Cluj-Napoca

On Saturday morning (02.09.2017), I prepare a small breakfast for my hosts and myself. Afterwards, Berti and Rango go to a nearby shopping center to mainly get some food for Rango. After the exhausting time in the mountains, he can really indulge himself for the next few days. We take a walk in the neighborhood and return to the apartment in the late afternoon. Reka is already waiting for us with a lavish lunch. We start with a hearty lentil soup as a starter. Then, mashed potatoes with fried chicken breast and salad are served. We enjoy various homemade schnapps and a bottle of white wine with our meal. In the evening, Reka and Berti have an appointment at the Hungarian theater, so we head to the city shortly after six. We meet up with a few friends of the couple at Jaxx, a popular pub near the center, and enjoy a beer. Afterwards, I take some free time to stroll through the evening Cluj. Among other things, I spend some time in front of the Romanian theater, where the season is being kicked off with an open-air concert. I also don't regret climbing up the Fortress Hill, where the Hotel Belvedere stands, as it offers a great view of Cluj at night. Around midnight, I'm back at my host's apartment. After about 2 hours and some bedtime stories, this day also comes to an end on the balcony in good company.

For Sunday, a visit to the salt mine in Turda is planned. Meanwhile, Rango gets to nap in the apartment. On the way, we stop near Cheile Tureni - a deep gorge between Tureni and Copăceni. In the middle of gentle hills, the earth here seems torn apart. When we arrive at Salina Turda, we put on warm clothes. However, a hot drink during a break outside feels good, as the temperatures inside are only around 10°C. During the first half of the tour, the show mine meets all expectations and mainly reveals interesting facts about the history and technology of salt extraction. The second part surprised me a bit. In the depths of the tunnels, there is a hidden amusement park that welcomes visitors with futuristic light installations, a Ferris wheel, a salt lake, and various leisure activities. So the afternoon is quite entertaining, and we only return to Cluj in the evening.

Not much happens on Monday. I spend some time in the city with Berti. Our attempt to get our hair cut fails in front of the hair salon – the lady is taking the day off. In the afternoon, Berti gives me a glimpse into his job. He works in IT, can work from home, and mostly manage his working hours by himself - sounds great!

On Tuesday, 05.09.2017, the second attempt for a haircut also fails, but in the evening, I get to play football again. After being abstinent for more than 3 months, I'm really looking forward to it. At the beginning, I'm immediately warned for being overly enthusiastic, although from my perspective, unjustly. The game is quite balanced, only our team is missing some composure in front of the opposing goal, and after 90 minutes, we lose by 3 goals - quite a clear defeat. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun!

On Wednesday evening, I am a guest in a German class. Enikő invited me during our encounter at Jaxx on Saturday. She is a language teacher at a private school for adults and is currently teaching her German students about traveling. I gladly take the opportunity to chat in German again. The language skills of the three girls I meet there, Ralu, Dana, and Beáta, are very good, so they even understand my Saxon dialect. Rango is also allowed to come along and gets petted by the girls for an hour and a half. So we are quite satisfied when we make our way back to Reka and Berti in the evening, who are already waiting for us with dinner and a cool beer - what a life!

Thursday is finally the day for the second attempt at the hair salon. In the evening, I cook for my hosts. I decided to make Szeged goulash with dumplings and brown butter. Considering that I'm preparing it alone for the first time, it turns out quite well, and we spend the evening enjoying Bohemian food, Romanian wine, and chatting late into the night about everything under the sun. I think we have become good friends in the past few days.

I had originally planned to continue my journey to Alba Iulia on Friday (08. September 2017). Reka and Berti are attending a wedding near Bucharest over the weekend and are leaving in the afternoon. However, they offer me to stay for a few more days and hand me their apartment key. So I also spend the weekend in Cluj, using the time to write a few travel reports and explore the city with Rango. But most of all, I will remember Cluj fondly because of Reka and Berti.