Cluj Napoca
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Fun facts. We all like them. Your friends’ faces when dropping one of those smart-ass comments – generally including a little slice of rather unusual yet entertaining info - over a drink or two is reason enough to remember a handful of ‘em.
But to what extent do they define a place? I put it to the test in the student town of Cluj Napoca, Romania.
The Reality Behind Romanian “Fun Facts”
But to what extent do they define a place? I put it to the test in the student town of Cluj Napoca, Romania.
The Reality Behind Romanian “Fun Facts”
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“The Martisor (referring to the month March), is a little talisman tied to a red-and-white string symbolizing spring. On the 1st of March men give these objects, now even a UNESCO Heritage patrimony, to women, who will obtain strength and health (or ‘a year-long spring’) if they wear them the entire month.”
Sounds kinda cute, doesn’t it? But can anyone still be bothered in an era where traditions fade in the light of modernism? As luck would have it I was hitchhiking to the city of Cluj exactly in the prelude of March… and the first people I met, right in the car that randomly drove me into that direction, promptly presented me with an adorable little amulet of my own! A year-long spring, my lucky charm. I instantly hung it dangling off my backpack, as in my case this is even closer to the heart.
From that day I didn’t have a day without sun, after an epoch of snow storms… coincidence, I ask you?
Sounds kinda cute, doesn’t it? But can anyone still be bothered in an era where traditions fade in the light of modernism? As luck would have it I was hitchhiking to the city of Cluj exactly in the prelude of March… and the first people I met, right in the car that randomly drove me into that direction, promptly presented me with an adorable little amulet of my own! A year-long spring, my lucky charm. I instantly hung it dangling off my backpack, as in my case this is even closer to the heart.
From that day I didn’t have a day without sun, after an epoch of snow storms… coincidence, I ask you?
“Cluj has the best air quality in Europe.”
Hmmm! Bold statement for a city that’s permanently clogged with an ongoing stream of sluggish traffic. Plus, if this testimony is in fact true, why does half of the Cluj population move their kids down to the Turda Saltmine, a mere stones’ throw away, in order to let them properly breathe and cure their asthma? I call bullshit!
That said, this Turda-saltmine-thingy is worth taking a peek at. If only for its weirdness. I mean, after descending deep down into the hollowed caverns of an underground mine the LAST you expect to find is some tacky amusement park including a full-blown big wheel, a bowling alley, ping-pong/billiard tables and midget golf court. Hell, you can even row in lame little circles around some futuristic platform plunged into a dug out salt lake. It’s all remarkably unsettling. I still have to give this odd experience a place in my psyche somewhere and decide what to think about it.
At least there’s wine next door [La Salina Winery].
Hmmm! Bold statement for a city that’s permanently clogged with an ongoing stream of sluggish traffic. Plus, if this testimony is in fact true, why does half of the Cluj population move their kids down to the Turda Saltmine, a mere stones’ throw away, in order to let them properly breathe and cure their asthma? I call bullshit!
That said, this Turda-saltmine-thingy is worth taking a peek at. If only for its weirdness. I mean, after descending deep down into the hollowed caverns of an underground mine the LAST you expect to find is some tacky amusement park including a full-blown big wheel, a bowling alley, ping-pong/billiard tables and midget golf court. Hell, you can even row in lame little circles around some futuristic platform plunged into a dug out salt lake. It’s all remarkably unsettling. I still have to give this odd experience a place in my psyche somewhere and decide what to think about it.
At least there’s wine next door [La Salina Winery].
* If you tell ‘em you’re a student (true or not), they give you 50% off. I pulled it off and I’m turning 32 this year.
“Romania appears on the UNESCO List of Immaterial Cultural Heritage with the ‘Calusul’, an ancient ritual dance believed to represent both the galloping of a horse and dances with the fairies.”
I can’t even imagine what that looks like. And I still can’t, as apparently the Calasul is a dance of the south, whereas Cluj is more famous for folk variants under the flag of Campia Transilvianei… according to Cristian Vincze, passionate member of the local folk dance cluster 'Asamblul Folcloric Romanasul'. And this guy we can trust, as under his wing the elaborate cluster of dancers tours the world wow’ing international audiences with traditional Romanian choreography (from all its regions). I was invited to their weekly rehearsals and I can confirm: Romanian folklore is absolute top sport! Jumps, pirouettes and shoe-claps, all brought to stage under loud shouts and passionate chants, is a right-in-your-face yet elegant experience that won’t easily fade from memory.
