I solo travelled to Romania around end of 2019, visiting Timisoara and Cluj Napoca.
Purpose of travel: Literally nothing to do in my annual leave. Saw some cheap flight tickets to Romania. Haven't been to Romania. Might as well.
Day 1: Arriving in Timisoara
I took Wizz Air from Sheffield/Doncaster Airport, 3 hours flight to Timisoara. Timisoara is the unofficial capital city for the historical region of Banat. Banat is now divided between Northern Serbia and Western Romania. For travelling between airport and city center, I forgot to put in the promo code for the local cab hailing app, oh well, it cost me around 70 lei (around GBP12) to get to the city from airport. Bus cost 4.50 lei. Oh well, I've been spending extravagantly, which is what I'm planning to do. So far, I don't see any Asian looking face around Timisoara. I feel a bit out of place. Which also means, I am visiting less touristic place of the country. Timisoara still have Christmas market after Christmas, which is totally unexpected. I bought the Romanian version of garlic bread - actually quite nice.
Day 2: Exploring Timisoara
It was rather cold throughout the day. I'm actually a bit surprised by the cold weather. Guess this is more of a Central European climate as opposed to balkan heat. Anyhow, the walking tour which was supposed to happen did not happen, so I did my own thing, and went inside the Romanian Orthodox Church. The church is well decorated. I get to witness everyday Romanians doing their rituals of praying, very different from the free form worship of charismatic christians. Going inside the church is free of charge. I also tried to go to the Museum of Communist Consumers, but I think google map mislead me, and I did not find it. Oh well. Then, I bought some food from the Christmas market. I bought an assortment of meat + potato. I ate outside, in the freezing weather. Then, I went to the Bega shopping centre. I don't think it is qualified to be called a shopping centre, nothing much inside. I tried to go to the post office to send some Timisoara postcards, but it's closed today, due to Christmas/New Year holidays. Next, I go to the National Museum of Banat. It was supposed to be housed at the fortress at the city centre. But since the fortress has been going though renovation works for the past couple of years as I understand, the museum is now housed temporary in a bastion. Nothing much inside, except for an exhibition about the life of a 19th century Banat resident. I was expecting to learn about the national identity of Banats, but I was disappointed. Next, I went to the art museum. The art museum is located in a Baroque-styled palace. Very nice building. As far as I understand, this building was built during the Hapsburg empire, and sought to replicate Parisian architecture. I went back for a rest at the hostel. The benefit of staying in a centrally located hostel is that I can go back to the hostel anytime. For dinner, I went out the Christmas market again, this time I bought Romanian food (the way I describe it bluntly): Romanian "kebab", Romanian sauerkraut stuffed inside a bell pepper, and Romanian cabbage rolls. These are Romanian food, as per google search. Overall, I had a good time exploring Timisoara. I'm glad I travelled alone, as I can do whatever, eat whenever, and rest whenever. The downside is that I could not share this experience with anyone, and I do not possess any pictures of myself and the city.
Day 3: Arriving in Cluj Napoca
Did not have a great start this morning as I overslept. Luckily I still managed to make it to the Timisoara Nord train station. The distance between Timisoara and Cluj Napoca is actually not that far. But due to the crappy rail system of Romania in which no high speed rail link exist between the two cities, the journey took more than 6 hours. I slept all the way. Cluj napoca is less touristic than I expected. The Christmas market is very nice! However, I am very surprised by the lack of hostel options. I have to stay in a hotel for 3 nights. Good for privacy, but not so good for the budget. I was very tired as I couldn't sleep all night yesterday. So I slept most of the afternoon. I managed to get out of my room and take a walk around the city. The union square is very beautiful. As this is still within Christmas market period, the square is full of stores, ice skating rings, and christmas decorations. I went to the Transylvania National Museum. Sadly it was closed for renovation, except for the temporal exhibition of Romanian Revolutions 1989 (30th year anniversary special), which is quite ok. Then, I walked up to the fortress hill. I must say it is very under-developed. So much potential here. Cluj Napoca has a lot to learn from cities like Prague and Lisbon. The hotel on top of the fortress hill seems old and run down. I had Hungarian food as my lunch, bought from the Christmas market. Hungarian culture is the identity of Transylvania. Thus, it was held tightly. Then, I went to the Romanian orthodox church, observing the Romanians doing their rituals. I'm surprised I don't have to pay entry fees. It was very cold today, mostly below freezing point. I had a good time exploring Cluj Napoca, although I hoped for more old town stuff, as seen in many European cities.
