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King Charles III, currently in Romania, threw on Tuesday a reception in Viscri, on the 25th anniversary of his first visit to our country, on which occasion the sovereign wanted to meet all those with whom, over time, he collaborated.
Among the guests of King Charles III was also the former prime minister Dacian Ciolos, together with his wife, dressed in traditional clothing - Dacian Ciolos wearing a shirt from the region of Moldova, bought at a fair that he organized in 2013, as European commissioner, while his wife, Valérie Ciolos-Villemin, had a popular costume from Magura, Moeciu area.
King Charles III also had among his guests count Tibor Kálnoky, the doctor Radu Deac, the representatives of the ADEPT Foundation from Saschiz, the self-proclaimed king of the Roma, Dorin Cioaba, numerous representatives of enterprises and associations with social and environmental impact, but also the members of two families from Maramures county, from Breb and Budesti localities.
"We are from very far away, we came with great joy and great honor to be with the King, because he is a good man and deserves all the honor and appreciation. That is why we came with the greatest love to be at the 25th anniversary of his first visit to our country. It was in 2011 at our place, in the village, the husband had a glass of horinca with him at the table," declared Ileana Bozai.
Her husband, Ion Bozai, told us that during that period he restored two traditional houses over 100 years old and that King Charles III, then Prince Charles, attended the inauguration. In addition, the two spouses told us that the prince visited them one spring, at a rural celebration, the "milk measurement", organized at the moment when the sheep are taken to the mountains.
"Then, hearing about the sheep stable that was under Mount Gutai, he came on foot many kilometers and then for the first time I saw him that he is a very warm man, a good man and somehow we fell in love with him, with his kindness his. (...) Of course he likes the traditional food that is made at our place, we make several dishes", said Ileana.
The Bozai spouses also specified that at the guesthouses in the village of Breb, only traditional food is cooked, polenta with cheese, string beans, peas, and horinca is served. "We call him our fellow villager and we look forward to him returning to his village", was their message.
Ileana and Ion Bozai say that the last time they met King Charles III was a month ago, when they were invited to his coronation in London. "It was very nice to see so many people, 2 million people. Extraordinary, something that happens to you once in a lifetime, especially to us it happened once in a lifetime," added Ileana Bozai.
Among the special guests was Gheorghe Bod from Budesti, Maramures county, aged 80, who was invited by the King, being the owner of an over 200-year-old mill, which Prince Charles visited in 2005.
Gheorghe Bod came with his granddaughters, Reghina, 20 years old, and Irina Lazar, 11 years old, as well as other family members, to greet the King and brought him a series of gifts specific to Maramures.
"We come from Budesti and we brought the King a specific gift from the historic Maramures area, namely a hand-made purse and a glass with a flute that has a sculpture inside it, also made by hand. His Majesty visited the mill 18 years ago, and we also have a picture of the King with our grandparents at the mill in Budesti. It was taken in 2005, when the King visited the commune for the first time. We have now received the invitations from the King, and wanted to meet again after 18 years. We were very happy and feel privileged to have this opportunity. We don't even know what to tell him, we are still thinking. We tell him, first of all, that we expect him as soon as possible in Maramures. We came with our parents and our grandfather", said Reghina Lazar.
The mayor of Bunesti commune, Mircea Palasan, considers that the visit of King Charles III is very important not only for the commune, but also for Romania and that, although the local public administration did not prepare anything special for this visit, he came to welcome him and to thank him for loving this country.
After the first visits of Prince Charles, in the 90s, the mayor pointed out, the village of Viscri developed more and more, especially in terms of tourism and gastronomy.
Although it is quite difficult to make investments in the area, as a lot of documents and a lot of care are needed, Palasan says that all this effort is worth it, especially since preserving the traditional character of the village brings prosperity to the residents.
"It's a permanent struggle, but the struggle is worth it if the area is preserved. The economic part is important, for people to have a living, not to worry about tomorrow", the mayor emphasized. AGERPRES
