Vilkovo. Monday.
Monday in Vilkovo is day off. Bazaar, shops and cafes don’t work. The village is asleep. You’re driving on like an extinct settlement that’s just yesterday was filled with people.
But when I stay on the sidelines, suddenly, the guides began to come forward in the order of a queue. We chose Dima. Rosy-cheeked, blood with milk, the guy on a moped.
And with him, standing on the bridge, we planned the rest of the day. And at the bottom, below us,the gondolas of Vilkovo floated with Lipovans’ songs.
Dima has a simple business. He is an intermediary who introduces the interesting persons to you in Vilkovo.
Do you want frogs? No problem. Two calls and local pimply guy catches them and rushes his legs to the bar where they cook them while you ride by motorboat on Vilkovo, considering all the charm of Lipovans’ life.
This is how our lunch in life looks. Local people just catch them with net. But, given to the attention the surprise and a small stupor when they heard my desire, I understood that they don’t do this often.
The view of Vilkovo from the water.
While my lunch is being caught, I went to ride a motorboat through Vilkovo and flooded areas. Our driver, Dima, talked about the life in Vilkovo, their local traditions and the way of life.
But we are an gastronomic expedition, so I was primarily interested in the kitchen. So we learned about the man whose name was Kolya and his wife, who cooks the most delicious ukha in the county. But this is the story about the next day. And now we continue to sail along the Danube.
After Vilkovo you can see flooded areas, where the depth isn’t more than half a meter, but the bottom is filled with local water chestnut. Drying, it becomes like stone with the sharp thorns. Water chestnuts ripen in autumn, that’s when it is worth to eat. It is impossible to keep it. Once it is torn down, it loses moisture and becomes tasteless powder.
Lunch made of frogs.
After walking through the channels of Vilkovo we went to the bar “Dionys” on the advice of Dima. Bar looks wonderful. Outdoor playground completely entwined with vines, through which the sun makes a real dance of sunspots. Fresh and naturally wind creates an unforgettable and intimate atmosphere.
But the kitchen wasn’t good. Frogs, which we ate, were mediocre in taste. The egg batter interrupted the taste, which is completely spoiled the appétit. But, to tell the truth, the child liked the frogs. He ate almost a full plate and was quite happy.
On the table there was a plate of vegetables and frogs. Vegetables were on top. We was eating them for both cheeks. In instagram you can see what was left of our frogs: @ slyadnev
Sunset.
After a late lunch, we went to the waterfront to watch the sunset. On the other side of the Danube Romania is situated. Phone sometimes falls in roaming, so you should be careful with this.
On the shore there are old decommissioned ships. Some of them even with a note in Illichevsk. I was just sitting on a pontoon pier and enjoyed the view of the setting sun. It is actually what you can’t do in Odessa. It is difficult to find a beautiful sunset.
Conclusions.
At the end of the first day I was a little disappointed about Vilkovo. A boring little town where everyone is trying to steal more money from you, and doesn’t really provide a quality service. The village is quite mediocre, with a few channels around which there is such inflated hype. The food, for which I was traveling, did not meet my expectations.
But I didn’t know how much my attitude changed towards Vilkovo the other day with my trip to Kolya …
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