves was the only hope, the only salvation for her. Just hiding behind his shoulder was all she wanted. It was easier for her with him. When he was there, he shielded her from the nightmare that choked her when Señora Small appeared nearby. And breathing next to Yves became easier.
Kramer suddenly, out of nowhere, embarrassed like a boy, said:
You know, I have a small gift for you,” and he took a diamond bracelet from his pocket. - Somehow there was no chance to give everything away...
Elena-Maria, who had never been spoiled with gifts by anyone in her life, suddenly felt such warmth in her chest, as if a small star had lit up inside her. Still,She had a wonderful husband, and besides, when he was nearby, she simply felt better, she could breathe calmly without feeling suffocated.All the best she had lately, somehow focused on the fact that he was nearby, and she felt good. Even when things were really bad, it was just good that she had him.
But then Senora Martin appeared. She demanded to be taken to the dressing room to change clothes. Elena-Maria went to show her the place, fortunately, the dressing rooms were in dance school were.
When she returned, her husband was talking quite animatedly about something. With Senora Small. Elena Maria hasn't seen him like this for a long time...happy? Yves changed literally before his eyes, he seemed to shine all over, as if a miracle had happened for him with the appearance of this woman in his life.Senora Small told him about her writing career,about how much she travels, How she came to Argentina on business and decided to take part in the filming. Elena Maria froze, frantically trying to breathe, realizing that take another step, and a tight, invisible noose would simply crush her throat.Apparently she turned very pale from sudden oxygen deprivation, because Nancy, who was passing by, asked:
Are you feeling bad again?
Yves turned around sharply, walked up to his wife, hugged her, and she felt that the nightmare had receded. It became easier to breathe again.
Only one thought throbbed in my temples with a dull pain: “Why is this woman here? Why did she come? Who called her into my life? Why is she forcing herself on me? I don’t want to see her, I don’t want to communicate with her, I don’t even want to know that she exists!”
Something else was worse. Helena Maria, being a fatalist,already knew that Elizabeth Catherine Smallcame into life for a reason, she came with her personal nightmare, her insomnia, her pain, and all this is just the beginning. This woman came irreversibly, as if someone had actually called her into Elena Maria’s life to drive her crazy.
Belen needed to talkwith Kramer before leaving, so she took Yves. Elena Maria went with Kelly to look at the set for the next scene to place the cameras. Anything to do to avoid being in the same room as Senora Small.
Maria Paramonova went on a journey through the villages of Romania to find out about the traditions and crafts of the local residents. She told our magazine about her trip.
The idea of visiting Romania firmly stuck in my head about two years ago. What do we know about her? The country of the post-Soviet space, Count Dracula... These are, perhaps, all the associations that come to mind. It would seem, why go there? For some reason I couldn’t shake the feeling that I would definitely like this country. Wanting to dispel erroneous stereotypes about Romania, I compiled my route through small towns and villages where artisans lived. It was an unusual photo tour: the emphasis of the trip was on ethnography - traditions and customs, which, although they are fading into oblivion, in some places in rural areas still exist. In search of interesting shots and photo stories, I crossed small Romania and crossed from south to north in 12 days.
Pots, pots, plates
Among all the crafts, I have always been attracted to pottery, and that’s where I started. Horezu is a small provincial town where potters live. This is evidenced by the walls of houses, fences, gates and gates: all of them are hung with a variety of products.
The houses in the town are almost everywhere private, small and very cozy, built with taste and great love. Beyond the tiny city center, the countryside begins, where small home pottery workshops are located - the main income of many families in Horezu. I must say that people in Romania are very friendly and good-natured. In one of the workshops they gladly gave me a short excursion and told me how the process of making ceramics takes place. Manual labor in Romania it is not valued very highly and the products cost mere pennies. In gratitude for the excursion, I did some shopping and photographed my grandfather, the head of the family, much to his delight.
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Glass painted icons
One of the ancient arts of Romania is painting icons on glass. Poor peasants in Transylvania at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries painted on glass because of the high prices for wooden Russian and Byzantine icons. Distinctive feature Romanian paintings are numerous floral ornaments and the rare use of divine symbols. This is due to the fact that icons in those days were painted by the same masters who painted on chests, dishes and other household items.
Early in the morning, around 7 o'clock, I got off at the railway stop with a Sibiel sign. The station is located in a mountain gorge and therefore it is very cold here early in the morning. The grass is covered with frost, the air is icy and transparent, the sun has just appeared from behind the mountains - a stunning morning landscape.
The Romanian village is not at all Russian outback. The houses here are neat, with tiled roofs, painted in different bright colors, many of which are over 100 years old, and the village courtyards are a treasure trove for photographers. There was everything there: ripe bright pumpkins were drying in the sun, grape bunches covered the house, an old cart with all kinds of carpets and rugs stood at the gate, jugs and plates adorned the table.
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Visiting the gypsies
This village could not be reached by bus or train, so early in the morning I took a taxi and told the driver: “Viscri, please.” He was very surprised, talked about something with the dispatcher, named the amount, and we hit the road. Rural landscapes in the rays of the morning sun they were especially beautiful: golden fields with neat sheaves, horse-drawn carts, houses and their inhabitants rushed past us.
I really wanted to see how Romanian gypsies live. First of all, I went to look ancient church, which was also ethnographic museum. Wooden icons, ancient benches, objects of cult of clergy - everything breathed with antiquity, the rays of the morning sun barely began to break through the high windows and soft light streamed in the dark room, creating a special mood. At the top there was an observation deck, from where a panorama of the surrounding hills, covered with trees, opened up. blue sky, endless fields with grazing sheep. The Gypsy village, contrary to stereotypes, also consisted of neat colorful houses, which had something like family coats of arms indicating the year of their construction, the name of the owners and the type of activity. The children ran out to see the rare tourist in these parts.
