We made two stops in Gymesközéplok, a collection of traditional Csángó villages tucked in the valleys of the Gyimes mountains. In the 1700's these villages were settled by Székely people and have changed little over the past 300 years.
As we drove into the little village, we passed many horse-drawn carts with people curious about our brightly-colored van in their neighborhood. My favorite "lottery shot" from the bus was of a man and his bike on top of a cart full of hey.
We stopped at a small home where we got a peak inside a typical Gyimesi Csángó house. The grandmother greeted us at the entrance and her family graciously let us step inside their one-room living space heated by a wood stove.
Upon arriving at our second stop, we were greeted with traditional music performed by people in traditional costumes. After some pálinka, wine and appetizers we walked to the old Hungarian-Romanian border just down the road. Along the old border stood some ruins of an old fortress.
railroad tracks at the old border
view from the fortress ruins
We returned to where we had our snack and gathered outside to watch some traditional folk dancing.
Hajni, our program director, translated the lyrics from Hungarian to English for the songs with words.
After the demonstrations, we were all invited to join in. We were taught a few basic steps and also learned a group dance. At the end anyone who wanted to joined in and danced to the live music.
After the dancing we ate dinner and the musicians serenaded us inside as well. It was a wonderful day of music and culture.