“Romania appears on the UNESCO List of Immaterial Cultural Heritage with the ‘Calusul’, an ancient ritual dance believed to represent both the galloping of a horse and dances with the fairies.”
I can’t even imagine what that looks like. And I still can’t, as apparently the Calasul is a dance of the south, whereas Cluj is more famous for folk variants under the flag of Campia Transilvianei… according to Cristian Vincze, passionate member of the local folk dance cluster 'Asamblul Folcloric Romanasul'. And this guy we can trust, as under his wing the elaborate cluster of dancers tours the world wow’ing international audiences with traditional Romanian choreography (from all its regions). I was invited to their weekly rehearsals and I can confirm: Romanian folklore is absolute top sport! Jumps, pirouettes and shoe-claps, all brought to stage under loud shouts and passionate chants, is a right-in-your-face yet elegant experience that won’t easily fade from memory.
Are these men elastic? It’s interesting how they can make something so complicated (believe me, I had some in-front-of-the-mirror-attempts and almost ripped my hamstring) look so effortless.
“Tarzan is Romanian – or at least: the actor who played the original Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller, was born on Romanian territory.”
Well if that isn’t a reason to go out and play in nature, I don’t know what is! And luckily, Cluj is surrounded by a wealth of greenery. Just from the city centre you can already climb up the Dealul Cetatuia (Fortress Hill) for great views over the city. You’ll notice you’re not the only one up there, as in the evenings the local student population gathers there to have a drink while watching to sun set over their pleasant home town. For a more ‘out-in-the-wild-experience’ you can either head to Cheile Turzii (Turzi’s Gorge) close to Turda, or the extraordinary Apuseni Natural Park (in the winter great for skiing, in all other seasons a hiking paradise). Mind you, besides bisons (Europe’s largest mammal), you might be (un)lucky enough to spot a member of the brown bear population, of which a staggering 60% resides in Romania. Yeah, cute. Until they kill you.
“Tarzan is Romanian – or at least: the actor who played the original Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller, was born on Romanian territory.”
Well if that isn’t a reason to go out and play in nature, I don’t know what is! And luckily, Cluj is surrounded by a wealth of greenery. Just from the city centre you can already climb up the Dealul Cetatuia (Fortress Hill) for great views over the city. You’ll notice you’re not the only one up there, as in the evenings the local student population gathers there to have a drink while watching to sun set over their pleasant home town. For a more ‘out-in-the-wild-experience’ you can either head to Cheile Turzii (Turzi’s Gorge) close to Turda, or the extraordinary Apuseni Natural Park (in the winter great for skiing, in all other seasons a hiking paradise). Mind you, besides bisons (Europe’s largest mammal), you might be (un)lucky enough to spot a member of the brown bear population, of which a staggering 60% resides in Romania. Yeah, cute. Until they kill you.
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Left: Apuseni Natural Park hiking map (click to enlarge) - Right: Cheile Turzii.
“The Hoia-Baciu Forest in Cluj Napoca ranks as one of the most paranormal areas on the planet and is a hot spot for ghostly appearances and UFO sightings.”
The legends are convincing. The forest is originally named after a shepherd who disappeared in the forest along with his flock of no less than 200 sheep, not a trace ever to be found. More disappearances occurred in the following decades, as well as people reporting black-outs of time without recollections of what happened… the most striking example of a little girl getting lost in the forest and reappearing 5 years later without any memory of past events, wearing the same untarnished clothes she wore on the day of her disappearance. Other stories tied to the forest are reported observations of spirits, supposedly from a group of peasants that were murdered here, as well as a series of UFO sightings and poltergeist activity. Even nowadays people who are brave enough to visit the forest generally report extreme feelings of anxiety, unexplainable rashes and scratches, malfunctions of electronic devices, female and children’s laughter and screams, and faces appearing in photographs.
Time to have a look, I’d say! In the dead of night.
“The Hoia-Baciu Forest in Cluj Napoca ranks as one of the most paranormal areas on the planet and is a hot spot for ghostly appearances and UFO sightings.”
The legends are convincing. The forest is originally named after a shepherd who disappeared in the forest along with his flock of no less than 200 sheep, not a trace ever to be found. More disappearances occurred in the following decades, as well as people reporting black-outs of time without recollections of what happened… the most striking example of a little girl getting lost in the forest and reappearing 5 years later without any memory of past events, wearing the same untarnished clothes she wore on the day of her disappearance. Other stories tied to the forest are reported observations of spirits, supposedly from a group of peasants that were murdered here, as well as a series of UFO sightings and poltergeist activity. Even nowadays people who are brave enough to visit the forest generally report extreme feelings of anxiety, unexplainable rashes and scratches, malfunctions of electronic devices, female and children’s laughter and screams, and faces appearing in photographs.