Day 4: Turda Salt Mine
Started off my day with an average complimentary breakfast from Hotel Meteor. It's complimentary, so I'm not supposed to complain. Anyhow, I went off and took Alis bus from Cluj Napoca to a small town named Turda, 30 minutes from Cluj Napoca by bus. From my perspective, I think Romanians love their mini-express-bus because the trains are crap. The trip from Cluj Napoca to Turda is 5 lei. From Turda, there is bus 17 which travels from town centre to the salt mine, every 1 hour 20 min. I waited for an hour for this bus, the whole time thinking about how nice would it be to drive in Romania, able to come and go as wished instead of waiting for a bus, wasting all my time. Anyhow, the bus did not come, so I took a cab, cost me 13 lei. Not too bad. The salt mine entry costs 40 lei. I must say I did not regret coming to this salt mine. Inside the salt mine, there are ferry's wheel, mini bowling, table tennis, boating, and much more. Very interesting mine. I went back to Turda town using the bus. Then I took Alis bus back to Cluj Napoca from Turda. For some reasons I was very tired and slept all the way. Bought some souvenirs and some food from the Christmas market and thus concluded my day. It was a rather relaxing day, though I must say I am a bit frustrated by the time used in waiting for transport in Romania.
Day 5: Turda Gorge
I was supposed to visit Corvin Castle via early morning train to Deva today, but I overslept and ended up visiting Turda again. This time, I decided to go for a hike. I went to Turda using Alis Bus, and then took a cab to Turda Gorge. This is where all the interesting stuff happened. When the cab driver dropped me off at the hiking trail entry of Turda Gorge, there was not a single soul around. Apparently now it is off season (can't blame them), and usually around Spring/Summer more people will be around. No stores are open. The cab driver was worried for me and thus walked for the first 5 minutes with me and then he left his phone number before heading back to Turda. Note: Turda Gorge is around 20 minutes drive from Turda city centre. I thought the hotel at Turda Gorge will be in operation so I can ask them to call a cab, but no. And no taxi stands / taxis are found in Turda Gorge. I knew I'm screwed. To make matters worst, there were 3 stray dogs which kept barking from the moment I stepped out of the cab. I started to have thoughts: the stray dogs must have be very hungry and will probably eat me alive. There will be news of chinese tourists being attacked in Turda Gorge. Who will be dumb enough to take a hike during winter? And hence, I walked along the trail, with my steps quicker as I sensed the 3 stray dogs are following me behind and barking. I thought I'm screwed and this whole thing was a mistake. Anyhow, the scenery is gorgeous. The half frozen river, snow covered forest grounds, and imposing rocks makes this a very wonderful scenery. I enjoyed it very much. To my surprise, the stray dogs managed to catch up with me. I thought I will be dead. So I stood still, and not looking in the eyes of the dogs, as recommended by google search results of "how to deal with stray dogs". To my surprise, the dogs did not bite nor bark. They actually wag their tail and sat in front of me. At that instance, I understood one thing. The stray dogs survived by the mercy of the hikers who may or may not hand out food. Thus, it was in the best interest of the dogs to be friendly. I'm so happy. At that time, I saw two more hikers, and I'm very relieved, knowing that I will not die alone in this countryside. I turned back after hiking for an hour or so. On the direction back, I met even more hikers. Thus, I'm not a lunatic for hiking at this time of the year. Then, I was thinking of calling cab. I just realised those cab drivers do not understand english, how the heck am I suppose to call the cab to tell them where I am? Then. a second miracle happen. I asked a group of elderly (probably hungarians) who were hiking around, requesting them to help me call a cab to Turda. They don't understand my english, and I don't understand their hungarian/romanian. And to my surprise, they offered to get me to the main road where I can take a bus / taxi to Turda. Wow! So they dropped me off at the bus stop at the main road, so kind of them! What a miracle! Then, at the bus stop, apparently the bus is late. Thus, the two ladies who were waiting there hailed a cab, and I joined in. The cab dropped us off at Turda city centre. I paid one-eighth of the price for the journey from Turda Gorge to Turda city centre which would otherwise cost me if I took a cab. What a miracle! Later, I visited the Turda historical museum. I was the only visitor that time. It was small but ok. Then, I went back to Cluj Napoca using Alis bus. The post offices in Cluj Napoca are closed and hence I could not send any postcards from Romania. After a long rest in the hotel, I went to the Unirii city square again, this time, to see the new year eve celebrations. There are live shows which I had no idea what the singers were singing, except for Dance Monkey by Tones and I, which quickly became my favourite EDM song. There were crowds of people. Then, the whole crowd moved to the city square in front of the metropolitan orthodox church. The fireworks was awesome. It was a great experience to spend new year in Romania.
Day 6: Leaving Romania
Flight at 0640 from Cluj Napoca to Birmingham, UK. Thus conclude the awesome and spontaneous trip to Romania.
Slight regret of not visiting Corvin's castle, Sibiu, Brasov, and Bucharest whilst in Romania. Oh well, might not be next time but at least I can tell everyone how Romania (Transylvania) is like.
