This weekend saw heading out to explore Padurea Verde or the Green Forest. This is a woodland area on the North East edge of Timisoara in the Dumbravita district. It was a cold chilly but bright day as we set of on the 5 km walk across the city following google maps. As we exited the town into more rural areas we were beginning to lose faith in the technology but at least we were heading towards trees. We eventually found a small path into the forest, even though there was no signs that we were in the right place we ventured forth down a forest track. A myriad of trails greeted us but as we didn’t have a map we just headed down various paths blindly. We saw some red markings on trees so I assume there is some sort of trail organisation. The forest was very dense and it was a lovely walk and we relished being out in the peace and quiet and taking in the fresh air. We encountered a few people and most seemed to be foraging for mushrooms. There were in fact multiple species of shrooms everywhere but quite a few looked a tad dangerous to me. We heard some birdlife but unfortunately we didn’t spot much. The only disappointment so far of living here is the lack of birdlife, we were blessed in South Africa, Uganda and even Ethiopia for the variety of avian critters. Hopefully we will spot more once we can explore more of Romania. We carried on our wanderings and were eventually spat out at the entrance to the zoo and here we come into contact with more people. Ah, this is the entrance to the forest, looks like we slipped in the back door. I’m sure there is a lot more of the forest to explore so I’m confident we will be back again for another walk in the woods.
It was still too early for lunch so we were wondering what to do next. We then happened upon the Muzeul Satului Banatean ( Museum of the Banat Village) and thought we would give it a try. As it was only 5 Lei or £1 to get in, we didn’t think it was much of a risk. We are really glad we did as it was very interesting. Basically, it is an open air museum set in lovely grounds with many old homesteads from around the Banat region from various eras. The oldest house was from the late 1700s and some of the houses have been set up with furniture, clothes and objects from the time. The information boards were in Romanian and English so we were able to get an insight into life in rural Romania from last 200 or so years. It is a really nice place just to walk around as it is set in a park like environment and you get to learn about some history and culture. We spotted a pair of jays as well which was a bonus.
It was now time for lunch and luckily there is a lovely restaurant just over the road from the museum. So we headed to La Padurea Verde restaurant to check it out. There was no one there when we arrived so we wondered if it was open, but eventually a friendly waiter appeared and we took a table on the terrace under a heater – a result now the weather has got a tad chilly. The restaurant has a lovely terrace surrounded by trees and we enjoyed our food so definitely give it a go if you are visiting the museum. After lunch we walked down to the river and along into the city centre. The weather was nice so we decided to end the weekend with a beer and people watching in Union Square, well you can only have so much culture and exercise! We enjoyed sitting in the square until the sun went behind the Serbian church and it was time to head home.