Time to have a look, I’d say! In the dead of night.
Yeah, I don’t know what’s wrong with me either. That said, as I don’t think it’s smart to get lost into any unknown forest in the dark as a woman all alone (let alone a haunted one), I followed the lead of Alex, initiator of the Hoia-Baciu Project. Like down-to-earth me, he indicated that he’s not a strong believer of the paranormal and his tour is anything but meant to be scary. But even though I’m the first to testify that emotions such as anxiety and fear are purely a process of the mind, strengthened by reading into the place’s creepy history, I do have to admit that it felt a whole lotta eerie over there. Especially in the clearing in the middle of a dense forest (consisting of unusually grown and twisted spirally-shaped trees) where nothing would grow for over 300 years, without any scientific explanation after hundreds of tests done with soil samples. And can science explain to me why the sky seemed to continuously turn brighter and darker and brighter again?
Plus, my torch kept flickering and seemed to be perfectly fine once I left the forest. And… * *inhaling and exhaling deeply*… also I witnessed a tiny alien-face in my photo. Holy f-u-c-k.
Plus, my torch kept flickering and seemed to be perfectly fine once I left the forest. And… * *inhaling and exhaling deeply*… also I witnessed a tiny alien-face in my photo. Holy f-u-c-k.
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Besides Hoia-Baciu Tours, Alex is working on a Real Dracula Expedition along with the Stoker Family!
“Romania is ranked 13th in the world in terms of wine production.” And…”Romania also is the 5th booziest country in the world [after Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Lithuania]”
Only good news from Romania, I’d say! Before obtaining any kind of tourist map, I got myself a ‘wine map’ first… way more useful. And yes, it’s pretty damn good! Who would have thought?! Is there anything Romanians can’t do? Well, maybe walking in a straight line back home, especially in Cluj Napoca. I’ve personally lived the student life quite intensely (understatement of the century), and I can confirm that if there’s one thing students excel in, it’s drinking themselves towards Korsakov. Studying is just a side show of the whole university-thing, believe me.
Obviously, as you’re a real-traveler-not-a-tourist, it’s all about blending in and ‘doing what the locals do’. Well, cheers to that!
“Romania is ranked 13th in the world in terms of wine production.” And…”Romania also is the 5th booziest country in the world [after Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Lithuania]”
Only good news from Romania, I’d say! Before obtaining any kind of tourist map, I got myself a ‘wine map’ first… way more useful. And yes, it’s pretty damn good! Who would have thought?! Is there anything Romanians can’t do? Well, maybe walking in a straight line back home, especially in Cluj Napoca. I’ve personally lived the student life quite intensely (understatement of the century), and I can confirm that if there’s one thing students excel in, it’s drinking themselves towards Korsakov. Studying is just a side show of the whole university-thing, believe me.
Obviously, as you’re a real-traveler-not-a-tourist, it’s all about blending in and ‘doing what the locals do’. Well, cheers to that!
(Non-)memorable nightly experiences can be made in Strada Piezisa, the student bar street!
“The Romanian language is 1700 years old and forms the only Latin language spoken in Eastern Europe.”
True. Surprisingly enough I could kind of understand them (in writing), as I speak Spanish, Latin, some French and a bit of Italian and Portuguese. It’s an odd blend, mostly related to Italian but with the necessary Slavic ş’s, ă’s and ț’s, and somehow pronounced in something I mostly recognize as Brazilian Portuguese (mainly the back-in-the-throat ão-sound and the hissing s(hh)-pronunciation).
Which is why I attended a theatre performance in… Hungarian. As interesting as Romanian sounds, due to Cluj Napoca’s history of Hungarian rule, many locals speak and identify as Hungarians (even more so up north in the Maramures region). That, and the fact that the Hungarian Theatre subtitles its performances in both English and Romanian, are great reasons to suck up your daily recommended dose of culture at this very spot.
“The Romanian language is 1700 years old and forms the only Latin language spoken in Eastern Europe.”
True. Surprisingly enough I could kind of understand them (in writing), as I speak Spanish, Latin, some French and a bit of Italian and Portuguese. It’s an odd blend, mostly related to Italian but with the necessary Slavic ş’s, ă’s and ț’s, and somehow pronounced in something I mostly recognize as Brazilian Portuguese (mainly the back-in-the-throat ão-sound and the hissing s(hh)-pronunciation).
