Tims Excursions and Symposia

Six days on the road: Day 4: Szeged in Hungry

Day four, or the first day of a journey towards the homestead. I promised to take Gabor with me, and I did. All the way from Sibiu to Szeged. A five hour drive. One thing I learned during these Romanian and Hungarian days is that you never, never, have to rush. Everything works out fine, as long as you take the time to enjoy whatever you are doing. I will never forget the words of Florin: “Don’t worrry, we will manage.”
Great guy. There is too much stress in our lives in our parts of the world. Here they do know how Pallieter lived, how Breughel painted his masterpieces. These days the motorway rans from Sibiu to the west for 120 kilometers. In the end, one day, it will connect with the motorways in Hungary. In the meantime you have to follow a national route to Arrad. Sometimes driving through villages, sometimes through the woods, sometimes 30 km an hour sometimes 100 km an hour. Romanians are friendly, and they signal with their headlights when a policepatrol is coming up. Gabor and I had some friendly talk on the way. A little about mills, a little about everything. He would have shown me around the windmills in his area, but believe me, for now I’ve seen enough mills for a couple of weeks, and the dayly this and thats are peeping around the corner. Driving on Sunday was a pleasure in Romania, and I believe that stories about the wild car driving Romanians, are exagerated. It is a fact that they do not know what a white line is intended for, but they blow their horn, when they maneuver, which is nice. Anyway why do we have car horns, as nobody uses them in our country. All cars do stop in a front of the yellow lines when footpassengers cross the street. In one word, they do behave. One last coffee on the way, in again, a USSR like cafe. On the outskirts of Szeged, we had dinner, in a spacious new restaurant. I never had mushrooms crusted, and baked in oil. Just like our donuts, or whatever they are called in the English language, those little beignets, fried in oil. As usual too much, but very tastefull, and I took the rest of it with me in a some sort of doggy bag for tomorrow. This seems a normal thing todo over here.

Szeged is a beautiful student city along the river Tisza. Gabor lives close to the river in the college area. I could not resist the temptation to drive the few hundred meters back to the river, to enjoy a very lovely Sunday afternoon for some time. Gabor’s lovely wife was standing on her doorstep when we arrived. A great team. So long my friend. I do hope we see again many, many times in the rest of our lives.

Time to move on: two more days on the road.

Day 5:

Monday from heat to rain…. I left Szeged this morning because the heat started coming in, and it was only a quarter past nine. I drove through a part of the town, which was enjoyable. Wished I had another week to visit cities on the way home. Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, at least deserve a visit. But as time went on and I had to travel nearly 800 kilometers, I just passed by these old marks on the road. A few powernaps, and a coffeebreak helped to cross Hungary. In the afternoon, all the way through Austria, where I had my coffee at the same Rose something roadstop, where I sat at the same table, as three weeks ago. Around six a clock the rain setted in. Now I will know if the newly baught tent survives this journey. I used nearly all the little eurocoins I still possesed. Which was something the campsite owner at Irring (same campsite as day 1) did not like very much. He prefered cash. Boy did he change over the last three weeks. No chitchat, just 20 quid, and see where you can find space, in the rain. No paper to fill in. Did he recognize me after all, or was he just putting my 20 quid with some other money of a passerby in a black box? He grumbled when he took my mastercard.

I definetely look him up on Tripadviser, to see what others wrote about him. The free wifi still does not work on the veranda…. but luckily the rain stopped.

So I was right. On my first stay, he charged me 14,5 quid. I will definitely sent him an email and ask for a refund. I don’t like being ripped off.

Day 6:

Tuesday, sixth day on the road. Rain stopped during the night and set in again after eight. By that time I managed to do all the usual morning things. I managed to break up the tent, without being wet, although the tent itself still needs tpo dry. First I had to get rid of an awful lot of snails, that came crawling in during the night. I had to pitch them of the outside of my innertent. I sure do hope I did not miss one, as I would not have them crawling in my car. The ground was still very wet around the car. Not the best experience on a campsite: being ripped off, snails crawling everywhere, the grounds for the tentspace too wet. I noticed that my neighbour did not even bother to set up his tent. He slept in his car… strange people those germans….

