Iris Oradea

Turns out that November 1 is All Saints Day. And rather than spending the day worshipping a pop music band, the locals celebrate the lives of the saints and their family that has passed away who are named afer the various saints (and it seems as though just about everyone here is named after one saint or another). I hope I've got those details right!

Sunday was also the day I arrived in Eger on a relatively ...

... 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.

... a little from the boring and tiring trip.

We continue and make good way to Oreada, without problems. Hungary is from a countryside perspective not very attractive as all is flat and very flat, without many objects that would distract the eye. Additionally there is a strong wind (of course against us) which requires our attention. I don't envy the cyclists that plan to cross this ...

Tuesday 14th we left Budapest and drove across the flat planes of Eastern Hungary into Romania. There was no trouble at the Romanian border and we were all amused to find that we needed to look out for a "good lei" (the currency) as forgeries are quite common. We eventually reached the foothills of some ...

... in mana. Ne-o arata bucuros si spune:
- Asta e discriminare clara, o sa ii dau in judecata. Cititi si voi.


Hartia in cauza era un document numit “Refuz” purtand semnatura lui Boc, a arhitectului sef al Clujului, cu timbru sec, cu tot ce trebuie si care spunea ca Marius Leontiuc nu primeste autorizatie de constructie datorita apartenentei sale la cultul luteran.
Si ...

... Oonagh even got some flowers!!). A red Rotary Marghita Bus drove us for 45 minutes to Marghita to our Host families: Marco is hosted by Marcel and Ildiko, owners of the biggest Dacia garage of the Marghita area, Mike is Hosted by Calin and Family Adrian is Hosted by Oscar, the president Oonagh is hosted by Brenda, American head of a children house in Marghita. Time to go to bed...

The next morning was devoted to the unloading of the truck in which our machines, costumes and props travelled. After a quick check and some minor fixing, we were free until Lunch. Well, I decided to go and visit the shopping streets as our Romanian Friend Ezster was keen to show us and some of us had souvenirs to buy. The Italian delegation were hosting lunch, we were told that they wanted to ...

... Il est peint de couleurs vives suivant le style architectural du pays. Une voie couverte d'un toit de verre forme deux rues charmantes et très vivantes. At 6.30, we had a very brief tour of the city center, which was the occasion to meet the mayor, most of his team involved in the Twin Cities festival and take loads of official pictures. We waited in front of the beautiful library , brightly painted in pink until we set off the the ...

... 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.

... beer and dancing the night away with local romanian's at the outdoor rock concert, it's the unexpected events that really can make the difference!!!! But what will i remember most about my stay in Romania...... Well I had so many preconceived ideas about the country before I arrived which are totally unfounded, which i personally dislike because i like to see things with an open-mind. But i suppose it's hard when I had Greeks and Bulgarian's warning me about how my life ...