Cluj-Napoca: Another Lovely Romanian Town! (August 8th-12th)

 It was QUITE a long haul--by train--from Brasov to Cluj-Napoca: about 8 hours total. But the scenery was spectacular the whole way there, making up for the long hours and filthy (truly disgusting!) conditions of the train. In fact, the train was in SUCH bad shape it was shocking--as bad as any of the worst I ever took in India! (Actually, in first class, some of those Indian trains were nicer!!!) It was clearly old and decrepit, but worse--filthy. The floors were sticky with spilled, dried-up drinks; trash and bits of food were everywhere; the bathrooms stunk to high-heaven and two out of three toilets were filled with human waste! I mean, REALLY revolting!!! I was quite appalled... especially bad since it was such a long journey...

But I survived it, of course, and was VERY happy to be greeted at the station by my dear friend, Corina, whom I know from Sacramento. She is here caring for her elderly mother...I hadn't seen her since before the pandemic, so seeing her here, now, in her native town, was quite the treat. 

We have spent the past few days exploring Cluj-Napoca together...but I have made explorations on my own as well, while Corina took care of her mother. The town is--like many in Europe--a blend of the old and new. The historic center is quite beautiful, of course... the modern parts--such as a huge, crowded mall we visited--not so appealing. Still, the upshot is that this town has everything one could need or desire... I would LOVE to live here, too!! Sadly, though, Romania has the same restrictions for foreigners as western Europe--namely, no more than 90 days at a time. And worse: unlike many other countries of Europe, there is not even an option of obtaining an expat retirement visa. Clearly, the government does NOT want foreigners trying to make their home here! What a shame. 

In any event, I have been enjoying my time here immensely, especially with Corina. I will miss her when I depart for my next location this weekend! 


Unirii--or Union--Square, the center of the old town. Here, you see the famous statue of Matthias Corvinus, king of Bohemia in the 1400's. Why he is relevant to the Romanians is anyone's guess! I suppose our REALLY bad tour guide may have explained it..(It was the worst free walking tour I have EVER been on! The guide did not have a mic--it was incredibly noisy on our walk and I gave up trying to hear him right at the beginning. So...he MAY have explained something about this king... I will never know!!!) 


Beautiful old gothic church, also in the square, same time period. 










The Greek Orthodox church near my Airbnb, NOT in the center of town! Like most European towns, this one has tons of churches, of all the various denominations... each unique and beautiful....


Gorgous opera house... I tried to go in, but it was closed, unfortunately...


This church was also part of the walking tour... 










I especially appreciated the artistry of this intricate mosaic... 


Confessing to the priest?!? Couldn't tell, since it was in Romanian, but this character spent quite some time chatting with this stone figure.... I suppose it was a true blessing that he couldn't talk back!!


As with every historic city center, I never tire of admiring all of the splendid old architecture... 











One of our explorations took Corina and I to the city's botanical gardens, where she visited often as a child and teenager. Happily for us both, the plants and flowers on display were as gorgous as she remembered them being so many years ago... 










Couldn't BELIEVE these humongous, mutant lily pods inside of the greenhouse! IF that is what they were...neither of us had a clue! I didn't like the fact that some ridiculous people threw money on these spectacular plants... 


As with most of my afternoons here, we were visited by an impressive rainstorm. Happily, we happened to have the shelter of a lookout tower right when the rain really started to dump! 


This lovely cup of coffee at Meron's was worth the photo--it was the first cup of decaf I have found ANYWHERE in my entire time in Romania so far! I was infinitely grateful for it!! 



As our final, celebratory event together, Corina treated me to a FANTASTIC, elegant dinner at a vegetarian restaurant called "Samsara". Everything was spectacular, from the food to the decor to the ambiance... a place I MUST return to one day!! (I thought I had taken a photo of my delectable piece of lasagna...but somehow it went missing!) 

A fabulously delicate vegan dessert... chocolate peanut butter hazelnut, will a subtle orange jelly in the middle, muy delicioso!!!! 


The final series--yes, totally out-of-order-- scenes from the 8 hour train ride from Brasov to Cluj-Napoca... the redeeming feature of the otherwise unpleasant experience of the truly filthy train... just so you can a sense of HOW VERY BEAUTIFUL Romania is... so MUCH open space and gorgeous countryside!!! 
































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