Cluj-Napoca – Beauty of the Town

During my stay, I was pretty busy with tours to the surrounding areas, however, I did take a couple of days to explore the city and see her beauty! Cluj-Napoca is the second most populated city in Romania and is home to ten universities, giving it a fun vibe with lots of outdoor and artistic activities. Cluj also has a big variety of architectural styles from Gothic to Renaissance to Modern/Eclectic.

On my free days, I had fun roaming around the streets and parks. Here are a few of my favorite buildings including the Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral, The National Theater/Opera, the Twin Buildings, and a couple of unnamed gems.

I also made a visit to the Grădina Botanică (Botanical Gardens). Upon entering, I was blown away by the beautiful rose gardens and organized layout of plants. As I carried on through the grounds, I found some nice areas and some overgrown areas needing some care. There are also a few good greenhouses, a natural area with a stream/waterfalls, and a water tower open for climbing up and grabbing a bit of a view. In the afternoon several school groups arrived for year end field trips which was fun!

As my time in Cluj was coming to an end, I became more and more frustrated with Eurail. I had purchased my pass after looking at the trip planner and seeing I could travel between Romania and Croatia to Bosnia and Herzegovina and then on to Montenegro. I thought this would get me to the end of my month pass and then I’d find a way into Albania. This, however, was not in the cards. The trains in Eastern Europe are actually very scarce to non-existent and if they do exist, most schedules are not listed with Eurail, so it take a lot of work in foreign languages and waiting at stations to try and figure it out. I was over fighting it, so I gave up the battle and surrendered to what felt right and fell into place much easier.

I flew out of Cluj-Napoca getting a few last chuckles at the Duty Free shop which I think is actually larger than the entire terminal and very proud of its Dracula merchandise. The terminal is one room with 4 or 5 doors leading out to busses which take you to the planes. After a bit of a delay, they actually packed the entire full flight full of people on one bus and we were off!

I will leave you in suspense on my next destination, but I promise it will be awesome!!!

Hugs, Michelle