Anyway time to set out on the road for the last 856 kilometers. It was a day of rain or sunshine, depending on the region and the time of day. Around six a clock the weather changed back again to the more normal climate we are used to.

The last 300 kilometers. One stop in Leuven, for an evening meal and who knows finally a pint of belgian beer on a not too cold terrace….. Duvel here I come.

noroc, noroc, noroc…….

The post-tour started on Sunday morning. There was a little hassle, as the bus company, or the driver, who shall say, seemed to have “forgotten” about the Tims organisation. But in Romania act as the Romanians: don’t worry, stay calm, and why not talk for a little more time amongst ourselves, or to the parting symposium participants that will not be on this after-symposium-experience. The so called post-tour, that would take us, at least for one more week, visiting mills, again. Finally some bus arrived. Florin managed at least to get hold of a bus for one day. Tonight the driver would return to Sibiu, and the next morning a new coach and a new driver would be present. So as Florin said: “problerm solved.”

We drove towards the north this time to reach beautiful valleys and hillsides with mills. For the first time we arrived at mills with vertical waterwheels, and a lot of little palinka distilleries.

The Transilvanian part of the country that we were driving through looked somewhat different, than the Danube valleys in the Banat region of the pre-tour.

We spent the first two nights in the little mountaintown of Rimetea, and obviously of course there was also a mill in the village. We were divided in several smaller groups to stay in private homes, or small surroundings that were more or less intended as pensions for tourists. Probably for the typical wintertourist when temperature around here goes down to minus twenty, and snow appears on the mountains. The setting looked a little bit Welsh to me. Nights were very quiet and starlit around here. No lightpollution in these parts of the world. Black is still beautiful.

During the week, we had more of these stays in private homes. Not forgetting the night we spent at the Four Seasons Hotel in a sky resort high up in the mountains. The owners recently completed building a large disco next to the hotel. They were very eager to show us this new venue. I suppose we now have to act as ambassadors and tell the world, our western world, about the possibilities for skying in Northern Romania. We had the disco for ourselves, and luckily there was one USB stick with good seventies discomusic on it.

We managed to keep the dancefloor crowded, which was fine.

More days touring with the bus, more villages, more watermills, more small millfactorys. On the way to Hungary we drove close to the Ukranian borders. About 10 km, or 6 miles, southeast of these borders. Gabor and Florin, together with a littlke help from the Dutch did a great job in fionding all these old mills. Of course Gabor took the lead once we entered Hangary. A horsemill, like we had never seen, apart from the one in the Astra Museum, was very intersting. 384 teeth on the spurwheel. Also the watermill with it’s big three wooden waterwheels, and some machinery inside was of great interest for us. At every place we had more than enough time to take pictures, inside, outside, sometimes climbing over gates or fences, where we weren’t supposed to do that. One Hungarian miller was amazed that we neglected the sign on the gate. Well it was of course in Hangarian, and as none of us spoke…. you know. We have the nice pictures, and the miller, afterwards, showed us his mill…. The still quiet young maire, welcomed us warmly with a nice meal and afterwards blessed us with some bottles of palinka. Time to get back on the road.

Incidently we did drive some 1500 kilometers through Romania and Hungaria. The bus had to stop a few times to find a new breath, I suppose, but certainly too cool down the motor of the old iron horse. By the way, we never once stopped at one gasstation… I will not go into this, but it is a great story how they pulled that one of….

On Saturdayevening we arrived back again in Sibiu at the museum: http://www.mcpt.muzeulastra.ro for one more farewell dinner. Every beautiful stories has an ending…. we will meet again in two years for a Midterm excursion in Britain, that has already been decided, and of course Gerald has now the presidential hammer in his possesion for the comming four years. We will meet him in Berlin….

