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Romania is a land of a thousand faces.

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The crossing point
between the Occident and the Orient.

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And a melting pot of different cultures.

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It is also a country
unlike any other in Europe,

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With over half the Carpathian
mountain range weaving through it.

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Romania is the custodian of
Europe's greatest surviving mixed forests.

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And two thirds of its apex predators.

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As well as native Romanians,
it is home to Hungarian,

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Saxon,

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Roma,

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Serbian,

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Greek and many more diverse peoples,

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united by the borders of a nation

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that stretches to the mouth of the Danube.

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Inland, Romania is rich
with historic cities and villages,

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majestic national parks,

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ruined castles, mediaeval monasteries

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and a historic legacy
that dates back thousands of years.

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Welcome to our ongoing odyssey
of Romania's great historic regions.

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Autumn is upon us
and the nights are closing in,

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affording less and less time
to finish our journey.

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We have reached the Maramureș
at the peak of harvest time.

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The leaves are poised to fall
and the forests and mountains

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have turned red and gold
in the lazy autumnal sunlight.

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My first stop is a small village
outside Baia Mare,

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where I'm due to reunite with
friend and guide Demi,

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who offered to introduce me

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to artist and professor
of Maramureș culture, Ioan Marchiș,

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who also happens
to have an authentic distillery

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making <i>horinca</i>,
the regional equivalent of palinka.

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- Demi!
- Charlie!

32
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{\an8}- Long time no see.
- Like a century ago.

33
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{\an8}- Yeah, I know.
- It was only five years.

34
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Time flies when you're having fun.

35
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This is the old style palinka making.

36
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This is the period, I think,

37
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when they are coming with the fruits.

38
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Yeah, we've timed it perfectly.

39
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Yeah, it is. And they're making...
they're preparing for the Christmas.

40
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Come in! Welcome!

41
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Charlie, how do you do?

42
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{\an8}You are in the most desired space
in Maramureș and Transylvania.

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{\an8}It is a popular distillery.

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In Maramureș it is called <i>horincie</i>
from " <i>a hori"</i> which means "to sing",

45
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kind of "singery".

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That is, a place where people use to sing,
this is the meaning of <i>horincie.</i>

47
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During Ceaușescu's times
they were forbidden,

48
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so, after the Revolution,

49
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people were happy and made
their own popular distilleries.

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People used to go to these distilleries
as if they were going to the church

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or to a restaurant, to the village pub.

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This is a family distillery
which is used by the Arheus Foundation,

53
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which has an international camp
of literature and arts.

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First of all, I have to tell
you that there are two phases,

55
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it is distilled twice,
just as the whiskey.

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The setting of the distillery

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is a rather common, almost medieval,
chemical process.

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Inside this wall

59
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there is the cauldron itself,
where we put the fermented fruits.

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The above part is the part
where the steam is recuperated.

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Through boiling,

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this material made of plums or apples
or fermented fruits produces steam.

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This is where the steam is recovered.

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The steam passes by a pipe,
from here, it enters the water

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and there is a coil which cools it down.

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This material from here will enter
the second distillation here

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and only here the real <i>horinca</i>,
as we call it, comes out.

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This is the meeting place of writers,

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we organize poetry, literature,
painting events,

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in summer the place is full
of visual artists, philosophers...

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Tell me about this.

72
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I've seen these many times before

73
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and I gather they have to assemble it
inside the bottle,

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which obviously takes a long time,

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especially if you're drinking
lots of these.

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Why do people do this?

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I have written a book about this.

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This is the most beautiful
and perfect structure of the human kind.

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It has 12 elements which create
a void inside,

80
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it existed since Dacians' time,

81
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it was the sun's and Zamolxis' face,
God's face,

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this is the pre-Christian face of God.

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So, this is a pre-Christian symbol.

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It is an auspicious omen,
a symbol for good luck,

85
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but there is a full job
to do the structure inside

86
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and the wood is an edible one,
I mean it is not toxic.

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It is used for a spinning tool,
it is called "spindle".

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This is a popular tool
which has this knot.

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Inside it there is an empty space
where seven small stones were placed.

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When the woman spins the wool,
the spindle whirls in her hand,

91
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almost like floating, and purrs,
makes a musical sound

92
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and it used to be gifted
as a symbol of love

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because it is a link which, once merged,
it can only be broken by destroying it.

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- God bless.
- God bless.

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We are now in front of a piece
of gate from Cosăului Valley

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from the old Maramureș
which is endangered,

97
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and I will translate
this pile of the gate.

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The size and complexity of the gate

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was determining the size of the wealth,
of the social status,

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as well as the old pottery,

101
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this gate is divided into registers.

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We have a separation line
between the nowadays life

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which is up to here and the afterlife

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and we have here the representation
of the Tree of Life.

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The two characters here are
the man and the woman,

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Adam and Eve, if you'd like.

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Down is underground,
it is the sun reflected in the water

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it is called in a popular way
"the sun in the water's mirror".

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It is the vibrant sun.

110
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But here it has a male symbol

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it becomes female,

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this is the female gender,
it becomes the great goddess.

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Next, as I told you, there is the bride
and the groom as the Tree of Life

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here is the sun, there is...

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if they loved each other, they will also
love each other in the afterlife,

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with their leafless souls
passed away, in the sky.

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And here the sky is closing,

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with the name of the man
who built this monument.

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I will never look at
a Maramureș gate in the same way again.

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We're lucky. You know, when
I always came here, I bring the sun.

121
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You do. And I think the last time you were
on a motorbike was on that one, wasn't it?

122
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Yeah. In the meantime, I became rich.

123
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And you bought yourself something vintage.

124
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- Very vintage.
- What is it?

125
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Basically, the Russians stole the BMW

126
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from after the Second World War
and put it in Russia.

127
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- They named it KMZ.
- Right. So this is basically a BMW.

128
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- Yeah.
- Effectively.

129
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- Russian Mark.
- Russian Mark.

130
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- Okay.
- And you've had it reconditioned?

131
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Yes, it's just finished.

132
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So this really will be your first ride?

133
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Yeah. With this one. Yeah.

134
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- Hopefully we will arrive...
- What could possibly go wrong?

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Our mission was to drive
to the village museum in nearby Baia Mare.

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Where a recipe as old as the hills

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and almost completely forgotten
was being prepared in the gardens.

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But this entirely depended
on reaching our destination safely,

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Something I was increasingly concerned
about achieving,

140
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given that Demi
was still clearly wrestling

141
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with the concept
of having a sidecar attached.

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Left of it. No, left!

143
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With some relief, we arrived intact,

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just in time to catch
the start of the proceedings,

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Which, as is often the case here,
kicks off with <i>horinca</i>

146
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and a <i>horă</i> courtesy of one
of the Maramureș's

147
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most famous traditional bands, Iza.

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Here is the sheep...

149
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I slaughtered it this morning

150
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{\an8}and now we are using spices.

151
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What have you put inside this marinade?

152
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Garlic...

153
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Salt and pepper...

154
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- And a little rosemary.
- Okay.

155
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Thyme and a little bit of peppermint.

156
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How long will you leave it
in the marinade?

157
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Until the fire is done.

158
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This was a song about the lamb.

159
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{\an8}It's a <i>horă</i> about the sheep.

160
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{\an8}When I go to Săpânța they tell me
"sing about the sheep".

161
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How is the music in Maramureș different?

162
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Maramureș is unique.

163
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This music is not similar
with any other music from Romania.

164
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Maramureș, Oaș, have their own specific.

165
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The rhythm, the musical instruments,
the singing, the shouting,

166
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everything is different
than in Transylvania, for instance,

167
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or as in Oltenia or as in Dobrogea
or as in Moldavia...

168
00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:53,560
I noticed that most of the songs
are stories, aren't they?

169
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Each song has its story,

170
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but each song is also related to a person.

171
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The song I played first is the <i>hora</i>
of Mihai Ochii from Săpânța

172
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because he worked as a shepherd

173
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and in the mountains,
when shepherds were left alone,

174
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the patrons were not there,
at the sheepfold,

175
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they were slaughtering a sheep
from time to time, leaving a sign

176
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to pretend that the sheep
was eaten by wolves.

177
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Then they used to slaughter such a lamb,
to prepare and eat it,

178
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then take a piece like that,
roll it through mud

179
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and say the wolves had eaten
the sheep, we are sorry,

180
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and in this case the shepherds
did not have to pay for it.

181
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So we need a song

182
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for the lamb
when it's going into the fire.

183
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A celebration song.

184
00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:42,080
What would you recommend?

185
00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:57,400
One thing I find remarkable is

186
00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:02,080
is how much wood they have to burn
before we put the lamb on the embers.

187
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Have to build up sufficient heat for it
to cook the lamb all night long.

188
00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:11,520
This is how food used to be prepared
for thousands of years.

189
00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,440
And it's very exciting
that we're creating it now,

190
00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:17,040
because this recipe
will now never be lost.

191
00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:19,800
If anyone wants to learn how to do it,

192
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they're going to have to dig out
an old DVD of <i>Flavours of Romania</i>

193
00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:24,960
in years to come and watch it again.

194
00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,680
- What's he chopping?
- I think it's all the interiors.

195
00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,000
Okay, so this
is like the kidneys and the liver.

196
00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,320
And this will go into the stuffing,
back into the lamb.

197
00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,160
Mix it together with all the ingredients.

198
00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:38,480
- Fresh nuts.
- Half crushed.

199
00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:41,200
You see, part of them are crushed,
part of them are whole.

200
00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:43,240
- Porcini. That's it.
- Porcini.

201
00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:44,440
- Onion.
- Onion.

202
00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:48,760
And I noticed
we've got rosemary and thyme.

203
00:13:52,600 --> 00:13:54,440
- And just for the color.
- Of course.

204
00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:55,960
Paprika.

205
00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:59,880
This is starting to look like
a Jackson Pollock painting.

206
00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:03,920
I'm a painter. I am a visual artist.

207
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,480
- So, breadcrumbs.
- Yeah.

208
00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:08,040
Parsley, lovage and...

209
00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,680
- Celery and garlic.
- The garlic is minced here.

210
00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,080
The wine is the final part.

211
00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:18,480
Normally, a seamstress
would be needed here.

212
00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:21,240
This is expertly done,
I think he's got a career

213
00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:26,080
in the National Health if he decides
that he's bored of being a chef.

214
00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:27,200
Yeah.

215
00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,920
- This is the shin from the...
- Sheep.

216
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,120
- We're going to lift it together.
- We lift it and we put it on.

217
00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:37,960
- Dangerous operation.
- Dangerous.

218
00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:39,440
So he's finished now.

219
00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,280
Yeah. He starts doing the final step.

220
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:44,840
Which is rubbing the clay on the skin.

221
00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:46,760
So the clay hardens

222
00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:50,760
and provides a crust to make it
and it protects it from the fire.

223
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:51,680
Exactly.

224
00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:58,360
I feel like we've just been
attending a shamanic ritual.

225
00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,200
Ion has come to join us
to put the finishing touches to the lamb.

226
00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,280
And he's engraved it
with a series of symbols

227
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:10,840
which I think probably relate
to birth or death

228
00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:15,000
and rebirth and autumn and harvest.

229
00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,360
And... We'll see.

230
00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:22,000
This is supposed to make the food
more of an offering and a sacrifice,

231
00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,600
but also to bring
good luck to those eating it.

232
00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:35,440
So they're putting the wood on
to fuel the fire through the night.

233
00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:38,400
The heat has...
now we have in the bottom, we have heat.

234
00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,680
This will burn and this will give
more embers on the top,

235
00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:44,000
even when it's covered in clay.

236
00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,240
And it's cooking on the both ways.

237
00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:47,720
- With the same temperature.
- Yeah.

238
00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:50,640
And with no oxygen,
this will almost become charcoal as well.

