{"id":449796,"date":"2021-11-17T14:25:21","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T14:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=449796"},"modified":"2021-11-17T15:20:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T15:20:08","slug":"the-prodigal-son-returns-and-turns-his-grandparents-home-in-a-tourist-attraction-on-nistru-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/the-prodigal-son-returns-and-turns-his-grandparents-home-in-a-tourist-attraction-on-nistru-river\/","title":{"rendered":"The prodigal son returns and turns his grandparents’ home in a tourist attraction on Nistru river"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 7<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

On the road towards the school, a well-maintained rural house catches your eye, yellow stags painted on its blue terrace. Behind the house, Nistru river flows peacefully. <\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Petru Bondari, the owner of the house, comes out into the yard with a plastic bottle. He goes to the spring to bring some water for the tea. He wears a waterproof jacket and hiking boots. Hi walks slowly and looks around with his clear blue eyes, reminiscing about his childhood. He is now 34 years old, and the love for his home village and the passion in his voice makes you believe that everything is possible, wherever you decide to live.<\/span><\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/2-4.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

The scrambled eggs<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s 11 o\u2019clock on a cold winter day. The wind sweeps the snowflakes and the village seems numb. Petru\u2019s childhood is strongly connected to everything related to swimming in the Nistru river, to the cows, to grandma Ileana and the cold <\/span>pl\u0103cinte<\/span><\/i> she used to cook. The children of Pohrebea would run towards Nistru whenever they had the time. Petru remembers the tricks he used in order to have as much time for himself as possible. Once, his mother allowed him to go swimming with the boys only after he would bring her two buckets of horse manure for her to render the oven. \u201cAnd because I couldn\u2019t find enough manure, I filled the buckets with soil and I placed the manure on top. My mother was amazed that I came back so quickly, and I quickly ran away to the river,\u201d he laughs with nostalgia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n[aesop_content color=”#ffffff” background=”#9e9e9e” columns=”1″ position=”none” imgrepeat=”no-repeat” disable_bgshading=”off” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”up” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off” aesop-generator-content=”The village of Pohrebea in Dub\u0103sari rayon is inhabited by a few hundred people. It became famous following the \u201cHodina\u201d festival in 2019. After this event, people became interested in the beautiful landscape of the Nistru river bank. Some even bought houses, which they transformed into guest houses.<\/p>
\n<p>”]The village of Pohrebea in Dub\u0103sari rayon is inhabited by a few hundred people. It became famous following the \u201cHodina\u201d festival in 2019. After this event, people became interested in the beautiful landscape of the Nistru river bank. Some even bought houses, which they transformed into guest houses.<\/p>\n[\/aesop_content]\n

When he reaches the spring, Petru bends over and fills the bottle with cold water running from a pipe. A stone wall is built around it, in order to protect it from the rocks falling from up the hill. Even now the locals come and take water from the spring in front of the school close to his grandmother\u2019s house, where he used to come running during the recess and eat something warm and tasty. \u201cThe best <\/span>pl\u0103cinte <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>g\u0103lu\u0219te<\/span><\/i> I had where cooked by grandma Ileana. She would often prepare some scrambled eggs in a hurry. They were so good, that many of my colleagues were dreaming about this dish.\u201d He still remembers the way she was scrambling the eggs so masterfully. \u201cWhen I was going into the kitchen and see the oil lamp lit, I would know immediately that it\u2019s a Holy day. And it was then when my grandma would cook cold <\/span>pl\u0103cinte<\/span><\/i>, which were incredibly tasty,\u201d recalls Petru about his grandmother, whom he lost when he was a child. Even now, he is still very connected to her. He only knows his grandpa from pictures – he went to war and never came back.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/3-3.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

\u201eI felt torn away from everything that makes up a home\u201d<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

After the death of his grandma, the household became empty. Because it was a difficult period in their lives, his parents decided to sell his grandparents\u2019 house. The new owners left abroad shortly, and grandma Ileana\u2019s house was left unattended. \u201cEvery time I was passing by, I felt so much sadness…\u201d Petru admits.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He grew up and went to study Law in Chi\u0219in\u0103u. At the university he understood that this field is not for him, so he started applying to different programs which offered him the opportunities to leave abroad. \u201cThere is this stereotype that if you want to have the life you desire, you must absolutely leave Moldova. I believed it too.\u201d Thus, as a student, he went to Romania, Ukraine, Switzerland, Poland, Belgium, France and the US. In the meantime, he got married.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/2g-3.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

