Day 26 – July 8th – Brasov to Cluj Napoca
It was very pleasant to sit in the small courtyard of the Casa Albert taking time over breakfast before our long trip to Cluj-Napoca, some 320k to the north west of Brasov, and deeper into the centre of Transylvania. We were keen to get an early start, but the staff of the bistro like to do things slowly, and the office of the Casa Albert didn’t open until 9am.
However, we packed the car and drove away from beautiful Brasov by 9:30am, negotiating our way easily out of Brasov to the north. The road was surprisingly good, and we were able to keep a steady 80-90kph except for the frequent towns and villages which dropped the speed to 50kph. The temperature was really warming up, and eventually got to about 35 degrees. We were glad to be in the car with its air-con. Due to the heat, there was a thick heat haze which almost hid the distant mountains from view, mountains which would otherwise have made very dramatic photos.
The countryside was nevertheless beautiful, and surprisingly flat with the wall of steep mountains in the distance. It was frequently lovely to see sheep herds with their shepherds in the fields. We felt sorry for the shepherds out in the heat all day. It struck us that there was almost a complete absence of fences, something we are very used to in Australia. Shepherds are a standard item in this country, hence no need for fences. We also noticed the same with cattle herds – not restrained by fences but under the care of ‘cow herders’. At one point we had to stop suddenly because a herd of cattle, under the care of their herder, decided to cross the busy road. We assumed that Romanians are used to this – in Australia there would be some attempt to warn traffic.
We actually made quite good time, deciding to bi-pass the beautiful town of Sibiu with its well preserved medieval town centre in order to get to our destination at a reasonable hour. We were only staying overnight at Cluj-Napoca, and wanted to use the limited time there to good effect.
We stopped for petrol for the first time about 30k out of Cluj-Napoca. A lovely lady served us who had no English. Apparently we had a choice of fuels other than diesel. We had no idea but she was very helpful, guiding us away from the diesel pump in particular. Anyway we worked it, and bought two coffees which were served in very small paper cups, but no lids – apparently the idea of ‘take-away’ cups hasn’t made it this far into Transylvania. Every experience is interesting nevertheless.
We made it to Cluj-Napoca by about 3pm. It is actually the 2nd most populous city in Romania (to Bucharest) with a population of some 350,000. It is the unofficial capital of the historical Province of Transylvania. Thanks to our GPS, we made it to the city centre – our Hotel Agape was located in the old town centre. The traffic was fast and furious, which we have come to expect, and finding a park was a test of our patience and ingenuity. Anyway, after circling the beautiful St Michael’s Catholic Cathedral block twice, and only once turning into the wrong side of oncoming buses and taxis and a small heart attack for both of us, we found the only car space in the city, which was about 100m from the Hotel.
It was steaming hot, but once we checked in, we headed out to check out the old historical centre. Prior to Roman conquest in 106AD, the pre-Roman settlement was called ‘Napoca’ which was then affirmed by the Romans. The Romanians called it Cluj up until 1974 when the Communists decided to re-introduce the pre-Roman ‘Napoca’ as a national gesture to emphasise the pre-Roman roots.
Compared to Brasov we were a little disappointed in the old centre of Cluj. It was still used by traffic with only two small areas being pedestrian free. The streets have electric wires and cables strung everywhere which makes taking photos very difficult. The city has a vast number of beautiful old buildings, which speaks of a glorious past, but many of the buildings are not well maintained or rejuvenated, which makes everything at first glance look weary and tired. Being such a hot day didn’t help us, because it was an effort to keep pressing on.
We climbed ‘Fortress Hill’ on the edge of the old city, and across the river, which was well worth the effort. We had grand views of the city with its typical European city skyline, the lovely spires of St Michael’s and the magnificent Orthodox Basilica which resembles St Paul’s in London and which dominated the skyline.
On top of Fortress Hill is a massive Cross which stands high over the city. I looked dwarfed beside it – it is possibly 50 metres high and is visible for miles around. We were glad to have made the effort, and made our way back to visit the Orthodox Basilica before finally getting back to our lovely air-conditioned room.
Our Hotel needs special mention – it has a charming old world feel. ‘Agape’ is the Greek word for ‘love’ and is always used of the love of God (as opposed to other Greek words for love such as eros for sexual love, and phileo used more for brotherly affection). The Hotel is part of the ministry of St Michael’s Catholic Church Parish. The building must date to the 19th century at least, and has more of a monastic feel especially with the décor and the lovely stained glass windows and frescoes which are prevalent.
Our room is actually a one bedroom apartment, with a separate large lounge room and cable TV. We are very comfortable here, but happy to move on to Sapanta tomorrow which sits right on the border with Ukraine in the ancient Province of Maramures.
From our charming and nicely cooled Hotel Agape, a ministry of the Parish of St Michael’s Catholic Church community, we send our love.
KRA
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