239
00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:52,320
Thank you so much.

240
00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,120
Honestly, you're a legend.
This is amazing.

241
00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:03,000
It's looking okay. Yeah.

242
00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:05,160
There she blows.

243
00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:06,680
You can see the skin now.

244
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:09,520
Easy!

245
00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,880
Now where... On the table?

246
00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,440
- Yes.
- Let's lift it.

247
00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:22,720
- The clay comes off.
- Yeah, exactly.

248
00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:33,760
I got you under my skin.

249
00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:38,520
- Congratulations!
- Something like this...

250
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:41,960
It's cooked, right?

251
00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:43,600
Perfect.

252
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:45,280
Cooked to perfection.

253
00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:48,600
- Sweet.
- And sweet and very, very tender.

254
00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:50,080
Because of the slow cooking.

255
00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:57,240
<i>Horinca!</i>

256
00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:03,200
This is the flavours of Romania.

257
00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:07,760
This is a triumph. Gastronomic triumph.
I'm going to just do that.

258
00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:14,960
You can see how easily the knife
cuts through the flesh of the lamb.

259
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,960
There are many ways of cooking lamb
in Romania,

260
00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:21,359
like pastrami and roasting it
and making stews,

261
00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:23,520
but for me, this is the ultimate.

262
00:17:23,599 --> 00:17:26,319
It's a sacrifice,
it's a spiritual journey,

263
00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:28,720
it's a celebration of autumn,

264
00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:32,200
and the result is quite literally divine.

265
00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:34,680
Good, isn't it?

266
00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:48,280
Leaving Baia Mare in the wing mirror

267
00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:51,760
it was time to head up into the hills
and wild forests

268
00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:54,760
on my way to the heartlands
of Old Maramureș,

269
00:17:56,280 --> 00:18:00,360
presided over by one of the most
impressive geomorphic curiosities

270
00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:02,480
I've seen on this trip so far.

271
00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:10,960
<i>Creasta Cocoşului</i>, or Cockscomb,
is Romania's answer to Ayers Rock.

272
00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,840
Visible for hundreds of kilometers
in most directions,

273
00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,520
this towering volcanic crag
is accessible by foot

274
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,160
or mountain bike
from the Salvamont centre near Baia Sprie

275
00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,360
or the wooden village of Breb,
as visited in season one.

276
00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,800
Due to time constraints,
I switched to the crew car

277
00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:35,880
and accompanied
by the mountain rescue team,

278
00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,160
we embarked on a bumpy ascent
on winding tracks

279
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,440
that meandered through forests and meadows

280
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:43,240
towards the base of the mountain.

281
00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:55,160
The last few kilometers required
a spectacular hike up to the tree line.

282
00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:59,120
Before I finally
clambered out onto the ridge

283
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:03,240
to take in a truly regal view
of this ancient region.

284
00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:01,480
That was the most awesome experience.

285
00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:03,440
Standing on top of the rock,

286
00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:05,600
looking out as far as the eye could see,

287
00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:09,160
old Maramureș on one side,
new Maramureș on the other.

288
00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:14,880
Villages, forests, lakes,
rivers, especially in the autumn

289
00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,160
when all the trees are copper and gold

290
00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:21,160
and the sun emerges from the clouds
and everything just starts to glow.

291
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:23,800
This should be one
of the seven wonders of Romania.

292
00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,080
It's a truly magical experience.

293
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,360
Just wow. Honestly, I'm speechless.

294
00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:34,920
Heading back down from the peak

295
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:39,160
necessitated another precarious drive
on an even steeper route,

296
00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:47,280
Requiring careful negotiation of boulders,
deep puddles and steep grassy slopes

297
00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:49,880
that pushed my off-road skills
to the limit.

298
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,040
With some relief, I reclaimed the bike,

299
00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,160
and rode down serpentine bends

300
00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:09,120
to emerge the other side of the hills

301
00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,040
and re-enter the realm
of human habitation.

302
00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:19,840
Just before reaching the village of Mara,

303
00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:23,240
there's a picturesque trout farm
sandwiched between wooded hills.

304
00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:30,040
<i>Păstrăvăria</i> Alex has gradually
diversified into a grand collection

305
00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:36,240
of traditional eco-lodges,
offering budget and luxury accommodation.

306
00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,200
An infinity pool and riverside restaurant

307
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:45,320
with predictable emphasis
on trout-related products.

308
00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:50,520
I was met by son and heir
to this ligneous empire,

309
00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:54,320
Alex Vanscher, who moved back here
to help run the family business.

310
00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:00,440
{\an8}So, Alex, you went to
university in Bournemouth.

311
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:02,240
{\an8}- Quite close to where I live.
- Yeah.

312
00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,920
{\an8}But your dad basically
had no schooling, almost.

313
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,080
No, not at all.

314
00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:10,480
He's worked his way up
from being a laborer...

315
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:11,760
- Exactly.
- In the fields.

316
00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:13,560
How did it all happen?

317
00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:15,680
I mean, talk me through the process,

318
00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,080
because what you've built here
is extraordinary and it's huge.

319
00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:22,280
But obviously that could
never have been the original plan.

320
00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:25,160
No, we didn't have a plan, actually.

321
00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:28,840
We tried to develop as we went through
and we saw what we need to do.

322
00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,920
- You put the money back into the business?
- Yeah. Almost everything went back.

323
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,640
Did he start with a trout farm as well?
Because trout is a big thing here.

324
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,560
Yeah, it was his passion,
Yeah. Growing trout.

325
00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:42,280
He was his passion
since he was like a kid, he said.

326
00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:45,320
One thing that I think
was a key success to this business.

327
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:46,960
It was a family business.

328
00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:48,800
So there's a lot
of family members working here.

329
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:50,240
Like, my mom is the kitchen chef,

330
00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,560
my dad is managing the trout
and the production.

331
00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:56,720
My aunt, like, my dad's sister

332
00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:58,240
is making all the bread.

333
00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:00,840
My cousins are working here,
my brother is working here.

334
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,000
And a lot of people are presumed
from the village as well.

335
00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:04,200
- All of them.
- All of them?

336
00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:06,120
Yeah, from the next three villages.

337
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:10,480
So you've transformed the fortunes
of everyone in the community, effectively.

338
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:11,520
Basically, yeah.

339
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:20,600
A few kilometers further
brings you to the village of Deseşti.

340
00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,120
Set back from the road,
looking down over the rooftops,

341
00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,240
is one of the prettiest
wooden churches in the Maramureș.

342
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,840
Classified a UNESCO World Heritage
Monument since 1999.

343
00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:43,160
I've come here to meet
Father Ioan Ardelean

344
00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:45,040
to learn more about its priceless

345
00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:48,280
and brilliantly
macabre depictions of the afterlife.

346
00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:56,240
- Father.
- Welcome.

347
00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:57,800
{\an8}- Hello.
- Hello. Welcome.

348
00:23:57,880 --> 00:23:58,800
{\an8}Thanks a lot.

349
00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:00,760
{\an8}What a fabulous restoration.

350
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,600
{\an8}It has been recently restored

351
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,960
and this has to be done quite often.

352
00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,800
The shingles that we keep
with stubbornness

353
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:17,640
which covered once all houses
of the Maramureș people,

354
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:23,080
are rather seldom seen on churches,
on Maramureș gates

355
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:28,520
and because not all the conditions
are met,

356
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,680
to cut the wood during
the vegetative period,

357
00:24:31,760 --> 00:24:38,000
the careful processing of the wood,

358
00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,480
then the lifespan of the shingles

359
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:45,120
is somewhere 20-25 years

360
00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,160
and it has to be changed often.

361
00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:51,600
We are in the narthex of the church,
which is also UNESCO monument,

362
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,360
Saint Paraschiva from Desești.

363
00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:58,160
We are actually in hell, here.

364
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,840
We're in hell right now.

365
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:01,760
Indeed.

366
00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:07,320
The river of fire which carries,
under Christ’s judgement throne,

367
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:13,600
carries the damned souls,
but it does not carry them carelessly.

368
00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:19,560
Even the demons take into account
the social status, the social hierarchy.

369
00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:22,280
We see some walking,

370
00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:26,200
but also others, who are adulteries, and...

371
00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,520
So these are these are people who cheat?

372
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,840
Cheaters. And who are these?

373
00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:35,880
The whore nuns,

374
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:43,440
having a totally unprivileged status,

375
00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:48,400
actually, this irony blames the sin.

376
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,720
We have a special wheelbarrow in hell.

377
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:55,960
Reserved for naughty nuns.
That sounds a little bit exciting.

378
00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,840
The master of the land goes by carriage.

379
00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:06,000
So that's the sort of lord
of the manor, the aristocrat.

380
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:09,680
And those pulling the carriage
are the juries, this is very important.

381
00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:11,360
Being pulled by the lawyers.

382
00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,400
It's fascinating. So imaginative, this.

383
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:18,280
It's like a Hieronymus Bosch
depiction of hell.

384
00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:22,640
The detail and the imagination
that's gone into this is remarkable.

385
00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:35,600
With the shadows growing longer,
it was time to find suitable lodgings.

386
00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,960
I'm making for a secluded guest house
in the village of Budești,

387
00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:46,320
property of renowned filmmaker Ion Teglaș.

388
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,400
However, with variable signal
on my satnav,

389
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,760
I was obliged to stop by the roadside
to ask directions.

390
00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:06,040
- Good evening.
- Good evening.

391
00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:09,480
{\an8}- Water?
- Water.

392
00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:12,360
- Drinking water.
- Superb.

393
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:13,760
Natural water.

394
00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:15,280
Charlie. Good health.

395
00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:17,640
- I'm Nuțu. Good to meet you.
- Nuțu!

396
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:19,920
Where Teglaș lives?

397
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,200
About 50 meters away. He's my neighbor.

398
00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:26,960
- Okay.
- Mr. Teglaș, he's my neighbor.

399
00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,280
He came here in 2009,

400
00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:34,160
I saw he was my neighbor
and he was working

401
00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:35,280
and I asked him.

402
00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:39,240
And so we created a kind of connection,

403
00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:43,520
they were a little bit strangers,
they were coming from the city.

404
00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:47,840
- Perfect.
- And little by little, step by step,

405
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:53,560
it became a beautiful connection
between us.

406
00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,200
Well done, OK.

407
00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:57,360
They are special people.

408
00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:01,320
They are like a model to me.

409
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:04,520
- Thank you.
- Thank you too.

410
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,440
- Good health to you.
- Same to you.

411
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:11,120
See you!

412
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,400
He was right, it's about 100 yards.

413
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:28,520
This is... very interesting.

414
00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:33,960
It's like a Fairy Grotto.

415
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:37,720
With a river and a little wooden bridge.

416
00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:43,000
It really is a little Garden of Eden.

417
00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:47,560
On the other side of the river,
separated from the village, from the road.

418
00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:50,520
{\an8}But it must have been so much work
to create it.

419
00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:51,760
{\an8}Oh, my God.

420
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,120
Yes, it was a lot of work.

421
00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:59,000
We started this activity, action, idea,
I don’t know how to call it,

422
00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:04,160
concept "Ancient Maramureș",
about 20 years ago

423
00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:10,920
when I was working in the local media
in Baia Mare and I was really seeing

424
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:16,120
from one month to the other,
from one year to the other,

425
00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:22,200
how those beautiful things
that made Maramureș famous

426
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,840
such as the wooden houses,
the wooden gates,

427
00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,000
started to slowly disappear,

428
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,200
that was why we chose these old houses,

429
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:35,560
that was why we set them up within
the half-wild nature, so to say.

430
00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:40,240
When we came here,
there was nothing on this land,

431
00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:42,800
it was empty, just green grass...

432
00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:44,640
How long did it take?

433
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,000
We started in 2009.

434
00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,440
- So 13 years.
- Thirteen years.

