Holiday suggestion - Squirrel hut

Vacation is a time for relaxation, for discoveries, for stories and recently back from vacation, I feel a burning need to tell you what I discovered. And, those involved are more than worth discovering. I set my direction this summer for Bucovina, which I hadn't seen since the 70s. I chose the location, as usual, "scouring" the internet in search of a small cottage, far from the world, with lots and lots of greenery, if possible right next to the forest, and with a certain something the French would call "chic". I found it near Vatra Dornei, and the promise of the ad was more than fulfilled.

"Cabana cu veverițe" welcomed us one evening, after a long Bucharest - Vatra Dornei trip, which I thought I would never reach, being a person who travels the country far and wide just for a walk. The hosts greeted us smiling, showed us what there was to show and let us rest. That evening we didn't discover much, we only had eyes for the beds which turned out lovely. The next day we began to look carefully and marvel at everything we found: the wooden bar that disguised a small kitchen, the ceiling and wall ornaments that gave the place a hunting lodge feel, the cupboards in the rooms, very suitable for clothes and other things you take out of your suitcase and want to arrange nicely, the wooden ornaments on the walls, which were an extension of the coat hook so that they also had an aesthetic role and protected the wall. In the living room we admired a large stove which, being placed in the middle of the house, heated all three rooms. We were in a rustic-chic cottage where we were going to feel very cozy.

Like any tourist, we were guessing and we assumed that the furniture and ornaments were custom-made to fit so well, plus whoever made the plan must have been a good craftsman.

When we went outside, that first morning of vacation, we discovered the surroundings and the same care for every nook and corner: the spring-water basin, whose bed was made of a log, the railing that bordered the porch of the cottage, which was also a log with a serpentine shape, the barbecue place, the rocking chair, the flowers in pots, here and there in the courtyard all sorts of painted stones, the covered gazebo with table and benches, located right on the bank of the small pond in the courtyard.

Yes, right in the courtyard of the cottage there is a small pond, surrounded by willows, with a small artesian in the middle, to enjoy the murmur of the water, two armchairs hollowed in two large logs, only good for resting on the water's edge, with a raspberry tree on the sunny side, from which we picked raspberries every day as they ripened, and a little boat waiting to take us for a ride.

It was clear, God was with us and we had made it to heaven!

Also that morning we met the owner and one by one, we started to learn the stories of every nook and cranny of the place. But what amazed us even more is the fact that he did everything with his own hands and according to his own plans. No, his job is not as a house builder, but as a fireman, the rest comes from passion, love for wood, for work, for the heritage from his grandparents, for the wonderful places, for the people, for the family.

The boat on the pond was discovered in the grandparents' house, it is over a hundred years old and used to cross the Bistrița, so it had to be restored. In fact, the pond was built for it! And as the pond wouldn't be a pond without fish, let's have some fish, let's have a little trout farm. As if our host's other occupations didn't require time, work and passion!

The cottage was finished in 2015 and is now being extended with another room, plus bathroom and kitchen, with a separate entrance from the first. This gave us the opportunity to see the work process in detail: how the wooden trim is attached to the wall and ceiling so that it can be taken down easily for cleaning, how the bed and wardrobes, the kitchen, the bathroom were designed. As the host kept telling the story, we learned that absolutely everything that was done, exists as photo and written document, to remain for posterity. The stove baskets have dismantling and cleaning instructions in a special place, the log from which the cottage railing was made has its story written down, as do the armchairs by the pond.

We were glad that such people exist and especially that we had the opportunity to meet them.

And the story wouldn't be complete without the story of where the name of the house comes from, the story of the squirrels housed in a little house built especially for them.

One day, while he was cutting down a tree in the forest, he noticed that something fell from the tree. He saw some little things that looked like the offspring of... who knows what. There were about four of them and he left them there on a bed of leaves. At home he told his wife and daughter, who insisted that he go back to the forest to get the cubs of whatever they were, so as not to leave them to the wild animals. And, amazingly, she found them unharmed where she had left them. And so four little creatures, still blind, were raised and syringe-fed until it turned out they were baby squirrels. So they got their own home and named the big house after themselves.

"The squirrel hut" and Dorina and Victor Mihai are waiting for you! There are many stories to learn and to tell.