Hotel Agape Cluj-Napoca

... closed but I find the art museum open. Some of the paintings make me feel as though I am in Transylvania with portraits of people with white faces, coming right out of horror movies.

I spend the afternoon with the locals at a café, working on photos. Nightlife looks really good but I have to get some sleep for my early train.

Located out of town, but close to the economic area of the city, BLACK TULIP, a four stars hotel, represents the perfect destination for those wishing to rest. I have appreciated the room atmosphere, the quality of the services...and the high degree of refinement of the cuisine.

15th June

Fine, mostly sunny 20 degrees

Brasov to Turda via Sighisoara

We left Brasov and drove through the hills of Romania past some rolling fields and rustic villages. We stopped at the lovely town of Sighisoara where we spent a couple of hours sightseeing. The town was originally settled by Transylvanian Saxons in the 12th Century and Vlad the Impaler's Dad lived in exile there ...

The train from Sighisoara to Cluj Napoca was another sauna experience. I had opened the window, but the elderly woman in our berth asked me to close it (though she herself was sweating).

The only good thing about Cluj was a brilliant candy store in which we spent a fair amount of money (for Romania).

Sighisoara to Cluj: one 2nd class ticket (3 hours) – 36.70 lei

... paikalliset isännät ovat laittaneet parastaan pitääkseen meidät rikkaiden maiden kasvatit tyytyväisinä. Tarjoilu pelaa pienintäkin yksityiskohtaa myöten ja meidät on upotettu lahjoihin. Ensimmäisen kokouspäivän jälkeen naisvieraille lyötiin jopa kukkakimput käteen. Ennakkokäsityksestäni poiketen palvelu Romaniassa on erittäin ystävällistä. Kohta alkaa suomalainen moi mitäs sulle-asenne suorastaan ärsyttämään verrattuna tähän ...

... stampile, stampila cu timbru sec a primariei Cluj, stampila cu semnatura lui Boc, stampila cu semnatura arhitectului sef al orasului.
De ce e acuzat acum Marius, de fals, uz de fals si de astea. Dus cu pluta, nu crezi?"

Dus cu pluta zic si eu, dar cum a putut un om ca asta, semidoct si lipsit de cel mai elementar bun-simt sa manipuleze si insele zeci de oameni. Poate vom afla vreodata.

One of the classes I took at Eotvos Lorand University was on the ethnography of Hungary, or rather the ethnography of Hungary as it was prior to World War I. Included in the class was a weekend farm stay in a small ethnic Hungarian village of Kalota-Szentkiraly (Sincrai in Romanian) in Transylvania. That weekend was incredible, the village was like stepping into the nineteenth century, ox carts were more common than cars, the house we stayed at had an outhouse in lieu of indoor ...

... closer to the original Latin than French, if deviant in the opposite direction. The funny thing is that Latin characteristics show up in other aspects of the culture, like red tile roofs and city-center parks. All in all Cluj-Napoca is nice, though without any obvious tourists or attractions.

... electric bull and dance to "I'm Too Sexy" with 3 scantily-clad women, after which they were judged by a panel of 5 female judges. *perplexed* After our micul dejun (for my father, who likes the local vernacular), we walked around town a bit. It's quite a bit busier on Monday mornings than on Sunday evenings! We saw the Orthodox Cathedral which has lovely mosaics inside, and the Biserica Sf. Mihail. It's in the central square and there ...