435
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:52,760
From five years we are living here.

436
00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:54,480
We adapted

437
00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:56,640
and people finally accepted us,

438
00:29:56,720 --> 00:29:57,920
the village accepted us,

439
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,120
they saw what we had done,
they appreciate us...

440
00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:02,720
So you never had any regrets?

441
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,680
I regret nothing, absolutely.

442
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:11,880
For me, everything is here
was a discovery, an epiphany,

443
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:13,960
as if I needed it.

444
00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:19,600
The following day, we head towards
the border town of Sighetu Marmației,

445
00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:22,040
which at various points in history

446
00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:25,640
belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary
and the Ottoman Empires,

447
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,520
becoming part of Romania
following the dissolution

448
00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:35,640
of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918.

449
00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:41,560
During the Communist era, the city prison
was used as a detention centre

450
00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:44,960
for political dissidents
and public figures

451
00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:47,160
who had been declared
enemies of the state.

452
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:53,760
Among them was former Prime Minister
Iuliu Maniu,

453
00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:56,120
who died here in 1953.

454
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,440
The building is now open once more
as a museum

455
00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:07,200
and part of a memorial
to the victims of Communist Depression.

456
00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:21,320
The memorial consists
of a museum here in Sighet

457
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:25,840
and an international centre
for studies on Communism in Bucharest.

458
00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:29,000
It's been designated
by the Council of Europe

459
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:32,400
as one of the key memorials
in the continent,

460
00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:34,360
along with the Auschwitz Museum

461
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:37,880
and the Museum of Peace in Normandy.

462
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:59,160
Between 25 and 30 priests and bishops
were also incarcerated here,

463
00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:01,440
along with political prisoners.

464
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:07,560
And it's interesting when you consider
the Church's repression under Communism,

465
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:11,960
the Communists were desperate
to stamp out all forms of religion.

466
00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:14,320
This may go some way to explaining

467
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:17,240
why freedom in this country post Communism

468
00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:21,360
is so closely equated
with religious freedom.

469
00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:25,320
And it may explain why Christianity
has since burgeoned

470
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:27,400
in its many different denominations

471
00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:30,480
and the Church plays
such an important role

472
00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:32,880
for many people here in Romania today.

473
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:52,160
Conditions here were shocking.

474
00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,680
The prisoners weren't allowed
to lie down on their beds

475
00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:58,640
in their unheated cells during daytime.

476
00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:02,320
They were forced to stand
or taken out and made to work.

477
00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:09,120
They were fed miserably,
so malnutrition ran rife.

478
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:12,320
They weren't allowed to look out
of the window of their cells.

479
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:18,040
So they were punished for staring out
of the window, looking at freedom outside.

480
00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:24,440
They were taken and put into a dark room
as punishment for that. Can you imagine?

481
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:31,280
Everything was designed to humiliate them,
to take away their dignity,

482
00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:36,680
to force them to see the error
of their ways just for speaking out.

483
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,120
It's slightly ironic,

484
00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:00,600
that when you look up
through the cross shaped hole

485
00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:02,520
in the ceiling of this dome,

486
00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:06,800
you can see an apple tree full of lush,
bright red apples,

487
00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:10,199
like the Tree of Temptation
in the Garden of Eden.

488
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,120
This must have been how the prisoners felt

489
00:34:13,639 --> 00:34:17,440
when they stole furtive glances
out of their windows,

490
00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:21,800
risking punishment to catch a glimpse
of the world outside.

491
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:39,840
For me, this place is
a perfect example of how hard it is

492
00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:44,080
to restore 50 years of falsified history

493
00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:46,719
that existed under the Communists.

494
00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:48,480
There are still many Romanians to this day

495
00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:53,480
that don't really accept the full extent
of the atrocities that they committed.

496
00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:57,680
But here we have an enormous museum
filled with rooms,

497
00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:01,600
detailing people, individuals, journalists,

498
00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:04,920
historians, politicians, poets, priests,

499
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:10,000
all of whom were tortured or imprisoned
through no fault of their own

500
00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:12,840
for standing up
against an oppressive regime.

501
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:17,400
And it's taken 30 years
to get to this point

502
00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:21,400
and we're still uncovering
more information about what took place.

503
00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:34,560
Another notable landmark in Sighet

504
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:38,240
is a bizarre sculpture
known simply as the Pin.

505
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:45,520
This is one of the reasons I love
the Romanian sense of humor.

506
00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:51,000
If you take a map of the country
and you want to stick it to the wall,

507
00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:55,080
then you put the pin
through the middle of Sighet

508
00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:57,680
which is at the top, in the middle.

509
00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:05,200
So the mayor decided to commission
a sculpture of the Pin.

510
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:07,040
And there it is.

511
00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:11,360
Yep, definitely nailed it.

512
00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:14,400
WELCOME TO SIGHETU MARMAȚIEI

513
00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:17,280
No one else would think of doing this.

514
00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:21,160
And whilst we can now
find the middle of the country,

515
00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:26,720
sadly, we can't find a black and white cat
that answers to the name of Titsy.

516
00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:31,840
Just in case you've seen it, him, her,
on your travels.

517
00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:41,000
Among the many legacies of communism
was the huge number of orphans

518
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:46,360
that were created by the pro natal policy
implemented by Nicolae Ceaușescu

519
00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,400
resulting in a huge boom in birth rates

520
00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:52,560
caused by lack of family planning

521
00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:55,200
and the outlawing
of contraception and abortion.

522
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,000
Rather than promoting economic growth,

523
00:36:58,080 --> 00:37:01,160
it led to many children
being abandoned in orphanages,

524
00:37:01,240 --> 00:37:05,040
where they were subjected
to prolonged institutional neglect.

525
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,320
Thankfully, most of these orphanages
are now closed

526
00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:10,800
and have increasingly been replaced

527
00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:13,600
by foster care
and the relocation of children

528
00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:15,720
to specialized accommodation

529
00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:18,840
set up to replicate
a family home environment.

530
00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:21,400
At the forefront of this movement is

531
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:23,920
NGO Hope and Homes For Children Romania,

532
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:26,400
founded by a Brit called Colonel Mark Cook

533
00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:31,000
back in 1994 and active here in Romania
since 1998.

534
00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:35,560
I'm visiting a family home in Sighet
to find out more

535
00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:38,080
from National Director Ștefan Dărăbuș.

536
00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:39,520
Charlie. Nice to meet you.

537
00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:40,920
- Glad to meet you.
- Denisa.

538
00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:46,080
- Alex.
- Charlie, hi.

539
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:50,040
I know a lot of people have this vision
of orphanages in Romania

540
00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:54,080
from the Ceaușescu's era,
where it was really bad, wasn't it?

541
00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:55,800
- Yes, it was.
- How has it changed?

542
00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:58,640
{\an8}Well, the change is absolutely huge

543
00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:02,000
{\an8}because back in '97, when I started
doing what I do

544
00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:05,120
with closing down orphanages
and supporting children,

545
00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:07,640
get into family
environments or family life,

546
00:38:07,720 --> 00:38:11,640
there were about 100,000 children
in institutions, in orphanages.

547
00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:14,800
For the not to three year olds
to grow up in an orphanage,

548
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:17,720
it was like a death sentence.

549
00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:20,320
Because growing up without
the love of a parent,

550
00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:22,520
without attachment, without affection,

551
00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:25,280
is the worst thing
that could happen to a child.

552
00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:27,800
When we look
at the closure of an orphanage,

553
00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:29,200
it's not only family homes.

554
00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:31,600
Family homes is the last resort.

555
00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:34,360
If children cannot go back
into their own families,

556
00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:36,040
if that is not possible,

557
00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:38,600
we look at foster care
and, of course, adoption.

558
00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:43,120
And if those options are not possible
for a child,

559
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:44,720
we look at family homes.

560
00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:47,440
And this becomes, for them, a safe haven.

561
00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:50,960
It's their home
and they stay here for long term.

562
00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:53,160
They mingle with their neighbors,

563
00:38:53,240 --> 00:38:57,440
they play with the children,
they go to school in the community.

564
00:38:57,520 --> 00:39:00,800
So as much as possible,
the life that any child should have.

565
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:03,960
Upstairs is the place
where they go to bed.

566
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:08,040
And that's another space
designed for them to be able to study

567
00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:10,840
or to relax before sleeping time.

568
00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:15,800
Listen to them, if you hear them talking,
laughing, having a good time.

569
00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:19,280
That's what I want to see
in a family home.

570
00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:25,400
And the first indication that the kids
are okay, if you've got this environment.

571
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:31,920
What was actually frightening
in most of the orphanages I visited,

572
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:35,280
was the silence, like a graveyard,

573
00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:41,040
going into a baby home for one year olds,
two year olds, three year olds,

574
00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:43,160
and to hear no noise,

575
00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:46,440
They are like in a horror movie.

576
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:49,320
And that's the result of them crying

577
00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:53,000
when they were very, very young
and never being answered to.

578
00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:55,000
And that tells the children

579
00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:59,240
that it doesn't matter if they cry
or they don't, because no one cares.

580
00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:05,960
And that's when the so called
institutionalization consequences

581
00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:11,280
appear upon children,
because they hide within themselves,

582
00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:13,560
they do not communicate
with the outer world.

583
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,560
That's when this behavior
starts developing,

584
00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:19,080
which you've seen in many institutional,

585
00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:21,760
institutionalized children
in many orphanages,

586
00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:25,960
because the only stimulation they have
is within themselves.

587
00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:29,440
That's why many of the children
growing up in orphanages

588
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:30,960
become self-aggressive,

589
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:36,520
because the only form of stimulation
they have is by doing this to themselves,

590
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:38,080
or by pulling their hair,

591
00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:39,920
or by hitting, I don't know,

592
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,320
hitting their hand
against something strong

593
00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:45,640
just so that they can feel something,
for God's sake.

594
00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:48,320
It's just a desperate cry...

595
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:50,640
- For love.
- For love.

596
00:40:50,720 --> 00:40:53,280
And to tell those around, I'm here.

597
00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:54,680
I need you to see me.

598
00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:59,080
Was it difficult for the children,
especially those from the orphanages,

599
00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:00,520
to make the adjustment?

600
00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:03,240
- Initially, they are frightened...
- Of course.

601
00:41:03,320 --> 00:41:09,520
...because until that stage in their lives,
any change meant a bad change.

602
00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:12,880
But then, in very short time,

603
00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:17,840
they realized that they're going
to stay here until they leave,

604
00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:18,920
so until they grow up.

605
00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:22,520
And that these people who look after them,
these carers,

606
00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:24,360
are the ones who are going to be with them

607
00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:27,800
in ten years’ time, in five years’ time,
not others.

608
00:41:27,880 --> 00:41:31,680
They know their birthdays.
They know what's important for them.

609
00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:35,080
They know how they do in school,
what they like, what they don't like.

610
00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:39,160
So they are as close as possible
to a parent figure.

611
00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:42,800
Now we can say goodbye to you.

612
00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:44,680
- Hello!
- Hello!

613
00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:46,480
- We're glad to see you.
- Goodbye.

614
00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:49,160
Hello! Goodbye.

615
00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:51,040
Thanks for the visit.

616
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:56,280
It's very moving to see them smiling
and laughing and so happy.

617
00:41:56,360 --> 00:41:59,960
A lot is down to these people,
to the carers who look after them

618
00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:02,600
and they make sure that the kids are okay.

619
00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:05,280
But I wanted to tell you, I initially said

620
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:08,760
that there were about 100,000
in institutions when I started

621
00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:11,880
doing this kind of work 25 years ago.

622
00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:13,280
Do you know how many there are now?

623
00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:16,000
About 3.800.

624
00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:17,920
That's all.

625
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:20,280
It's another three good years of work

626
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:24,800
until institutions will be
a thing of the past for Romania.