June 2015. A busload full of people stayed on after the symposium, for a post tour, travelling through the northern parts of Romania and a one day stop in Hungary.
Enjoy some nice pictures from these days, click on….

The last day of the Symposium, and we stroll on this Saturday through the Astra Open Air museum, where strangely enough, lots of school childeren are visiting the old buildings. It is Saturday you know. In a church with a roof covered with wooden shingles, a wedding is going on. Outside a man is experimenting with a small drone. Is he prepairing to film the couple when tey come back out of the chapel?

I would have loved to visit the workplace of the saddler, but unfortunately the gates were closed. Only the chickens were running free, behind those gates. Again the sun is burning hot, even at this time of the day, and it is almost five thirty in the afternoon.

At seven we are invited to the farewell diner. Around seventy people will leave tomorrow, catching planes, to take them back to America, Sweden, or wherever in the world. Tomorrow, at nine, we will board a number nine bus, that will take us further north, in the direction of Hungry, where we will visit lots of mills and distillieries.

By the way during the week I joined the Tims council. Somebody had to take over the job of treasurer. I might as well give it a try, now that I have some free time on hand. After all, I spend my schooldays to become a graduated acountant in finance and banking businesses. It looks like a hell of a job, somebody is trying to tell me. Meetings once a year. Going to Portugal, Britain and Berlin, has already been decided.

Today I photographed the nicest pair of stocks I could come accross here in the Museum. Not exactly windmill related, but anyway, enjoy. There seems to be music coming out of the wood covered shingled chapel.

Let me tell ya, sitting here on a bench by the chapel, looking over the green pastures, looking down the road where a man and a horsewagon are passing.

Is Romania still the land that time forgot? Hell no, this is their Bokrijk, same as ours during the sixties and seventies. They will reach modern times as well. Let us hope, they do not make the same errors as we did. It is a good sign to see that solar panels are erected on large fields, so anyone can benefit of it, and not only the richer middleclass as in Flanders, where houses are turned into the most dreadfull looking buildings, covered with ugly panels on the roofs.

A photographer is running out of the chapel, putting up his gear which incidentilly looks quite professional.

Not the ordinary weddingsnap-shot-man, but a real interesting Nikon man.

Time to go back to the building where we will have our farewelldinner. There is no soundsystem over there, so speeches will be short. People already could say goodbey after the latest papersession.

As the evening was cool and enjoyable we stayed talking until midnight before going to bed for one final night at the Sibiu Hilton, which by the way is a good hotel. I am starting to feel like a touring rockstar already.

And again tomorrow will be another day. The post-tour through the northern parts of Romania and Hungry will take off early, al eight-thirty. Goodnight and have a nice sleep.

Hop on the bus Gus, It is Wednesday. Time to visit several fortified churches in the area. So those who might think that we are completely daft or mad about mills, can be assured we are interested in the rest of the local heritage buildings too. The first stop is at a place, where we can go into a fortified church and look around all over the place. Even climb the tower, and sound the bell, which actually was not intended to be done, but whiuch I did anyway.

Luckily it sounded allright, and the few people still living in the village stayed in their houses and did not come to the local square panicking, as if world ware three broke out. David J. our oldest participant, who is, mind you, nearing ninety, also climbed the stairs to study the bell tower. In the church quite a few words and sentences were written in some kind of the lower German language.

A very beautiful lock on an ancient door took our attention.

Thursday, Friday and Saterday morning. Again three days of paper sessions, brought to us, by people from all over the world.

We went into the town of Sibiu, for some sightseeing, which mainly consisted of visiting an old orthodox church, eating in the center, and visiting the old parts of the town.

One of the days was prepaired as an intermediate day, visiting a few fortified churches.

