Time is flying, it's already autumn. In September, Moscow has been warm and my winter jacket is still in the closet. I need to write down some beautiful summer memories before it gets cold. This summer was really special, because finally I experienced the stay at the "Dacha"( Russian summer house). It was 4years ago, when my husband was transfered to Moscow, firstly I bought a travel guidebook of Russia and secondly I bought the book about Dacha. From this book, I leaned that Russians spend summer weekend at their own summer house called Dacha. Since then, I have been dreaming about it.
忙しくしている間に、もう季節は秋です。夏の終わりが早いモスクワも、9月はまだ暖かい日が続き、本格的な冬用ジャケットなしで過ごせるほどです。夏の名残があるうちに、どうしても書きとめておきたいことがありました。それは今夏、ついに経験できたダーチャ（ロシア版サマーハウス）についてです。なにしろモスクワ駐在が決まった４年前、私が真っ先に購入した本は「地球の歩き方」とこの本だったのですから・・。ロシア人はなにやら週末、別荘で暮らすらしい。「ダーチャ」その心地よい言葉の響きが、やけに印象的でした。 |
| The book about Russian Dacha life, published in Japan 「ロシアに学ぶ週末術 ダーチャのある暮らし」（ＷＡＶＥ 出版） |
"Dacha" is originally from the word "дать" [dat'] - "to give", which is the land given by the government in Soviet era. After Soviet Union collapsed, it was privatised and now owners can trade it freely. According to that book, 70~80% of Moscow citizens own Dacha, the typical land size is about 600square meters. An owner builds the house and cultivates the land to grow veges and fruits, spends relaxing time with the family. In summer season, Moscow city is quieter at weedned, because most of people already get out of the city to their Dacha. This summer my friend invited me to her Dacha and my dream came true.「ダーチャ」とはソ連時代に国から一般市民へ無償で与えられた郊外の土地（現在は私有化され、売買されている）。この本によると、モスクワ市民の７~8割がダーチャを保有。一般的な土地面積は600平方メートル（約180坪）。そこに家と畑を設営し、自給自足しながら自然の中でゆっくりと余暇を楽しむのがロシア流。交通渋滞がひどいモスクワが夏に静かになる理由は、金曜日ともなると皆こぞってダーチャへ出かけてしまうからなのです。今回、知人の誘いでついにダーチャ・ステイを実体験できることになりました。
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| A scenery in the Dacha village |
About 3-hour -drive from Moscow city, our car got into the unpaved bumpy road and finally arrived at the destination. Later my friend told me that no one could get there by themselves, so we did a good job. My friend's Dacha was....very modern than my expectation, however inside the house, it was like a construction site. I was never surprised, because I already knew that Dacha is basically never completed, the owner enjoys building and living at the same time. In my friend's case, the house has been constructed for 8~9 years and this summer they finally completed the kitchen. Nowadays most of Dacha have the water, electricity and gas supply, but some decades ago there wasn't any of those. People got water from wells and made fire to heat. The life was very primitive and natural. Still now the shower system remains the old way.
モスクワ市内より約3時間、車は舗装されもしない道なき道へ入り込み、知人のダーチャへたどり着きました。思ったよりモダン・・です。でも一歩入れば、そこは工事現場さながらです。でも驚きはしません、これも例の本で予習済みでした。基本的に住宅は、家主の手づくり！ダーチャの醍醐味は「作りながら住むこと」だそうです。知人の家も作り始めてから今年で8~9年、やっとキッチンが完成したところだそうです。今でこそ、水、電気、ガスは通っていますが、一昔前まではそのようなライフラインはないのが当たり前。すべて原始的な方法、例えば井戸、火を使って生活していたそうです。シャワーの仕組みは、今でもとってもナチュラルです。
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| My friend's Dacha house Interior is underconstruction(lower left), Shower system is simply to keep natural heated water on the roof. (lower right) |
In my friend's Dacha site, there is the old hut where the grandfather has been living for a long time. I found that the room was cozy with rustic interior such as the handmade stove, hanging old textiles on the wall and well-used household items.
知人のダーチャの敷地内には、おじいさんが昔から住んでいる小屋もありました。手作りのペチカ（ストーブ）、何十年と吊るされているであろうカーテン、暮らしの道具一つ一つに味わいが感じられます。
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| Grandfather's hut |
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| Interior is rustic and cozy. |
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| The Russian style stove made by the Grandfather. |
Dacha is also the best place for urban children to learn nature, because it is usually surrounded by forests, rivers and ponds. For both children and adults, Dacha life is so adventurous that they can meet the wild life, listen to insects sounds at night, play in a river, eat wild berries and mushrooms in season. It's a perfect vacation.
都会暮らしのモスクワっ子にとって、ダーチャは自然を学ぶ絶好の場所でもあります。すこし歩けばそこは、森、川、池。無数の野生動物と出会い、虫の鳴き声に耳をすまし、水遊びして、野いちごやキノコなどの自然の恵みをいただく。子どもも大人も、毎日が大冒険、なんて贅沢な休暇でしょう。
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| Dacha village is usualy surrounded by forests, rivers and lakes. |
The relationship with neighborhoods is much closer than the one in Moscow. When we walked around the village, the neighborhood man just stopped gardening work and greeted us in a friendly way. His house is a typical traditional Dacha which has a triangular log house with beautiful garden. His wife is keen on handicrafts and decorates the house nicely.
モスクワ市内のアパート暮らしとは一味ちがう、ご近所づきあいも魅力です。通りがかれば菜園作業の手をとめて、「やあ」なんて気楽に声をかけてくれます。知人が紹介してくれたご近所さんは、正統派ダーチャ。三角ログハウス風のお家と庭一面に広がる美しい花壇、菜園。クラフト好きな奥様の趣味を生かした、インテリアも素敵でした。
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| A typical Dacha. |
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| Nicely decorated by handicrafts |
The end of our stay, we enjoyed Russian BBQ called "Shashrik". The host grilled the meat with old iron bars made by his father. The beautiful sky and pleasanat breeze made our dining fantastic! It was unforgettable tastes of Dacha, the memory of Russian summer.
一日の締めは、なんといってもシャシリク（ロシア版ＢＢＱ）。おじい様手作りの鉄串で、豪快に肉を刺して焼きます。北国独特の透き通るような空の下、さらさらした草原の風を感じながら、皆で囲んだシャシリクの味は格別で、また一つ忘れがたいロシアの思い出が増えた夏でした。
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The host prepared Russian BBQ(Shashrik) |