627
00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:28,560
And basically,
that horrible brand of orphanages,

628
00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:33,280
which was so descriptive of Romania
until not long ago,

629
00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:35,120
is going to be a thing of the past.

630
00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:41,400
If you're visiting Sighet,
it's mandatory to drive 20 minutes east.

631
00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:46,200
To take a stroll through
Europe's only happy cemetery,

632
00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:50,560
where the dead are immortalized
with poetry and paint

633
00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:52,800
on ornately carved crosses

634
00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:55,480
that form a small forest
clustering in the shade

635
00:42:55,560 --> 00:42:58,040
of the Romanian Orthodox Church
of Assumption,

636
00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:05,320
Built in 1886
and recently extended and embellished

637
00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:08,080
in a kaleidoscope of colored tiles.

638
00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:15,000
It's remarkable how much work went
into creating these grave tablets.

639
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:16,880
Can't call them gravestones,

640
00:43:16,960 --> 00:43:23,160
but the carving, the colors,
the artwork is vibrant.

641
00:43:23,240 --> 00:43:25,280
It's very full of life, ironically.

642
00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:29,160
But this is the whole idea
of the happy cemetery.

643
00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:33,680
It's a celebration of the person's life,
not a commiseration of their death.

644
00:43:34,400 --> 00:43:35,480
And in 100 years’ time,

645
00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:37,960
people will still know
what these people did.

646
00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:41,240
They'll know who they were,
they'll know what they liked.

647
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:43,080
They'll know
a little bit about their life,

648
00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:45,520
whether they enjoyed flower arranging

649
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:49,640
or making bread or tending sheep
or drinking palinka from the bottle.

650
00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:57,880
"I'm not having a good afterlife."

651
00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:00,480
Well, you wouldn't, if you were beheaded.

652
00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:02,520
While you were peacefully
tending your sheep.

653
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:08,400
This guy comes up, Hungarian
and beheads him just like that.

654
00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:13,680
They don't shy away from graphic detail
in these illustrations.

655
00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:16,000
I mean, some are quite mundane.

656
00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:19,960
A guy who left the army
and bought himself a nice car,

657
00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:22,040
there's a picture of him with his car

658
00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:26,640
because, let's face it,
Romanians really like a car.

659
00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:28,480
Cars are important.

660
00:44:29,320 --> 00:44:31,880
But to have your picture forevermore

661
00:44:31,960 --> 00:44:35,600
as being standing there
next to your brand new car

662
00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:40,040
seems maybe just a tiny bit
superficial to me.

663
00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:45,440
The idea of celebrating
the lives of the deceased

664
00:44:45,520 --> 00:44:49,880
rather than commiserating their loss
can be traced back to the Dacians.

665
00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:54,680
{\an8}And inspired local artist and woodcarver
Stan Pătraș

666
00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:59,280
{\an8}to start incorporating images and epitaphs
on his crosses back in 1935.

667
00:45:01,920 --> 00:45:04,960
The tradition was later
passed down to his apprentice,

668
00:45:05,040 --> 00:45:07,560
Dumitru Pop,
who sadly passed away last year.

669
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:14,120
However, his daughter
Anamaria and her husband Ioan

670
00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:17,240
have inherited
and continue her father's legacy.

671
00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:20,240
How did this tradition first come about?

672
00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:22,160
I haven't seen this
anywhere else in the world.

673
00:45:22,240 --> 00:45:24,440
{\an8}It's our Dacian tradition.

674
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:27,520
{\an8}When someone here are dying,

675
00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:32,320
everyone was happy because he go
to the God and it's a beautiful thing.

676
00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:37,120
And if someone is born, everyone cry

677
00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:39,720
because they come on the earth to suffer.

678
00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:43,520
We have three type,
the crosses on the Merry cemetery.

679
00:45:43,600 --> 00:45:46,440
With one side.
All the story about the person.

680
00:45:46,520 --> 00:45:49,920
Two sides.
The first side it's about the life.

681
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:53,480
The second part it's about the death,
what's happening,

682
00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:56,120
the reason why he died or she died.

683
00:45:56,200 --> 00:46:00,240
Do the relatives have any input
on how the person is portrayed?

684
00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:03,080
So say, for example,
if the wife commissions a cross

685
00:46:03,160 --> 00:46:08,040
about her dead husband,
but he was cheating and he drank too much

686
00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:10,680
and he was always
gambling their money away in the casino

687
00:46:10,760 --> 00:46:13,960
and she wanted
to say something not very nice.

688
00:46:14,040 --> 00:46:16,520
- Could she do that?
- Long story.

689
00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:18,640
- Yeah.
- Yes, we can do this.

690
00:46:18,720 --> 00:46:22,920
So do you find relatives influencing you?

691
00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:27,600
If this was the truth and the truth,
yes, we put on the cross.

692
00:46:27,680 --> 00:46:29,280
So show me a couple of examples.

693
00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:33,080
I know you've got some
of the best ones in there, some copies.

694
00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:38,360
We have some copies here.
And we have the mother in law.

695
00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:41,080
I think I can remember this
from coming here

696
00:46:41,160 --> 00:46:44,240
and seeing the original in 2014.

697
00:46:44,320 --> 00:46:49,280
"If I lived three more days,
then I'd be here, not my mother in law."

698
00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:50,880
It's true, yes.

699
00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:53,520
Because obviously
she drove him mad with her criticism.

700
00:46:53,600 --> 00:46:56,120
It's not like a kind mother in law.

701
00:46:56,200 --> 00:46:59,720
No, well, I mean, not many people
get on with their mother in laws, do they?

702
00:46:59,800 --> 00:47:03,720
I mean, there's a reason we all make jokes
about your mother in law in England.

703
00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:07,600
We have the same thing here.

704
00:47:07,680 --> 00:47:09,480
I guess, your dad,

705
00:47:09,560 --> 00:47:13,840
who has been the creator
of these crosses for how many years?

706
00:47:13,920 --> 00:47:16,560
Since 1977.

707
00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:18,320
After the Stan Pătraș death.

708
00:47:18,400 --> 00:47:21,240
- Right. So he took over.
- Yes.

709
00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:24,160
And he was the one
who created the poems as well?

710
00:47:24,240 --> 00:47:27,640
Yes, the poems,
the model, the image, everything.

711
00:47:27,720 --> 00:47:31,320
And so he's really told the story
of the whole community in that time.

712
00:47:31,400 --> 00:47:32,480
The people who've died here?

713
00:47:32,560 --> 00:47:35,160
Yes. Here is not a big village.

714
00:47:35,240 --> 00:47:38,600
- Like 3000...
- Three thousand people.

715
00:47:38,680 --> 00:47:42,720
So you can't possibly be able to keep up
with the number of people that die.

716
00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:45,040
So not everybody gets a cross, only...

717
00:47:45,120 --> 00:47:47,440
No, we have another cemetery.

718
00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:52,640
Half cross is like this cross
and half is in stone.

719
00:47:52,720 --> 00:47:56,240
Is on the street, yes, like two minutes...

720
00:47:56,320 --> 00:47:59,480
- Just down the road. I must go and see it.
- You must see.

721
00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:15,280
Welcome to the semi happy cemetery.

722
00:48:21,680 --> 00:48:23,360
I almost prefer this.

723
00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:28,160
No tourists, it's in the middle of a field
full of ancient oak trees.

724
00:48:30,160 --> 00:48:31,720
Surrounded by the hills.

725
00:48:33,880 --> 00:48:37,880
This guy who had a car and a son

726
00:48:38,760 --> 00:48:43,760
and a wife and he blames his wife
for his early death.

727
00:48:43,840 --> 00:48:46,880
He said, "Be careful how you marry

728
00:48:47,600 --> 00:48:50,680
because my wife
put me in the ground early."

729
00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:55,240
Which I think is a bit unfair
on his poor wife who may still be alive.

730
00:48:55,320 --> 00:48:59,200
I wonder how she feels about
seeing this cross

731
00:48:59,280 --> 00:49:02,240
when she comes to put
some flowers on his grave.

732
00:49:02,320 --> 00:49:04,080
Maybe she doesn't put some flowers
on his grave.

733
00:49:04,160 --> 00:49:05,440
I think if I was his wife

734
00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:10,960
and that was his letter
from beyond the grave,

735
00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:13,160
I wouldn't come up and visit so often.

736
00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:17,440
Shocking.

737
00:49:27,360 --> 00:49:28,200
For our next stop,

738
00:49:28,280 --> 00:49:30,400
we're heading to the far west
of the Maramureș

739
00:49:30,480 --> 00:49:31,680
and the town of Borșa.

740
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:39,720
It's a spectacular drive
over undulating hills and valleys.

741
00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:51,160
In season one,

742
00:49:51,240 --> 00:49:54,640
we came here to witness
the ongoing scourge of illegal logging

743
00:49:54,720 --> 00:49:59,520
that continues unabated in the isolated
terrain that straddles the Ukraine border.

744
00:50:06,640 --> 00:50:10,520
This time around,
I'm purely here for recreational purposes

745
00:50:10,600 --> 00:50:14,400
to visit an enterprising young woman
who has set up riding stables

746
00:50:14,480 --> 00:50:18,520
for those wishing to explore
this untamed landscape by horseback.

747
00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:07,880
Can anybody come and ride here?

748
00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:12,840
I mean, not just experienced riders,
but you can teach people as well, yes?

749
00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:14,720
Anyone can come.

750
00:51:14,800 --> 00:51:18,480
{\an8}We offer horse-riding lessons, equitation,

751
00:51:18,560 --> 00:51:22,480
{\an8}and we go out on the routes,
even if people are beginners.

752
00:51:22,560 --> 00:51:27,600
The horses are tamed, one just has
to have no fear and everything is OK.

753
00:51:27,680 --> 00:51:31,080
And where is this route, all of...?

754
00:51:31,160 --> 00:51:32,720
All the mountains?

755
00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:35,200
More or less, it depends.

756
00:51:35,280 --> 00:51:39,800
When we have to do with beginners,
we can’t approach a long route.

757
00:51:39,880 --> 00:51:41,200
In the mountains, it is difficult

758
00:51:41,280 --> 00:51:43,560
and even more difficult when going down.

759
00:51:43,640 --> 00:51:45,360
So this is one of the routes

760
00:51:45,440 --> 00:51:49,480
and we have another three-hour one
and it is easy enough.

761
00:51:49,560 --> 00:51:52,200
Is this your family? The business.

762
00:51:52,280 --> 00:51:54,560
This is my father's passion.

763
00:51:54,640 --> 00:51:57,880
And it became mine too,
I didn’t expect that.

764
00:51:58,960 --> 00:52:03,280
I have entered the horses’ world
only two years ago

765
00:52:03,360 --> 00:52:04,480
and I like it.

766
00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:06,920
Anyway there is not much to do in Borșa

767
00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:10,400
so we thought that, since we have them,
we have horses for eight years now,

768
00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:14,240
and my grandfather also had horses
and... it runs in the family.

769
00:52:14,800 --> 00:52:16,400
So where are we going next?

770
00:52:16,480 --> 00:52:21,880
We’ll go there to see the view,
the forest and Pietrosu Mountain

771
00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:23,800
and then we will be back to the stables.

772
00:52:23,880 --> 00:52:28,400
Okay, that's brunch. Stella, come on,
you've eaten enough. You get fat like me.

773
00:52:29,080 --> 00:52:29,920
Let's go.

774
00:52:34,600 --> 00:52:36,280
Leaving the bike of the stables,

775
00:52:36,360 --> 00:52:38,800
I've switched from four legs
to four wheels.

776
00:52:40,320 --> 00:52:43,120
To go in search
of Romania's highest waterfall.

777
00:52:45,600 --> 00:52:49,400
Situated on a distant escarpment
deep in the Rodna Mountains.

