RO: Cum aude omul de mocanita, cum se gandeste rapid la Maramures si Viseul de Sus. De parca asta ar fi singura mocanita din toata Romania noastra mare 🙂 Ce-i drept, si noi am cazut in aceeasi capcana. Si nu mica ne-a fost mirarea cand internetul ne-a luminat calea! Si-am aflat si noi, dupa o viata intreaga de venit vara cate vreo doua saptamani in Bucovina, la bunici, ca la o aruncatura de bat de Vatra Dornei, in Moldovita, e mocanita de la Hutulca, lunga de peste 10 km. Si nu, nu-i nevoie de sapte pulovere, cinci straturi de nadragi si sosete flausate, toate vagoanele sunt incalzite cu sobe de lemn 🙂 Atata doar ca pe timp de iarna mocanita nu functioneaza intotdeauna iar programul depinde foarte mult de vreme (poae fi verificat online pe siteul CFI). Insa in general sunt doua tururi, unul la ora 10, unul la ora 2 dupa amiaza, iar traseul intreg dureaza cam trei ore. Cu o binemeritata pauza la Argel, capatul liniei, intr-o poiana la marginea padurii unde se serveste un vin fiert delicios si o mancare bucovineana ca la bunica acasa 😀 Acum… daca ne intrebati pe noi, experienta din mocanita e intr-adevar placuta, insa senzatia senzatiilor in materie de fotografii e in exteriorul mocanitei 🙂 Nu degeaba se alearga masinile intre ele pe langa mocanita, care sa prinda cadrul cel mai bun cu fumul scos de mocanita. Si nu degeaba se organizeaza workshop-uri de fotografie aici 🙂 Peisajele sunt geniale si sinceri sa fim, locul are un potential turistic fantastic. Atata doar ca se pare ca exista ceva probleme cu dezvoltarea caii ferate si proiectul final, de unit Manastirea Moldovita cu satul Moldovita si la final satul Argel, are ceva piedici. Ba cu CFR-ul, ba cu niste terenuri ilegale, ba cu rezistenta unor localnici. Dar hei, nimic nou sub soare 🙂 Pana una alta sa ne bucuram de pufaitul continuu al mocanitei de la Hutulca, de dusca de afinata si de peisajele dementiale, ca daca nu stiam deja, avem o tara MI-NU-NA-TA!. Ciu ciuuuuuu!

EN: Whenever one hears about the narrow gauge railway, it immediately comes to his mind the one from Maramures and Viseul de Sus. As if this would be the only narrow gauge railway from our entire country 🙂 Honestly, we walked into the same trap. So we ere quite surprised when the internet “enlightened” our way! And we finally discovered, after a lifetime of coming a couple of weeks during summertime at our grandparents house in Bukovina, that at a stone’s throw from Vatra Dornei, in Moldovita, there is the Hutulca narrow gauge railway, 10 km long. And no, you don;t need seven sweaters, five layers of breeches and winter socks, all the wagons are heated with ovens on wood 🙂 Just that during wintertime the train might not function and the schedule depends on the weather (this can be checked on CFI website). But in general there are two tours, one at 10AM and the other one at 2PM, and the whole itinerary last around three hours. With a well deserved break at Argel, the end of the line, in an opening at the edge of the forest where you can have a delicious mulled wine and some great Bukovianian food . But… if you ask us, the experience from the inside of the train is indeed pleasant, but the real sensation in terms of photography are from the exterior of the train 🙂 No wonder the cars are overrunning themselves next to the train, to get the perfect picture with the smoke coming from the train. And no wonder there are so many photography workshops organized here 🙂 The landscape is genius and honestly, this place has a huge touristic potential. Just that it seems that there are some problems with developing the narrow gauge railway and the final project, which would connect the Moldovita Monastery with Moldovita village and Argel village, has some barriers. Either with CFR, either with some illegal terrains or with some local’s resilience. But hey, that’s nothing new 🙂 All in all, we should enjoy the continuous puff of the Hutulca train, of our afinata gulp (traditional Romanian alcoholic drink, made of blueberries and TONS of alcohol) and the beautiful scenery, because if we didn’t know that already, we have a GOR-GEOUS country! Choo chooooooo!