\u201cWherever I would end up, I always felt like being torn away from everything that makes up a home,\u201d he admits. Four years ago, Petru returned to Pohrebea. \u201cNowhere in the world could I feel like home. Only in the village I was born and grew up.\u201d But once he returned, he didn\u2019t find his childhood friends here, ass they all live abroad. This didn\u2019t discourage him. He knew that in Pohrebea he had a place where he can build his life and that he wouldn\u2019t have to start everything from zero. Using his experience, he launched a small business organizing team buildings. The concept is that the activities would take place open air, on the Island of the Cows, the place where the local villagers would take their cows and leave them there from spring till autumn, and in the evening they would go there to milk them. \u201cThe cows have everything they need to be happy there, but it is also a very picturesque place,\u201d he smiles, fixing his hair ruffled by the hat.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/1g-2.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

\u201eLa m\u00e2ca Ileana\u201d guest house<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Although years have passed, Petru was still saddened when he would walk near the house where his grandma used to cook him scrambled eggs or the cold <\/span>pl\u0103cinte <\/span><\/i>specially prepared for celebrations. He had some savings and one year ago he contacted the owners of his grandmother\u2019s house. He wanted to buy it no matter the cost. \u201cAt first, they told me like 20 times that they wouldn\u2019t sell, then they wouldn’t even answer the phone. But after a while, maybe they thought that they can get rid of me if they ask for a price five times higher than the one they bought it with in the beginning,\u201d he recalls. But in the summer of 2020, both parties signed the sales agreement. Since then, his grandparents\u2019 house started to change to become a guest house. The idea was to open its doors wide to all the people who are in need of peace and quiet, dreamy scrambled eggs and cold<\/span> pl\u0103cinte<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He repaired the house while preserving its authenticity: the roof covered with clay tiles, the whitewashed walls, the colorful ornaments on the outside walls and the old frames with family pictures. Also, he collected old objects in the village, which he arranged in the yard and on the wooden terrace. Thus, in the autumn of 2020, the guest house opened its doors. Here you can find accommodation, but also see how the corn is grinded at the old stone mill Petru took from aunt Dunea. She got it from her mother-in-law, but the original owner is still unknown.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because the pandemic is still not a thing of the past, the business cannot really flourish, but Petru says that he\u2019s not losing hope. \u201cWe have time to make improvements. Everything is new to us, but we adapt,\u201d he says while sitting on the wooden terrace.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/4-4.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

The old mill<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

In the alley there\u2019s aunt Dunea, who is trying to calm down her nephew. The poor little guy was at the dentist earlier and his grandma tries to bribe him with the promise of a fresh<\/span> colac<\/span><\/i> (ring shaped-bread) and Coca-Cola, as a reward for the teeth he lost so bravely.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Dunea, come in\u2026 Do you remember the mill you gave me?\u201d asks Petru, while putting his arm over the woman\u2019s shoulders. She is dressed in a black mantle and has a wool scarf over her head. \u201cYou want to have a museum here, right?\u201d she jokes timidly. Aunt Dunea looks around till she sees the mill, and memories start coming back to her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When she was young, her husband, \u201ca strong fellow\u201d, would pour two buckets of wheat and grind them in the mill. They were making flour for bread, <\/span>pl\u0103cinte<\/span><\/i> and cookies. The cold <\/span>pl\u0103cinte <\/span><\/i>were always the stars at every table. She would always share them with the entire neighborhood, with all her relatives. \u201cI have relatives on both banks of Nistru river. When we gathered, the house was full. I went to a few weddings in Transnistria, and they would come to ours. They also make beautiful weddings, very beautiful, I have godchildren there. We call each other, we keep in touch,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the people from both banks of Nistru river will visit the \u201cLa m\u00e2ca Ileana\u201d guest house, Petru will grind some corn and make a <\/span>m\u0103m\u0103lig\u0103<\/span><\/i>. \u201cWe, as common people, don\u2019t have this segregation that one is Moldovan, one is Romanian and the other is Ukrainian or Russian, if they are from Transnistrian region or not,\u201d Petru explains, and aunt Dunea confirms, nodding her head.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/5-1.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n

The idea of a guest house came to Petru Bondari while also having in mind the revival of the village. From its hills you can see Nistru – a wonderful view attracting tourists. \u201cIf the village is visited by more tourists, the locals will have the opportunity to sell their products and stay in the village,\u201d he says. This is why Petru wants to stay in Moldova and develop his business, because \u201cMoldova has potential\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, Petru tells us that in the last few years, many houses in Pohrebea were bought by \u201coutsiders\u201d. \u201cMost of them want to transform their houses into vacation homes, where they can spend their weekends and holidays,\u201d he explains.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n