778
00:53:21,760 --> 00:53:23,480
According to the local legends,

779
00:53:23,560 --> 00:53:26,560
the waterfall got its name
from a bunch of wild horses

780
00:53:26,640 --> 00:53:28,680
that were corralled
at the top of the cliff

781
00:53:28,760 --> 00:53:30,840
by a pack of ravenous wolves.

782
00:53:30,920 --> 00:53:31,920
In order to escape,

783
00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:34,560
they leapt to their deaths
on the rocks below.

784
00:53:34,640 --> 00:53:38,560
Their white manes billowing in the wind
as they fell.

785
00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:40,640
Imaginative, but brutal.

786
00:54:14,920 --> 00:54:18,480
Riding back west, we come
to the small town of Vișeul de Jos

787
00:54:18,560 --> 00:54:20,760
and the house of Mrs. Maria Pop,

788
00:54:20,840 --> 00:54:23,320
one of the last remaining artisans

789
00:54:23,400 --> 00:54:25,560
who still makes authentic jackets
and waistcoats

790
00:54:25,640 --> 00:54:27,920
for men and women
in the traditional style.

791
00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:30,360
- Hello, nice to meet you.
- Hello.

792
00:54:30,440 --> 00:54:32,640
{\an8}- Welcome to us.
- Thank you very much.

793
00:54:33,160 --> 00:54:35,400
- God bless.
- God bless.

794
00:54:35,480 --> 00:54:36,720
{\an8}- Please.
- Thank you.

795
00:54:36,800 --> 00:54:40,000
These are my own works,
done with my own hands.

796
00:54:40,080 --> 00:54:43,600
{\an8}To our delight we still have masters
who do such things,

797
00:54:43,680 --> 00:54:47,680
as aunt Maria who has been doing
this craft since more than 20 years.

798
00:54:47,760 --> 00:54:49,600
This is an entire artwork.

799
00:54:49,680 --> 00:54:53,400
- How long does it take?
- It depends. One month, maybe more.

800
00:54:53,480 --> 00:54:56,720
It is much work, much sewing,
more than one month.

801
00:54:56,800 --> 00:55:00,800
It is a lot of work
to manually sew all these.

802
00:55:00,880 --> 00:55:03,280
Should I give you one for men?

803
00:55:03,360 --> 00:55:06,880
Since you are here, please take a vest
that is specific to Vișeu area

804
00:55:06,960 --> 00:55:11,000
- This is to be worn in workdays.
- Workdays, not holidays.

805
00:55:11,080 --> 00:55:13,800
- No, these are for holidays.
- Yes, like the one I am wearing.

806
00:55:13,880 --> 00:55:17,840
They are called vests with <i>raiu,</i>
that was their name,

807
00:55:17,920 --> 00:55:21,880
this is how they were identified
and named by the village people.

808
00:55:21,960 --> 00:55:23,880
We still don’t know why,

809
00:55:23,960 --> 00:55:27,680
but what it is sewn on them
has a special symbolic meaning,

810
00:55:27,760 --> 00:55:32,120
because the tradition is starting
to fade away, we have no more craftsmen

811
00:55:32,200 --> 00:55:36,280
and we can say that aunt Maria
is one of those who saved...

812
00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:38,280
- I tried to save...
- She tried to save

813
00:55:38,360 --> 00:55:41,560
at least something
from this authentic craft.

814
00:55:41,640 --> 00:55:44,120
- I like it.
- How old is it?

815
00:55:44,720 --> 00:55:46,200
More than 100 years.

816
00:55:46,280 --> 00:55:48,520
The men in Vișeu area were wearing it.

817
00:55:48,600 --> 00:55:53,320
- Only Vișeu area.
- Only in Vișeu area they wear it.

818
00:55:53,400 --> 00:55:57,680
These and these. If you go in other areas,
they are all different.

819
00:55:57,760 --> 00:56:00,640
They are different.
Maramureș is big and wide,

820
00:56:01,560 --> 00:56:03,840
very beautiful from all standpoints,

821
00:56:03,920 --> 00:56:08,720
but we are unity in diversity
and this takes us farther.

822
00:56:08,800 --> 00:56:11,440
And we must not forget the tradition.

823
00:56:11,520 --> 00:56:15,160
If we forget our roots, we are lost.

824
00:56:15,240 --> 00:56:18,320
We have to care about the roots,
in order to be able to bloom.

825
00:56:28,200 --> 00:56:30,520
Continuing west,
we leave the mountains behind

826
00:56:30,600 --> 00:56:34,720
and return to the wooden villages
and churches that epitomize this region.

827
00:56:36,760 --> 00:56:40,960
Traveling along the Iza River Valley,
you pass the monastery of Bârsana.

828
00:56:48,240 --> 00:56:50,680
A popular destination for pilgrims,

829
00:56:51,640 --> 00:56:53,800
re-established in 1993.

830
00:56:53,880 --> 00:56:56,440
Constructed on the site
of a former monastery

831
00:56:56,520 --> 00:56:59,560
which was burned by the Tartars in 1717.

832
00:57:15,960 --> 00:57:18,200
It's certainly an impressive spectacle

833
00:57:18,280 --> 00:57:20,880
when you consider all the carving

834
00:57:20,960 --> 00:57:25,040
that went into creating these buildings
and the shingles on the roof.

835
00:57:25,760 --> 00:57:31,200
In today's terms, they're worth millions
and must be quite expensive to maintain.

836
00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:36,400
So the tourists that come here every week
in their bus loads

837
00:57:36,480 --> 00:57:39,800
contribute to the survival of this place,

838
00:57:39,880 --> 00:57:43,520
but at the same time
offer a certain contradiction,

839
00:57:43,600 --> 00:57:47,920
because monastic life is supposed to be
one of isolation,

840
00:57:48,000 --> 00:57:51,400
to be quiet, to contemplate God,

841
00:57:51,480 --> 00:57:56,080
to have the peace and tranquilly
necessary to lead a spiritual life.

842
00:57:56,160 --> 00:57:58,920
And yet here we have a place that just

843
00:57:59,840 --> 00:58:02,280
starts to look a bit
like Disneyland at weekends.

844
00:58:02,880 --> 00:58:04,480
With people teeming all over it.

845
00:58:05,240 --> 00:58:08,320
It must be quite difficult for the nuns,
I can't help feeling.

846
00:58:12,160 --> 00:58:15,600
The monastery is often confused
with the wooden Church of Bârsana,

847
00:58:15,680 --> 00:58:19,080
one of eight UNESCO World Heritage
churches in the region.

848
00:58:22,840 --> 00:58:28,040
Constructed in 1711 as a thank you
to God for protection from the plague,

849
00:58:29,760 --> 00:58:34,200
it was later moved closer to the village
to safeguard it from desecration.

850
00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:39,360
Today it rests on a hill behind
the town and cuts a lonely figure

851
00:58:39,440 --> 00:58:43,800
set in an overgrown cemetery,
neglected by many of the tourists

852
00:58:43,880 --> 00:58:46,760
who come here to visit
its more modern counterpart.

853
00:59:05,200 --> 00:59:06,800
During the course of our journey,

854
00:59:06,880 --> 00:59:10,200
the roads become increasingly filled
with horse and carts.

855
00:59:11,960 --> 00:59:13,240
And livestock.

856
00:59:15,440 --> 00:59:18,960
As the people of the Maramureș gather in
the last of the harvest

857
00:59:19,880 --> 00:59:22,440
and bring the animals home
from the high pasture

858
00:59:22,520 --> 00:59:24,160
in preparation for winter.

859
00:59:30,280 --> 00:59:33,400
While the men of the communities
are largely responsible

860
00:59:33,480 --> 00:59:35,280
for supervising the livestock,

861
00:59:36,640 --> 00:59:38,440
the picking of the fruit and vegetables

862
00:59:38,520 --> 00:59:43,160
often falls to the women who work
together to beat the encroaching frost.

863
00:59:47,800 --> 00:59:51,920
I've come to Călinești to pick up
friend and singer Măriuca Verdeș,

864
00:59:52,000 --> 00:59:54,160
who has taken me to meet her neighbors,

865
00:59:56,120 --> 00:59:59,920
laboring in the hills to retrieve
the last of the potatoes.

866
01:00:17,880 --> 01:00:21,320
It is the first time I travel
with such a bike.

867
01:00:21,400 --> 01:00:24,920
People will laugh at me, they will say
I ran away from my husband.

868
01:00:33,120 --> 01:00:33,960
Come.

869
01:00:35,040 --> 01:00:36,720
So, first time on a motor bike?

870
01:00:36,800 --> 01:00:38,760
- First time.
- First time?

871
01:00:41,320 --> 01:00:42,120
Good.

872
01:00:42,200 --> 01:00:43,200
I am very happy.

873
01:00:43,280 --> 01:00:50,000
Let’s go and see what Călinești people
are dealing with in this autumn time.

874
01:00:50,520 --> 01:00:54,280
{\an8}Harvest is one of the most important times
of the year in Maramureș, isn't it?

875
01:00:54,360 --> 01:00:58,800
{\an8}Yes, it is an important time
because we pick up fruits now,

876
01:00:58,880 --> 01:01:02,640
all the work we did during summer
is to be seen only now.

877
01:01:02,720 --> 01:01:06,280
That is why Maramureș people
are patient people,

878
01:01:06,360 --> 01:01:11,080
because we are still used
to eat the work of our own hands.

879
01:01:11,160 --> 01:01:14,800
We still keep the first commandment
God has given to humanity:

880
01:01:14,880 --> 01:01:17,720
"Only eat the work of your hands".

881
01:01:17,800 --> 01:01:20,280
We want to live a healthy life

882
01:01:20,360 --> 01:01:24,480
in a world which lack this principle

883
01:01:24,560 --> 01:01:28,360
and we have finally realized
that health is the most important,

884
01:01:28,440 --> 01:01:32,360
so we take care of the land,
we make sure to have cows,

885
01:01:32,440 --> 01:01:38,640
to make haystacks,
to plant <i>picioci</i> (potatoes), peas,

886
01:01:38,720 --> 01:01:43,840
to plant everything we need so that
we can survive through the winter

887
01:01:43,920 --> 01:01:48,040
without being stressed
about the rising prices.

888
01:01:48,120 --> 01:01:50,880
We are not interested
about the rising prices

889
01:01:50,960 --> 01:01:54,320
because we live in our own rhythm,
just the way we want.

890
01:01:54,400 --> 01:01:57,960
Now we will go to a host, Maria,

891
01:01:58,040 --> 01:02:01,400
who gathered some women
from the village for <i>clacă</i>

892
01:02:01,480 --> 01:02:05,400
and they dig for <i>picioci</i>
as they should, with their hands.

893
01:02:05,480 --> 01:02:10,280
- Some of them are gathering apples...
- Apples? Apple picking.

894
01:02:10,360 --> 01:02:12,160
And they preserve them for the winter...

895
01:02:12,240 --> 01:02:17,200
The host Năstafă picked apples by hand
to have them through the wintertime.

896
01:02:17,280 --> 01:02:20,520
If you pick them with your hand,
they will make it through winter.

897
01:02:20,600 --> 01:02:22,800
They are kept in a cool place

898
01:02:22,880 --> 01:02:26,560
and you may eat them during the winter
because they are very good.

899
01:02:26,640 --> 01:02:28,760
But if they shake the tree
and the apples fall,

900
01:02:28,840 --> 01:02:31,200
people use them to prepare <i>horinca.</i>

901
01:02:32,000 --> 01:02:34,080
I keep your apples in my lap.

902
01:02:34,880 --> 01:02:36,280
Thank you. Saving one for later.

903
01:02:36,360 --> 01:02:38,320
This was what women used to do

904
01:02:38,400 --> 01:02:41,160
when they had nowhere to put
their fruits or vegetables.