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In this village I looked for a blacksmith who worked using old technology, without a single power tool, and fanned the fire in the forge with bellows, manually. The blacksmith turned out to be very cheerful and friendly; a few gestures were enough for him to understand what was required of him. Whistling something under his breath and looking at the camera, he easily and naturally turned a piece of iron into a nice horse horseshoe. I received it as a gift - for good luck.
Hats of the Maramures region
In the Maramures region, where my craft route took me, men and boys in the countryside wore traditional straw hats with ribbons embroidered with national patterns. It was very interesting to see how these hats are made, and I set off on my journey. The fact that I had arrived at the house of a master hatmaker was announced by a sign on the façade of the house and small straw hats on the fence.
At the driver’s signal, an old woman came out of the house, who, to my amazement, was an expert in sewing hats. Having threaded the sewing machine and taking the straw ribbon in her hands, she quickly sewed seam by seam until the ribbon made a cute straw hat. She deftly placed the finished headdress on her gray head and signaled that she could take it off. Then satin ribbons are sewn to this hat and embroidered with beads; men and boys wear them. Having finally treated us to young wine of our own making from a huge wooden tub, the grandmother said goodbye and told us to come again.
Merry Cemetery
In the very north of the country, close to the border with Moldova, there is the village of Sapanta, famous for its “merry cemetery”. This is the name of a real-life cemetery, where burials took place until 1982. It is unusual in that all the monuments in it are made of wood and painted blue; in addition, each one has a picture plate with text telling about who the deceased was during his lifetime and how he died. The existence of such a cemetery is the philosophy of life of the inhabitants of the Maramures region, who knew how to laugh at themselves even after death. There is also a monument to the architect himself, with whose hands all the cemetery monuments were made. Nearby is the master’s house-museum, which I also went to.
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They didn’t charge me for entry when they found out that I was Russian. Romania is the first of many countries I have visited where Russians are shown such sympathy. Next to the cemetery, on a rubble, grandfathers were sitting and talking peacefully. On the street you could see items from the rural life of Romanians from the past. While traveling through the Romanian countryside, I had the feeling that I was in some other time, when people were in no hurry and lived their lives slowly.
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Some local festival was held in the village, where children performed in national costumes. The boys had on their heads the same hats that their grandmother sewed. The children waited for their performance to begin, showing their characteristic impatience, and that is why their portraits turned out to be lively and emotional.
National masks and red ceramics
I had big plans for the village of Sacel. Lived here folk artist Vasile Susca, master maker of traditional Romanian leather and fur masks for New Year's holidays. He participated with his works in festivals and exhibitions in Italy, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Finland, and the USA. The master turned out to be a very cheerful, noisy person with artistic gestures. The second visit was to the potter Grigore Ţulean, no less famous in his circle: he is an eleventh generation potter, but now this art is more of a hobby for him than a job. Therefore, the few products he makes dry for six months on the shelves in the workshop before they are fired in the kiln. A huge wood-burning stove stands on the ground floor of the workshop; the firing temperature reaches 200 degrees. Red ceramics is molded from special type clay, which is mined by hand at a depth of 10 meters, and the village of Sacel is the only place in Romania where this type of ceramics is made.
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It should be noted that this village lay far away from those places that tourists usually visit, and, despite worldwide fame both masters, foreigners were not often seen here. As the villagers passed by, as was their custom, they greeted each other in Romanian. I walked around the village for a long time and gradually they got used to me and stopped paying attention, which I took advantage of and took several portraits of the villagers.
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Mocanita
The final highlight of my trip was a mountain walk on an old train along the famous narrow-gauge railway. railway"Mocanita". A small stop, a girl conductor and a 1954 train pulling several old carriages. We covered the entire route in 4 hours. Afterwards I needed to get from the very north of the country to Bucharest and then home. Friendly, cozy, benevolent Romania touched those strings of the soul that are usually silent in big cities, resort countries and where the centuries-old traditions of the people have long been forgotten.
Maria goes on a journey. She wants to go around all the roads, driving along each one exactly once. If this is not possible, then click “Cannot pass.”
Answers:
We start from point 1 and follow the arrows
In the first picture there are 4 points that enter and exit odd number roads: 2 vertices with 3 roads and 2 vertices with 5 roads. Roads with 4 marked vertices. Generalizing, the special case considered above can be said that a vertex with an odd number of roads must be either the beginning of the path or its end. And if there are more than two such vertices, then it is impossible to construct a route that bypasses all roads, along which each road can be driven exactly once. In the second figure we also have 4 points, each of which includes 3 roads. This means that using the second picture it is also impossible to construct the desired route. The number of roads that leave a point is called the degree of this point, and the path that passes through all the edges is called the Euler path. This is what is studied in graph theory. The Euler path has applications in some areas of mathematics as well as computational biology.
The road can be traversed in two cases: 1) If at each node even number tracks. Then you can start at any point and end at the same point.2) If TWO nodes have an odd number of tracks, and the rest are even. Then you will have to start at one odd point and end at the other.3) If there are more than two odd nodes, then go through such a map It’s impossible. On the top left picture we have 1) case - two points with 4 tracks. On the bottom left 2) case - two points with 5 tracks. On the right in both pictures there is 3) case. On the top there are 4 points with 3 tracks. On the bottom there are 2 dots of 3 and 2 dots of 5