Holiday suggestion - Squirrel hut

Holiday is a time for relaxation, discoveries, stories and recently back from holiday, I feel a strong urge to tell you what I discovered. And, those involved are well worth discovering. I set my sights this summer on Bucovina, which I hadn't seen since the 1970s. I chose the location, as usual, "scouring" the internet in search of a small cottage, away from the world, with lots and lots of greenery, if possible right next to the forest, and with something the French would call "chic". I found it near Vatra Dornei, and the promise of the advert was exceeded in spades.

"The squirrel hut" welcomed us one evening, after a long road from Bucharest to Vatra Dornei, I thought I would never get there, being a person who travels the length and breadth of the country just for the ride. The hosts welcomed us smiling, showed us what there was to show and let us rest. We didn't discover much that evening, we only had eyes for the beds which turned out to be lovely. The next day we began to look closely and marvel at everything we found: the wooden bar that masked a small kitchen, the ceiling and wall ornaments that gave the place a hunter's lodge feel, the wardrobes in the rooms, very suitable for clothes and other things you take out of your suitcase and want nicely arranged, the wooden ornaments on the walls that were an extension of the coat rack so that they also served an aesthetic purpose 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 that we were going to feel very comfortable in.

Like any tourist we had our own opinion and assumed that the furniture and ornaments were custom made to fit so well, plus whoever did the planning must have been a good craftsman.

When I went outside that first holiday morning, I discovered the surroundings and the same care for every nook and cranny: the spring-water pond, 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 swing set, the flowers in pots, here and there in the yard all sorts of painted stones, the covered gazebo with table and benches, right on the bank of the small pond in the yard.

Yes, right in the courtyard of the cottage there is a small pond, surrounded by willows, with a small fountain in the middle, to enjoy the rushing water, two armchairs hollowed out in two large stumps, only good for resting on the water's edge, with a raspberry bush on the sunny side, from which we daily picked raspberries as they ripened, and a small boat waiting to take us for a ride.

It was clear, God was with us, and we were in heaven!

Also that morning we met the owner and one by one, we started to learn the stories of every corner of the place. But what amazed us even more is 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, from love for wood, for work, for the heritage of his grandparents, for beautiful places, for people, for family.

The boat on the pond was discovered in my grandparents' house, it is more than a hundred years old and used to cross the Bistrita river, 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 completed in 2015 and is now being extended with another room, plus bathroom and kitchen, with a separate entrance from the first. This gave us a chance to see the 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, kitchen and bathroom were designed. As the hostess kept telling the story, I learned that absolutely everything that was done exists as a photographic and written document, to remain for posterity. The stove chimneys have instructions for dismantling and cleaning put in a special place, the log from which the cottage railing was made has its story written, 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 house gets its name, the story of the squirrels housed in a little house of their own and built especially for them.

One day, while cutting down a tree in the forest, he noticed that something had fallen from the tree. He saw little things that looked like baby... who knows what. There were about four of them and he left them there on a bed of leaves. Back home he told the story to his wife and daughter, who insisted that he go back to the forest to get the chicks, whatever they were, so as not to leave them for the wild animals. The funny thing is, she found them unharmed where she had left them! And so it was that four tiny, still-blind creatures ended up being raised and syringe-fed until it turned out they were baby squirrels. And so they got their own little house and named the big house.

"Cabana with squirrels" and Dorina and Victor Mihai are waiting for you! There are many stories to learn and tell.