905
01:02:41,240 --> 01:02:42,800
They put them in their lap.

906
01:02:42,880 --> 01:02:46,400
Hey, Maria! I brought you three apples!

907
01:02:46,480 --> 01:02:49,160
He brought me here by bike.

908
01:02:50,640 --> 01:02:52,920
It ride like the wind.
But do you know what I was thinking?

909
01:02:53,000 --> 01:02:56,720
That they would talk...
they would say I had run away.

910
01:02:58,320 --> 01:03:01,120
Take a break.
What beautiful <i>picioci</i> you have!

911
01:03:02,120 --> 01:03:04,400
- Wow, very beautiful.
- They are.

912
01:03:04,480 --> 01:03:06,480
So all of this land, is it communal land

913
01:03:06,560 --> 01:03:09,560
or does it belong
to, like, a couple of people?

914
01:03:10,480 --> 01:03:14,040
Here, people struggled to buy their land

915
01:03:14,120 --> 01:03:15,760
and every one of them
has their piece of land.

916
01:03:15,840 --> 01:03:19,120
- I have inherited it.
- Inherited it from Gheorghiță?

917
01:03:19,200 --> 01:03:21,040
- From my parents.
- From your parents.

918
01:03:21,120 --> 01:03:24,360
I get the feeling everybody chips in
and they all help each other.

919
01:03:24,440 --> 01:03:25,280
Is that right?

920
01:03:25,360 --> 01:03:28,720
They help each other
because we are a tight community

921
01:03:28,800 --> 01:03:33,280
and we love helping each other,
knowing and loving each other

922
01:03:33,360 --> 01:03:39,920
because shouldn’t we love each other,
this urge to help would not exist.

923
01:03:40,000 --> 01:03:42,320
The ladies sing songs when they do this.

924
01:03:42,400 --> 01:03:47,960
It’s true. When you want to have
an excuse not to work, you sing.

925
01:03:48,800 --> 01:03:52,640
I will sing a <i>hora</i> to these hosts.

926
01:03:54,400 --> 01:03:56,360
I sing because I love singing.

927
01:04:23,840 --> 01:04:24,840
Bravo.

928
01:04:25,600 --> 01:04:29,000
- Do you want to do some work?
- Yeah, of course.

929
01:04:29,080 --> 01:04:31,280
Standing here, doing no work.

930
01:04:31,360 --> 01:04:35,160
You will see how we work
to earn our bread.

931
01:04:35,920 --> 01:04:37,000
Yeah.

932
01:04:37,080 --> 01:04:41,120
But don’t dig too deep because
the potatoes are at the surface.

933
01:04:42,760 --> 01:04:44,840
Those are <i>corci,</i>
this is how they are called,

934
01:04:44,920 --> 01:04:46,320
<i>corci</i> of <i>picioci.</i>

935
01:04:46,400 --> 01:04:48,560
This is a <i>corci</i>, see?

936
01:04:48,640 --> 01:04:52,040
From a <i>picioc,</i>
they split and several will come out.

937
01:04:53,320 --> 01:04:56,560
We put them into three categories:
Big <i>picioci,</i>

938
01:04:57,920 --> 01:05:00,520
for eating, for instance this...

939
01:05:03,120 --> 01:05:05,800
so we use the big <i>picioc</i> to eat it,

940
01:05:05,880 --> 01:05:10,920
this is to be cultivated next year,

941
01:05:11,000 --> 01:05:14,080
and in case they are smaller,
we use them for animals.

942
01:05:14,160 --> 01:05:16,000
- For animals.
- To feed the animals.

943
01:05:16,080 --> 01:05:18,600
Those have more flavour.

944
01:05:18,680 --> 01:05:21,120
So this year has been a good harvest.

945
01:05:21,200 --> 01:05:24,120
Yes. It's a good harvest.

946
01:05:24,200 --> 01:05:27,200
- They are happy.
- Very happy.

947
01:05:27,280 --> 01:05:30,280
They are happy because they did not work
in vain, the whole summer.

948
01:05:30,360 --> 01:05:32,160
Everything depends on rains.

949
01:05:32,240 --> 01:05:33,560
Bravo, Charlie.

950
01:05:34,680 --> 01:05:39,800
Actually, it's quite hard work.
Do you know any more songs to...

951
01:05:39,880 --> 01:05:42,480
keep me in the zone?

952
01:05:43,120 --> 01:05:49,480
Because we are in nature,
I will sing about nature.

953
01:06:28,280 --> 01:06:30,080
Thank you so much for showing me this.

954
01:06:30,160 --> 01:06:33,400
Me too. We thank you as well.
I stay here to help the hosts.

955
01:06:34,080 --> 01:06:35,720
I won’t joining you again on the bike,

956
01:06:35,800 --> 01:06:38,240
for people will really say
I ran away with you.

957
01:06:38,320 --> 01:06:44,600
Well, I suppose I've given all the locals
something to gossip about, haven't I,

958
01:06:44,680 --> 01:06:45,480
when I've gone.

959
01:06:45,560 --> 01:06:46,600
- Okay.
- Okay.

960
01:06:46,680 --> 01:06:50,880
I am glad you passed by,
glad to meet you and please come again.

961
01:06:50,960 --> 01:06:52,760
We'll be back. Thank you so much.

962
01:06:52,840 --> 01:06:53,680
You're welcome.

963
01:06:54,320 --> 01:06:56,320
Bye. Thanks. Kisses.

964
01:06:56,400 --> 01:06:58,880
- Thank you.
- Give me the hoe, where are you going?

965
01:06:58,960 --> 01:07:02,280
- You don't need a hoe.
- See you.

966
01:07:02,360 --> 01:07:04,840
We wait for you at Christmas.

967
01:08:12,760 --> 01:08:15,480
Foraging is another
important part of harvest time.

968
01:08:17,080 --> 01:08:18,880
There are several collection points

969
01:08:18,960 --> 01:08:21,359
set up to receive the bounty
of wild mushrooms

970
01:08:21,439 --> 01:08:24,479
that proliferate
in the surrounding fields and forests.

971
01:08:27,760 --> 01:08:31,640
So it's Monday afternoon,
about five o'clock,

972
01:08:31,720 --> 01:08:32,840
There's a storm coming.

973
01:08:32,920 --> 01:08:37,760
It's been raining for the last few days
and there's lots and lots of porcini.

974
01:08:38,359 --> 01:08:39,960
This is the collection point.

975
01:08:40,840 --> 01:08:41,800
Look at that.

976
01:08:43,680 --> 01:08:46,040
That is a monster.

977
01:08:46,120 --> 01:08:48,000
It's the last few days

978
01:08:48,080 --> 01:08:51,000
where porcini is still going to be growing
because it's getting cold now.

979
01:08:51,080 --> 01:08:54,399
And as the temperatures drop, then...

980
01:08:55,160 --> 01:08:58,240
the frosts come
and that's it for the mushrooms.

981
01:08:58,319 --> 01:09:04,160
These mushrooms become exponentially
more valuable from this point onwards,

982
01:09:04,240 --> 01:09:08,439
until they reach
the expensive restaurants of Europe.

983
01:09:08,520 --> 01:09:13,080
But it's an example
of the rich bounty that Romania has.

984
01:09:13,160 --> 01:09:17,520
It's not just porcini and Bay Boletes
that arrive at the collection point.

985
01:09:17,600 --> 01:09:20,200
Other varieties of mushrooms
turn up here as well.

986
01:09:20,279 --> 01:09:24,600
All of them edible, as I suppose,
but I have no idea what that is.

987
01:09:25,279 --> 01:09:27,080
- Morchella.
- Morchella.

988
01:09:27,720 --> 01:09:28,640
Morchella.

989
01:09:28,720 --> 01:09:31,240
In Romanian, Midget's Trumpet.

990
01:09:32,399 --> 01:09:33,200
{\an8}Okay.

991
01:09:33,279 --> 01:09:36,840
{\an8}The French eat a lot of Trumpets.

992
01:09:36,920 --> 01:09:38,800
{\an8}- Really? It's delicious?
- Yes.

993
01:09:38,880 --> 01:09:40,479
How do you prepare them?

994
01:09:40,560 --> 01:09:44,800
It usually gets dry to make a sauce,

995
01:09:44,880 --> 01:09:48,240
you put it on steaks, on... mushroom sauce.

996
01:09:48,319 --> 01:09:49,640
They smell good, actually.

997
01:09:50,359 --> 01:09:51,160
Smells good.

998
01:09:51,240 --> 01:09:55,480
Here we have the goods ready for export.

999
01:09:58,000 --> 01:10:00,840
We do it for restaurants...

1000
01:10:00,920 --> 01:10:03,920
- London?
- No, Italy.

1001
01:10:04,000 --> 01:10:06,200
So this is the second stage
of the process.

1002
01:10:06,280 --> 01:10:11,240
You can see the Bay Boletes
have been cut into slices and frozen.

1003
01:10:11,320 --> 01:10:13,720
Or there were a small porcini,
frozen whole.

1004
01:10:13,800 --> 01:10:17,720
This is tastier than Japanese beef.

1005
01:10:17,800 --> 01:10:18,880
- Really?
- No.

1006
01:10:19,520 --> 01:10:21,160
- Look here.
- How beautiful!

1007
01:10:21,240 --> 01:10:23,920
- We call them dried <i>hribi</i>.
- Dried.

1008
01:10:24,000 --> 01:10:25,640
Dried, first class.

1009
01:10:25,720 --> 01:10:27,800
We dry them with water.

1010
01:10:27,880 --> 01:10:30,920
We dry them bio, using wood.

1011
01:10:31,000 --> 01:10:32,520
- With fire.
- Okay.

1012
01:10:32,600 --> 01:10:37,880
We sell everything here in Romania too,
because there is request.

1013
01:10:37,960 --> 01:10:39,800
But most of them go to Italy.

1014
01:10:40,600 --> 01:10:42,880
It's really interesting, as Vasile says,

1015
01:10:42,960 --> 01:10:47,320
that all these mushrooms
finished their journey in Italy

1016
01:10:47,400 --> 01:10:50,920
at a far higher price point
than they started it.

1017
01:10:51,000 --> 01:10:53,800
And this is one of the tragedies
about Romanian products,

1018
01:10:53,880 --> 01:10:55,560
about Romanian resources.

1019
01:10:55,640 --> 01:10:57,840
They're worth a lot more money elsewhere

1020
01:10:57,920 --> 01:11:00,440
than they are here,
in their country of origin,

1021
01:11:01,200 --> 01:11:05,360
like the timber, the mushrooms,
and actually the white truffles.

1022
01:11:05,440 --> 01:11:07,040
Italians are very good

1023
01:11:07,120 --> 01:11:10,080
at passing off Romanian white truffles
as their own

1024
01:11:10,160 --> 01:11:12,760
and selling them on for a small fortune.

1025
01:11:12,840 --> 01:11:15,320
What would be really helpful
in this country

1026
01:11:15,400 --> 01:11:19,800
is if we were able to maximize
the value of products here in Romania

1027
01:11:19,880 --> 01:11:23,360
before selling them on and having someone
else triple the price

1028
01:11:23,440 --> 01:11:27,720
and call them Italian or German
or whatever country they end up in.

1029
01:11:28,360 --> 01:11:31,080
Thank you so much, Vasile. That's so kind.

1030
01:11:32,880 --> 01:11:33,840
This is...

1031
01:11:34,840 --> 01:11:36,800
This is dinner,

1032
01:11:37,880 --> 01:11:40,160
breakfast and lunch tomorrow.

1033
01:11:40,240 --> 01:11:42,000
Thank you very much.

1034
01:11:42,080 --> 01:11:44,360
- Do you want some morchella?
- Yeah, I'd love to.

1035
01:11:44,440 --> 01:11:45,760
Just a taste.

1036
01:11:45,840 --> 01:11:49,400
That's enough. Thanks.

