From 20-27 May, I was in Romania for work. Transylvania in fact. We all survived without a vampire attack – I didn’t even see a bat.
A highlight was the traditional haystacks in the rural areas. Such a sight! Big, small, solo, in pairs or rows … it really made me want to do a bicycle tour through the countryside capturing all the haystacks and scenery. But that would be almost a death wish – the roads were terrible, like a patchwork of attempted repairs. I will never complain about a rogue pothole again.
It was my first trip to Romania and I hope to go back. The people were extremely friendly and wanted to show us all the country has to offer – even if we were in a conference centre in Cluj-Napoca for the first four days. We then spent two days sightseeing in the Carpathian Mountains, visiting a salt mine; an incredible underground cave system, full of stalagmites and stalactites, where bears lived; a village which has so far held off the destruction of gold mining; and an ice cave. On the final day, we went to an artisans market where I bought a handmade rug for the bedroom.
The rug. I paid too much, but I love it!
Here are some visual collections of the week in Romania.
Wishing you a wonderful day.
Below: Scenes from Cluj-Napoca – we were there during the town’s annual festival and a traditional dinner was put on for the conference guests. I love the woman’s skirt, socks and shoes.
Below: The salt mine (containing an amusement park, which was totally unexpected), the ice cave, bear cave and markets.
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[…] I had grand plans to finally write about Romania, my sister’s visit, the surprise house down on the Wohlensee, the garden at home and in the […]
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Some great photos Ange x
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I didn’t really edit them properly, but I have to get back into the swing of writing again. So it was a matter of pressing publish and be done with it!
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Romania looks so ‘old school’ – a place you want to see before it starts to look like everywhere else.
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You’re right Judy! It would be amazing to spend more time there.
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Looks like a fascinating trip – love the rug! And the socks/shoes – just been reading about the history of Estonian knitting and they also had a lot of “tie-on”-style shoes, socks over leggings and the like… love costumes 🙂
When I was a child we holidayed in Tirol in Austria and there used to be haystacks like this – we said they were the trolls coming down the mountain! Here in the Ostschweiz you also occasionally still see them…
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It’s nice to know the haystacks are still around swissrose – another reason to come to Ostschweiz! The regional/national costumes were lovely and gave me the feeling of missing something I’ve never had – a national costume. I think there is a word for it in German – fernweh – but that’s more about a place. Anelo is the word in Spanish for that feeling (I just read that on the internet, so not 100% sure!)
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They are so lovely. here are some more for you…
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I love your haystacks! Thank you so much for sharing them with me. I’d love to build one, one day. They really make the landscape look peaceful and loved.
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many thanks
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So you got the chance to visi a bit…especially the mountains, which are amazing! I really hope you enjoyed everything. The hikings here are amazing. I live in Cluj and I really do think is one of Romanian’s most beautiful city.
ps: you can also check my last article…it’s about one beautiful place close to Cluj. Maybe it will take you down on memory lane
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Hello andbeatrice! Thank you for your lovely message. I really enjoyed my Romanian trip and was impressed with the beauty of the land and the people. Everyone was so helpful and the festival in Cluj was a highlight! I didn’t even exchange my Romanian Lei – I’m keeping it, ready for the next trip 🙂
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