Cluj

This has probably been the highlight of my trip so far. 

I walked around Cluj, not so interesting.  Then I met Adrian later that night, the CouchSurfer I would be staying with.  Awesome.  Really generous guy, we had a good talk about cultural differences, etc, and then he gave me a taste of homemade palinka, which is a strong alcohol with a fruit base that’s common in Hungary and Romania.  It was something I had wanted to try when I saw it in Budapest.  Seeing it in the reused 2L soda bottle, homemade, made it all the better, really authentic.  Adrian even gave me a half-litre to take with me.

Today I arrived at the tourist office in Cluj, and asked about visiting the salt mine.  There was a German named Sven in there and he was asking about going to the gorge nearby.  We decided to go together.  He had spent two weeks studying Romanian in Cluj and having him around was really helpful for me, since we met a lot of Romanians that didn’t speak English along the way.

We took a public bus to Turda, an hour away, for ~$2 each. We saw the saltmine. It was great, very dramatic. Although there were signs forbidding stealing pieces of salt, I couldn’t help myself; I got a souvenir.

Then got a minibus for ~$1 and dropped ~2km away from the gorge.  Sven and I met an Italian, Pietro, en route.  As we walked to the gorge, a guy in a Diaca (Romanian car) stopped and told us to hop in; he would take us to the gorge.  His name was Bali.

The Romanians I’ve met have been extremely generous.  The landscape here in Transylvania is beautiful, but the people, who are awesome, have made the experience so much better.

Bali basically became our guide, but wasn’t looking for money.  He walked us through the beautiful gorge, and then brought us to a quaint bar/restaurant at the other end.  It was run by an old Romania couple, and they only had fish to offer us. Some trout.  But it was perfect, and we were starving.

Bali then took us up the 300-meter mountain.  It was exhausting.  It was a really hot day.  Sweaty.  Excellent views from the top. 

Then we hung out with some Romanians.  One guy had a watermelon and gave us each a big slice.  It was beautiful.

Then Bali offered to take us to meet the bus.  He only asked for a few dollars for gas money.  We tried to give him more but he refused.  Great guy.  A Hungarian born in Romania.

We got the minibus back to Turda, and then as we waited for the bus back to Cluj, a guy with a car sold us a spot in his car for the same price as the bus.  Free enterprise.  It was much quicker, although not totally legit.

Then I met up with Adrian who had arranged a meeting with some local CouchSurfers at a bar.  It was a blast, and I met some great people there.