The symposium week is quite a busy week. Starting early in the mornings, and before you know it coffee break is anounced. Two speakers stood at the desk talking about diferent aspects of our molinological world. Presentations have improved over the years. Gone are the days of the handwritten slides, that had to be put on a lamp lid projector in the middle of the room. Gone are the days of whiteboards and pencils. Everybody nowadays prepares a powerpoint slideshow. Mind you even now things can improve. A twenty minute presentatiion with over a hundred slides is not the way it should be done. Of course not every one is a trained speaker nor presenter, and for some people coming from a country where English is not integrated into the school system, it is sometimes hard to find the right words or even pronounce them correctly. Standing in front of an audience, can also be tricky, if you are still young and not experienced. Papers on a good subject, well written, are of great value, and sometimes let us forget the way they are presented. Young attendents should be encouraged to dig deeper and further into the molinological side of all the mills in this world. David Jones, almost ninety, still going strong.

Two more presentations before noon.

Late lunch outside in the Astra Museum, where the big wooden roof keeps the heat away. In Romania nearly every day hot soup is served, mostly with spring vegetables. Being a vegetarian in Romania is something else. The idea of living on vegetable food has not really taken off in these parts of the world. I imagine, they are still thinking on the lines we did some seventy years ago. We are free now, please feed us with lots of meet, meet, meet…. Anyone in need for a hartcondition? Eventually they will understand, I hope.

In the afternoons lots of free time, nearly three hours, could be spent on wandering through the grounds of the Astra Muzeul, that is the Astra Open Air Museum. Many old buildings, from all over the country, are collected as this museum. An amazing collection of mills can be found on the grounds. From simple watermills, with horizontal wheels, to mills with vertical wheels, to boatmills, to fulling mills. Yes, nearly every kind of mill, or related objects, like oil presses can be seen here. Of course the main goal was to preserve these buildings from dissapearing. Most of them are not operational. They have a small collection of windmills.

After five, time to get back to the conference room for another three or four shorter sessions. In the evenings the presentations, are informal, but some of them are as good as the papers presented in the mornings. The informal sessions were attended by most of the symposium participants.

Did I present something? I was not inftending to do it. For the main reason that the preparation on the topic I was going to bring forward was not ready. Instead I used the audience, to raise a question on my little project: mills on record sleeves. I have to say I am really pleased by the response to it. More on this in a future featured article.

Dinner at eight, like they say, usually in the dinningroolm at the entra,nce of the museum. After dinner people sit together outside, enjoying white wine or palinka. Friendships are started or renewed. Stories are told.

The symposium in Romania, the first three days.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, the agenda of the days went on in a similar way. In the morning starting at nine o’clock we got lectures on different aspects of mils. The conference room could easily hold all participants. The technical equipment was superb. Not to forget the coffee in between the speeches. Everything went smoothly, the Romanian way. A little informal. But isn’t there a saying? When in Romania act like the Romanians. I still have to see the first signs of stress with these “organised” guys. Let’s put it this way: the atmosphere is great. The subjects passing the revue, were really interesting. Speakers from Holland, Turkey, Canada, France, Ukraine talked about different regions of our world, of course bringing different aspects of mills to our attention.

Where would you find information on prayerwheels from Buthan driven with renewable energy, unless you met someone from Japan who would bring you up to date on that subject.

Another interesting talk went on about Californian mills from the missions. More news on tidal mills in the Netherlands. A subject we always look forward too, as in Belgium we have one of the few tidal mills that is still functoning.

Watermills in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine, was also very interesting, as these parts of the world are still not quite explored by people from Western Europe.

Lunch was served on the terrace of a restaurant in the Open Air museum. The afternoons everybody was free to explore the Astra Open Air Museum, which houses a big collection of mills. Windmills, watermills, fulling mills, and all kinds of “things” driven by waterwheels.

I never saw a horse mill, of the size they have over here. The mills and houses were brought over here, purely for demonstration purposes, not to work again. This can look a little odd as there are a few boatmills in the museum, not on a stream.