Which is why I attended a theatre performance in… Hungarian. As interesting as Romanian sounds, due to Cluj Napoca’s history of Hungarian rule, many locals speak and identify as Hungarians (even more so up north in the Maramures region). That, and the fact that the Hungarian Theatre subtitles its performances in both English and Romanian, are great reasons to suck up your daily recommended dose of culture at this very spot.
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Man, that was properly weird! [Performance: Vakok].
“Romania occupies the 4th place in the world when it comes to 4G Internet Speed [according to Open Signal]”, combined with: “Francesco Illy, the founder of Illy Coffee and inventor of the first automatic steam espresso coffee machine, is Romanian”…
… makes me just want to spend hours and hours in Cluj Napoca’s cosy bars to sip on a series of deep browns and pump out your weekly reading material. This city understands coffee and therefore has always a place in my (caffeine-powered) heart!
Coffee is good in any context or situation, but if you want to give an edgy twist to the experience I recommend to head to Enigma Cafe, the first kinetic steam punk bar ever opened. It’s unconventional, it’s creative and it’s utterly bizarre. Therefore I approve.
“Romania occupies the 4th place in the world when it comes to 4G Internet Speed [according to Open Signal]”, combined with: “Francesco Illy, the founder of Illy Coffee and inventor of the first automatic steam espresso coffee machine, is Romanian”…
… makes me just want to spend hours and hours in Cluj Napoca’s cosy bars to sip on a series of deep browns and pump out your weekly reading material. This city understands coffee and therefore has always a place in my (caffeine-powered) heart!
Coffee is good in any context or situation, but if you want to give an edgy twist to the experience I recommend to head to Enigma Cafe, the first kinetic steam punk bar ever opened. It’s unconventional, it’s creative and it’s utterly bizarre. Therefore I approve.
“Romanians are devoted followers of the orthodox religion. When public transport approaches a church, you can witness 90% of the passengers simultaneously make the cross-sign, no less than 3 times in a row.”
It’s true. And no matter my opinion about religion (just randomly gonna leave some Ricky Gervais quotes over here), them reli-boys gave me my vegan food* so I won’t complain.
* ‘Mancare Depost’, Orthodox fasting food generally not containing any animal products.
** Also fun: When driving the coffin to a funeral, Romanians honk and throw money to facilitate the passing (yes, fun – I think visiting haunted forests at night is fun, so this is at least as entertaining).
It’s true. And no matter my opinion about religion (just randomly gonna leave some Ricky Gervais quotes over here), them reli-boys gave me my vegan food* so I won’t complain.
* ‘Mancare Depost’, Orthodox fasting food generally not containing any animal products.
** Also fun: When driving the coffin to a funeral, Romanians honk and throw money to facilitate the passing (yes, fun – I think visiting haunted forests at night is fun, so this is at least as entertaining).
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“Romanians eat everything with bread.”
I live for bread. Seriously, March was supposed to be my extreme-diet-month of eating only vegetables/fruits/seeds/nuts to throw some medicine-related kilos out of the window, but half-way the month I had to make some adjustments: I’m a miserable human-being without my daily bread intake. I relate to Romanians on an almost spiritual level, bread-wise.
Throw some of the previous mentioned ‘mancare depost’ in the mix and bloooooob: there’s Rawdia, Cluj Napoca’s most delicious restaurant. From healthy to healthier, this place knows how to feed you meals your momma would be proud of without compromising on taste. And the good news is, they’re not only in Cluj, but also in Brasov, Bucharest and Sibiu.
Yet another reason to keep on travelling in that wonderful land that’s called Romania: gotta catch ‘em all!
I live for bread. Seriously, March was supposed to be my extreme-diet-month of eating only vegetables/fruits/seeds/nuts to throw some medicine-related kilos out of the window, but half-way the month I had to make some adjustments: I’m a miserable human-being without my daily bread intake. I relate to Romanians on an almost spiritual level, bread-wise.
Throw some of the previous mentioned ‘mancare depost’ in the mix and bloooooob: there’s Rawdia, Cluj Napoca’s most delicious restaurant. From healthy to healthier, this place knows how to feed you meals your momma would be proud of without compromising on taste. And the good news is, they’re not only in Cluj, but also in Brasov, Bucharest and Sibiu.
Yet another reason to keep on travelling in that wonderful land that’s called Romania: gotta catch ‘em all!
Chickpeas-leer-soup with raw vegan bread, seasoned cauliflower on buckwheat and tapioca-pudding with home-made chocolate. That’s some proper cutting-edge stuff in my tummy!
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