1037
01:11:51,480 --> 01:11:52,680
Enjoy!

1038
01:11:52,760 --> 01:11:53,800
Thanks!

1039
01:11:53,880 --> 01:11:55,800
Let me shake you by the hand.

1040
01:11:55,880 --> 01:11:59,240
That is so kind.
Thank you so much, Vasile.

1041
01:11:59,320 --> 01:12:02,240
Do you have a cook
to cook you the mushrooms?

1042
01:12:02,320 --> 01:12:04,560
Yes. Me. Yes.

1043
01:12:05,160 --> 01:12:07,920
Do you know how to check whether
the mushrooms are good or not?

1044
01:12:08,000 --> 01:12:12,360
Each mushroom has a bad sister.

1045
01:12:12,880 --> 01:12:14,920
There are a good sister and a bad sister.

1046
01:12:15,440 --> 01:12:18,880
We have a very simple method here,
in Maramureș.

1047
01:12:19,720 --> 01:12:22,600
- Before eating mushrooms...
- Yes...

1048
01:12:23,640 --> 01:12:26,160
...we look for a mother-in-law
and ask her to eat it.

1049
01:12:28,680 --> 01:12:35,080
Now I know how the mother-in-law
in Săpânța probably died.

1050
01:12:35,160 --> 01:12:39,240
Love it. Thank you so much for this feast.

1051
01:12:39,880 --> 01:12:44,280
Now I've got to go home and prepare
something with the mushrooms for dinner.

1052
01:12:44,360 --> 01:12:48,120
Just so happens that we've gone
self-catering this evening,

1053
01:12:48,200 --> 01:12:50,200
so I've really got no excuse whatsoever.

1054
01:12:50,760 --> 01:12:52,000
Thanks, Vasile.

1055
01:12:52,080 --> 01:12:53,920
- Good health! Enjoy!
- Good health!

1056
01:13:21,040 --> 01:13:24,840
Okay, so this is a really simple recipe
that I learned off my mum.

1057
01:13:24,920 --> 01:13:28,800
It's not a gourmet recipe,
so no apologies to the chefs watching.

1058
01:13:28,880 --> 01:13:31,120
I'm sure you can all do it
a lot better than this,

1059
01:13:31,200 --> 01:13:34,480
but it's an easy way to combine
the different mushrooms

1060
01:13:34,560 --> 01:13:36,520
with a bit of wine
that I found in the fridge,

1061
01:13:36,600 --> 01:13:38,320
some chopped onion and garlic,

1062
01:13:38,400 --> 01:13:42,200
a bay leaf for two,
squeeze of lemon, a bit of chicken stock,

1063
01:13:42,280 --> 01:13:44,360
and that will make a mushroom risotto,

1064
01:13:44,440 --> 01:13:47,080
a wild mushroom risotto,
which I'm preparing

1065
01:13:47,160 --> 01:13:49,520
because I've got a friend
coming over from England,

1066
01:13:49,600 --> 01:13:53,480
who I'm taking to the forest tomorrow
because he's an expert conservationist,

1067
01:13:53,560 --> 01:13:55,760
has a charity over here, and is the reason

1068
01:13:55,840 --> 01:13:58,240
that I discovered Romania
in the first place

1069
01:13:58,320 --> 01:14:01,160
and has been fighting to protect
Romania's forests

1070
01:14:01,840 --> 01:14:04,480
for much longer
than I've been in this country.

1071
01:14:04,560 --> 01:14:08,040
So let's try... cooking.

1072
01:14:08,120 --> 01:14:10,080
Start with some olive oil.

1073
01:14:10,920 --> 01:14:12,520
Chuck in the onions.

1074
01:14:14,960 --> 01:14:17,200
A few <i>hribi</i>. So.

1075
01:14:17,840 --> 01:14:20,840
They reduce right down.

1076
01:14:20,920 --> 01:14:23,920
They're so delicious.
The flesh is really nutty.

1077
01:14:24,000 --> 01:14:25,480
You can actually eat it raw.

1078
01:14:27,120 --> 01:14:31,920
Gorgeous. Next, I'm going to chuck in
some garlic. We add the garlic.

1079
01:14:33,400 --> 01:14:38,280
I know this looks very slap dash
and it is, but the result should be good.

1080
01:14:38,360 --> 01:14:41,600
Next, the midget's trumpet.

1081
01:14:44,360 --> 01:14:47,760
Not sure how politically correct
that name is in this day and age.

1082
01:14:47,840 --> 01:14:50,800
The idea is the onions should caramelize

1083
01:14:51,520 --> 01:14:54,400
just as the juice of the mushroom
starts to come out,

1084
01:14:54,480 --> 01:14:58,320
which means the garlic doesn't go bitter
and burn

1085
01:14:59,000 --> 01:15:00,760
and the flavours start to combine.

1086
01:15:02,840 --> 01:15:04,200
Yeah, smelling good.

1087
01:15:05,720 --> 01:15:07,280
Throw in some honey fungus,

1088
01:15:09,000 --> 01:15:11,080
let that simmer for a little bit.

1089
01:15:11,880 --> 01:15:14,680
I would normally do this
with a white wine,

1090
01:15:15,600 --> 01:15:17,440
but I couldn't find any.

1091
01:15:17,520 --> 01:15:23,040
So we've got a <i>demisec</i>,
slightly sweet rose,

1092
01:15:23,120 --> 01:15:26,680
but I don't think
it's going to be too bad.

1093
01:15:26,760 --> 01:15:28,560
I'll add a bit of lemon juice as well.

1094
01:15:28,640 --> 01:15:32,120
Certain sweetness and the sourness,

1095
01:15:32,200 --> 01:15:34,360
which will hopefully go very well

1096
01:15:34,440 --> 01:15:37,840
with the flavour
and the earthiness of the mushroom.

1097
01:15:39,280 --> 01:15:40,120
So now...

1098
01:15:42,120 --> 01:15:45,680
We've taken off quite a lot of the water.

1099
01:15:46,400 --> 01:15:50,840
Now I think we're ready to add the rice.

1100
01:15:53,240 --> 01:15:56,160
Coat the rice with...

1101
01:15:57,880 --> 01:16:00,000
the stock that we've created.

1102
01:16:00,080 --> 01:16:01,800
And now we add the wine,

1103
01:16:04,280 --> 01:16:05,560
most of it anyway.

1104
01:16:07,480 --> 01:16:10,040
Now I use the same again of water.

1105
01:16:10,880 --> 01:16:14,800
Throw in some bay leaves,
chicken stock, cube.

1106
01:16:15,800 --> 01:16:18,760
This needs constant watching
because the rice, as it expands,

1107
01:16:18,840 --> 01:16:22,920
soaks up all the water, as we all know,
and you don't want it to start burning.

1108
01:16:23,000 --> 01:16:27,400
So I have to stir it, keep an eye on it,
top it up with more water,

1109
01:16:27,480 --> 01:16:29,000
maybe a little bit more wine.

1110
01:16:29,080 --> 01:16:31,360
I'm going to put
lots of black pepper in this.

1111
01:16:34,120 --> 01:16:37,640
I don't know if this will work,
but maybe also...

1112
01:16:38,520 --> 01:16:39,400
squeeze of lemon.

1113
01:16:40,240 --> 01:16:42,840
This is called experimental cooking.

1114
01:16:45,080 --> 01:16:48,120
Right. Paul's Satnav says
he's about two minutes away,

1115
01:16:48,720 --> 01:16:53,520
so time for a small palinka, like...

1116
01:16:55,080 --> 01:16:57,760
The ultimate palinka dispenser.

1117
01:16:57,840 --> 01:17:00,600
It goes here, the plate up.

1118
01:17:02,160 --> 01:17:03,800
Nothing like being prepared.

1119
01:17:06,320 --> 01:17:09,360
- Oh, my word. Charlie, how are you?
- Paul!

1120
01:17:09,440 --> 01:17:13,680
- Oh, God, it's been a year.
- It's been a long time.

1121
01:17:13,760 --> 01:17:15,160
It's been a hell of a long time.

1122
01:17:15,240 --> 01:17:17,640
Now, listen, before I go any further,

1123
01:17:17,720 --> 01:17:21,320
I've been slaving away over a hot stove,
so there you go.

1124
01:17:21,400 --> 01:17:22,960
- Try that.
- What have you got?

1125
01:17:23,040 --> 01:17:23,880
Wild mushroom.

1126
01:17:24,560 --> 01:17:27,680
- Wild mushroom risotto.
- Wild mushroom risotto. Yeah.

1127
01:17:27,760 --> 01:17:30,040
- Look how well...
- I actually haven't even tasted it myself.

1128
01:17:30,120 --> 01:17:31,360
- Really?
- No.

1129
01:17:31,440 --> 01:17:32,760
Let's give it a go.

1130
01:17:33,520 --> 01:17:35,640
These are very dark mushrooms,
aren't they?

1131
01:17:37,400 --> 01:17:38,240
Good?

1132
01:17:39,520 --> 01:17:41,240
You come on quite a bit with your cooking.

1133
01:17:41,320 --> 01:17:42,280
I know, I do try.

1134
01:17:42,360 --> 01:17:45,560
That's very tasty. That's great.
I think we need to go and...

1135
01:17:45,640 --> 01:17:48,440
Truly speaking,
it's not a flavour of Romania

1136
01:17:48,520 --> 01:17:52,280
because it's kind of my mum's recipe,
which I've just embellished a bit.

1137
01:17:52,360 --> 01:17:54,960
- But it works, so...
- For you to say that. That's something.

1138
01:17:55,040 --> 01:17:56,520
- I know.
- You're quite a big forager.

1139
01:17:56,600 --> 01:18:00,920
Let's just hope that our stomachs
are in good condition after eating these.

1140
01:18:01,000 --> 01:18:03,120
- Let's do it.
- I'm sure they'll be fine.

1141
01:18:08,520 --> 01:18:10,520
The next morning, I set out with Paul

1142
01:18:10,600 --> 01:18:12,800
to visit one of the few areas

1143
01:18:12,880 --> 01:18:15,760
of designated pristine forest
left in Romania,

1144
01:18:16,560 --> 01:18:20,800
which means a forest that has
zero evidence of interference from humans,

1145
01:18:20,880 --> 01:18:22,600
as opposed to old growth,

1146
01:18:22,680 --> 01:18:25,040
where there are indications
of previous felling.

1147
01:18:29,080 --> 01:18:33,360
This 2.962-hectare nature reserve
near Băiuț

1148
01:18:33,440 --> 01:18:36,560
contains towering oak,
beach and spruce trees

1149
01:18:36,640 --> 01:18:38,400
that have endured for centuries.

1150
01:18:55,960 --> 01:18:56,800
Yeah, exactly.

1151
01:18:58,560 --> 01:19:01,040
I think we've reached this epic tree.

1152
01:19:01,120 --> 01:19:04,200
I think we've reached
a pinnacle of this walk.

1153
01:19:04,280 --> 01:19:05,960
That is unbelievable.

1154
01:19:07,520 --> 01:19:11,520
- Yeah.
- I reckon that's about 450 years old.

1155
01:19:11,600 --> 01:19:13,520
- You reckon? 450.
- At least.

1156
01:19:13,600 --> 01:19:17,440
{\an8}And when you see these trees
around us, these big old ones here,

1157
01:19:17,520 --> 01:19:20,080
{\an8}they're sort of fallen monarchs,
I call them,

1158
01:19:20,160 --> 01:19:21,280
fallen monarchs,

1159
01:19:21,360 --> 01:19:25,240
and they really are
sort of a biodiversity hub.

1160
01:19:25,960 --> 01:19:28,400
When you think about all the years
when they break down,

1161
01:19:28,480 --> 01:19:31,360
they create homes
for all sorts of creatures.

1162
01:19:31,440 --> 01:19:36,000
It's so rich, the environment in Romania,
and it's what drew me here.

1163
01:19:36,080 --> 01:19:40,160
Romania is the epicenter
of biodiversity in Europe

1164
01:19:40,240 --> 01:19:43,240
and the nature,
and I think that that needs to be shown.

1165
01:19:43,320 --> 01:19:46,120
Everything that runs
through Romania is its nature,

1166
01:19:46,200 --> 01:19:48,560
its countryside, its rural activities.

1167
01:19:48,640 --> 01:19:51,160
I think that's what makes it
unique and special.

1168
01:19:51,240 --> 01:19:54,640
You can say, yes, Bucharest
has got nice restaurants and the hotels,

1169
01:19:54,720 --> 01:19:57,800
and you can go to Timișoara,
that's all great, it's fabulous.

1170
01:19:57,880 --> 01:20:02,640
But the real USP of Romania sets it
way apart from all the other nations

1171
01:20:02,720 --> 01:20:06,920
is its incredible
richness of nature and wildness,

1172
01:20:07,000 --> 01:20:09,720
this ecosystem,
these rolling hills of Transylvania

1173
01:20:09,800 --> 01:20:13,400
and the Maramureș,
these locations are uniquely special.

1174
01:20:13,480 --> 01:20:18,560
And I think that's really why
King Charles came here and fell in love.

1175
01:20:18,640 --> 01:20:21,280
And of all people
that's travelled as much as he has,

1176
01:20:21,360 --> 01:20:25,120
to then actually identify
Romania as a place which to buy a home

1177
01:20:25,200 --> 01:20:29,320
and spend time, is in itself
a great attribute to the country.

1178
01:20:29,400 --> 01:20:30,480
Do you think it's changed?

1179
01:20:30,560 --> 01:20:34,880
I mean, you've been coming here now
for longer than I have, so 12-14 years.

1180
01:20:34,960 --> 01:20:37,520
Have you seen positive changes?

1181
01:20:37,600 --> 01:20:41,600
I think that people are more and more
conscious these days about climate change,

1182
01:20:41,680 --> 01:20:45,640
global warming, extinction crisis,
mass migration, rising sea levels,

1183
01:20:45,720 --> 01:20:47,400
all these threats we face,

1184
01:20:47,480 --> 01:20:50,680
and they're conscious
and they're understanding more.

1185
01:20:50,760 --> 01:20:53,520
And I think that people are starting
to behave differently

1186
01:20:53,600 --> 01:20:55,320
and they're far more curious now,

1187
01:20:55,400 --> 01:20:58,520
mean, you know, people are prepared
to come out into the forest,

1188
01:20:58,600 --> 01:21:01,400
people come from Western Europe,
see this beautiful nature,

1189
01:21:01,480 --> 01:21:03,680
and that will create
a whole new rural economy

1190
01:21:03,760 --> 01:21:05,280
based around tourism

1191
01:21:05,360 --> 01:21:07,600
and not necessarily extractive processes.

1192
01:21:07,680 --> 01:21:10,120
And I'm really sort of concerned

1193
01:21:10,200 --> 01:21:12,120
about the livestock industry
because for me,

1194
01:21:12,200 --> 01:21:15,040
that's one of the biggest issues
that we face with climate change.

1195
01:21:15,120 --> 01:21:17,680
Twenty seven percent
of all the earth's surface,

1196
01:21:17,760 --> 01:21:19,120
less ice and less desert,

1197
01:21:19,200 --> 01:21:23,520
twenty seven percent has been logged,
cut, burnt, destroyed

1198
01:21:23,600 --> 01:21:27,120
to grow livestock,
that's cows, sheep and so on.

1199
01:21:27,200 --> 01:21:29,360
And I think we're going to see a change.

1200
01:21:29,440 --> 01:21:31,520
I'm sure there's going to be a change

1201
01:21:31,600 --> 01:21:35,120
in the way we value what food we eat
and the food systems,

1202
01:21:35,200 --> 01:21:36,120
the way we produce food.

1203
01:21:36,200 --> 01:21:39,640
And that will create more space
for nature to recover,

1204
01:21:39,720 --> 01:21:43,560
to sequester the carbon
that we're so hell bent on producing,

1205
01:21:44,360 --> 01:21:46,600
and that will create
a healthier ecosystem.

1206
01:21:46,680 --> 01:21:49,600
So I'm actually very positive that I think

1207
01:21:49,680 --> 01:21:52,360
that Romania is waking up to the fact

1208
01:21:52,440 --> 01:21:56,120
that it is a custodian
of these wonderful ecosystems

1209
01:21:56,200 --> 01:21:59,760
that need to be preserved
for the benefit of everybody.

1210
01:21:59,840 --> 01:22:01,720
We have the resources here in this country

1211
01:22:01,800 --> 01:22:06,720
to be able to harvest forest
in a sustainable way and replant.

1212
01:22:06,800 --> 01:22:09,240
Yes, I also think
added value is very important.

1213
01:22:09,320 --> 01:22:12,960
So rather than let
some big foreign investors

1214
01:22:13,040 --> 01:22:15,120
that come over here
and put up their huge mills

1215
01:22:15,200 --> 01:22:16,320
and export sheet products,

1216
01:22:16,400 --> 01:22:20,080
sheet materials and sown goods
without any added value, it's a crime.

1217
01:22:20,160 --> 01:22:25,240
A new economy based around nature,
tourism will create so many jobs.

1218
01:22:25,320 --> 01:22:31,160
You know what it's like when you have
a lodge in a rural area and visitors come,

1219
01:22:31,240 --> 01:22:34,040
it's almost one member of staff
to one client.

1220
01:22:34,680 --> 01:22:38,640
That's very different model
from farming, very different model.

1221
01:22:38,720 --> 01:22:42,720
And that is where I see
the farmer's wife, the farmer's son,

1222
01:22:42,800 --> 01:22:47,360
the daughter, all the family
coming back into the community

1223
01:22:47,440 --> 01:22:49,640
and working in a mixed industry.

1224
01:22:49,720 --> 01:22:51,440
I call it like a living landscape.

1225
01:22:51,520 --> 01:22:54,040
Romania has some really unique
selling points

1226
01:22:54,120 --> 01:22:56,800
and it's all about the countryside.

1227
01:22:56,880 --> 01:22:58,960
It's not for me about the cities.

1228
01:22:59,040 --> 01:23:01,080
Yes, the cities are very nice,

1229
01:23:01,160 --> 01:23:07,920
but to compete with Vienna, Budapest,
you know, Prague, Paris, Rome,

1230
01:23:08,000 --> 01:23:10,040
I mean,
how can you compete with those cities?

1231
01:23:10,120 --> 01:23:11,600
It's just almost impossible.

1232
01:23:11,680 --> 01:23:16,280
Let the city guys and the folks
that just want to go and obsess about

1233
01:23:16,360 --> 01:23:19,360
architecture and museums
and theatre and all that.

1234
01:23:19,440 --> 01:23:20,680
Let them go to those places.

1235
01:23:20,760 --> 01:23:22,240
But Romania has got its own theatre.

1236
01:23:22,320 --> 01:23:24,160
This is Romania's theatre.

1237
01:23:24,240 --> 01:23:26,320
Nothing like what there is
anywhere else in Europe.

1238
01:23:26,400 --> 01:23:29,320
This is a theatre.
This is what people should come to see.

1239
01:23:29,400 --> 01:23:31,120
Have you ever seen that movie
<i>Sliding Doors</i>?

1240
01:23:31,200 --> 01:23:32,160
- Indeed.
- Yeah.

1241
01:23:32,240 --> 01:23:33,880
Well, here's a good example.

1242
01:23:34,560 --> 01:23:36,360
You guys at home watching this

1243
01:23:36,440 --> 01:23:38,680
would be watching
something completely different.

1244
01:23:38,760 --> 01:23:40,720
Never have seen <i>Flavours of Romania</i>.

1245
01:23:40,800 --> 01:23:43,160
We wouldn't be here, none of us.

1246
01:23:43,240 --> 01:23:45,120
I would never have discovered Romania.

1247
01:23:45,200 --> 01:23:46,640
My life would be totally different

1248
01:23:46,720 --> 01:23:49,600
and all of the team's life
would be totally different

1249
01:23:49,680 --> 01:23:53,280
if it wasn't for you
bringing me here in 2010.

1250
01:23:53,360 --> 01:23:58,560
So thank you very much for doing that.
Much appreciated.

1251
01:23:58,640 --> 01:24:00,760
I think Romania owes you

1252
01:24:00,840 --> 01:24:03,080
a big vote of thanks
for all the charity work that you're doing

1253
01:24:03,160 --> 01:24:05,000
and all the conservation work
you're doing here.

1254
01:24:05,080 --> 01:24:06,480
I know it's a bit of a cliche,

1255
01:24:06,560 --> 01:24:10,080
but if there was ever time to hug a tree,
I think it's right now.

1256
01:24:10,160 --> 01:24:12,080
- Let's do it.
- Feel that energy.

1257
01:24:14,120 --> 01:24:16,520
There are no lower branches or hardly any.

1258
01:24:16,600 --> 01:24:20,120
They've fought to capture the light,
so they've had to grow really tall.

1259
01:24:20,200 --> 01:24:24,680
And then, of course,
an old one collapses of an old age

1260
01:24:24,760 --> 01:24:27,640
or in a storm, and that then
knocks a couple of others down.

1261
01:24:27,720 --> 01:24:31,040
And here you have
a huge opening, blows like fresh,

1262
01:24:31,120 --> 01:24:34,720
and then all the saplings can rise up
and the strongest one will make it.

1263
01:24:35,560 --> 01:24:38,400
And the deer come in,
the wild boar come in.

1264
01:24:38,480 --> 01:24:39,440
They all do their job.

1265
01:24:39,520 --> 01:24:42,320
You got to remember,
every species in the world

1266
01:24:42,400 --> 01:24:44,600
has a part to play, except humans.

1267
01:24:45,520 --> 01:24:47,920
Literally,
every species has a part to play.

1268
01:24:48,000 --> 01:24:50,840
- Everything...
- We have catapulted ourselves

1269
01:24:50,920 --> 01:24:52,560
so far out of the food chain.

1270
01:24:52,640 --> 01:24:55,160
Everything lives
in a beautiful trophic cascade.

1271
01:24:55,240 --> 01:24:58,640
And it's tough and sometimes
it's mean and it's brutal, but it works.

1272
01:24:59,280 --> 01:25:01,760
We meantime live outside
the trophic cascade

1273
01:25:01,840 --> 01:25:03,840
and all we want to
do is attack it is attack it.

1274
01:25:03,920 --> 01:25:06,520
And that's the problem.
We really need to get some humility

1275
01:25:06,600 --> 01:25:08,680
around the way we deal with nature.

1276
01:25:24,240 --> 01:25:28,360
Well, that's it for the Maramureș
and sadly, that's it for us for this year.

1277
01:25:28,440 --> 01:25:31,440
We've shown you Romania in the summer
and the autumn months,

1278
01:25:31,520 --> 01:25:33,400
but now the days are closing in.

1279
01:25:33,480 --> 01:25:35,760
There's ice on the roads, wet leaves
and mud,

1280
01:25:35,840 --> 01:25:38,280
so it's too dangerous to continue.

1281
01:25:38,360 --> 01:25:40,400
However, we'll be back in the spring

1282
01:25:40,480 --> 01:25:44,240
to travel around Bucovina
and the west side of Transylvania.

1283
01:25:44,320 --> 01:25:47,320
Meanwhile, let me leave you
with some shots of the winter,

1284
01:25:47,400 --> 01:25:50,080
which demonstrates Romania
is as breath-taking

1285
01:25:50,160 --> 01:25:53,400
during the colder months,
as it is at any other time of the year.