Mini Travel Guides

Start with the soup. That might be the best advice for anybody who is about to be intoduced to Romanian food. The country’s cuisine is at its very best when it comes to the various types of tasty soup – “ciorba” – with which it is traditional to commence any sit-down meal. Bits of chopped meat, as well as vegetables like beans, carrots and potatoes, are common ingredients, as are dill and other herbs. Soup with meat dumplings (ciorba de perisoara) is a favorite, and so is stewed beef soup (ciorba de vacuta).

In fact, one of the most distinctive signature items in the whole of Romanian cookery is a soup. Not for the faint of heart, it is named ciorba de burta, and is a creamy, sour, yellow-colored concoction containing rubbery strips of cow stomach and slices of red pepper. It’s traditionally consumed with a curly, long, hot green pepper on the side, and a dollop or two of sour cream added according to taste. Delicious!

Not that the main courses in Romania are anything to sneeze at. Study the menu of any restaurant and you will be able to select from a range of simple grilled or fried cuts of pork, beef or chicken. Common options include leg (pulpe), breast (piept), sirloin (muschi), nape (ceafa) or cutlet (cotlet). The most frequent accompaniment is French fries (cartofi prajiti), and the fries are sometimes sprinkled with shredded soft cheese (telemea). Other typical side garnishes are mamaliga, a yellow corn meal, and cucumbers or peppers pickled in brine.

And then there are the dishes where things are mixed up a little. There is frigarui, in which chunks of cooked meat alternate with bits of sweet pepper and crisp onion along the length of a skewer. There’s the pork cutlet with a layer of cooked cheese that is found in Transylvania, known as cotlet sibien. Or there are stewy platters like tochitura, a peasant favorite in which an assortment of fried pork pieces, including bits of liver and sausage, swim in tomato sauce spiked with garlic and paprika. This might come with a slab of mamaliga topped by a fried egg. Pomana and tocana are other words for stew-type dishes.

Several smaller dishes provide a delightful way to experience Romanian cuisine. Sarmale is a national specialty, consisting of cabbage or vine leaves rolled up around minced meat that is mixed with herbs and rice. These are cooked until they are soft, and they go very well with a spoonful of sour cream. Liver (ficat) is also a popular light meal. It is generally offered in small portions because of its rich flavour. And a typical vegetarian option simply consists of a slice of mamaliga served with cottage cheese and sour cream.
For those long Romanian summer evenings, there are mici or mititei – grilled cylinders of minced pork and beef, served with bread and mustard. They taste great with a beer.
For dessert, the most typical choice is pancakes (clatite) stuffed with a sharp-tasting jam, cheese curd, or poppy seeds. But there’s also a tasty type of doughnut, named papanasi, that comes filled with that bitter Romanian jam.

Finally, don’t be surprised if a meal in a Romanian restaurant comes with a bread roll that you didn’t ask for, but then turns out to be listed on the bill. This is not an attempt to rip you off. It is just a part of the local culture – many Romanians cannot imagine eating a meal without bread.

Written by David Hill for EuropeUpClose.com

Cluj, in central Romania, is among the best-served cities in the country when it comes to dining and drinking. The city even has its own dish, Varza a la Cluj, which contains cabbage leaves and minced meat in alternating layers reminiscent of lasagna. What follows is a list of a few personal favorite places to imbibe and ingest in Cluj, Romania, starting with five that are right on the main square, Piata Unirii.

Ursus is an unpretentious place with a basic interior; a long tube-shaped hall filled with rows of tables. The fare is homey Romanian food, which typically means a grilled or fried cut of meat served with French fries and a side order of pickled vegetables. Dessert might be a crepe filled with jam. Prices at Ursus are cheap, service is friendly, but a bit slow. It is almost inconceivable to eat here without having a bottle of beer, as the restaurant is owned by the Ursus Brewery which is based in Cluj. The brewery makes one of the finest Romanian lagers.

Ernesto is a good spot for a quiet evening meal. Located in the underground level of a building, it has a restful ambience, helped by its brick arches and subtle colored lights. Its cuisine is pan-European, with caviar among the flashier appetizers, and steak, lobster and duck dishes among the entrees.

Hotel Melody is a landmark institution, with flashing neon signs which seem to date back to the mid 20th century. Its second floor boasts a pleasant restaurant where even non-guests can enjoy a traditional Romanian meal.

By contrast, Diesel Club is a modern café and bar where hipsters hang out. The coffee here is pretty good, and it is nice to sip it while sitting at one of the outdoor tables on a sunny day.

Flowers caters to a different type of contemporary crowd. It is an alternative teahouse in a new-age style, with a tip of the hat to Central European Secessionist arts; check-out the Alfons Mucha illustrations in the interior wall arches. A wide range of teas and coffees are served here.

Now to stray beyond Piata Unirii. Casa Ardeleana is inside a shopping mall, but it doesn’t feel like it once you enter the restaurant. It has a folksy feel, with embroidered wall hangings and wooden furniture. This is also reflected in the cuisine, which is traditional Romanian, including delicious rich soups and a good Varza a la Cluj. The place is quite popular at lunchtime.

Close by is the elegant Hubertus, with its modern décor and outstanding food and service. The name comes from the patron saint for hunters and game dishes are among the house specialties. They include stag, pheasant and deer. Other imaginative dishes include salmon carpaccio and camembert with fruit. And there’s the cross-cultural experience of eating paprika chicken – a Hungarian delicacy – accompanied by the very Romanian garnish of polenta (known locally as mamaliga.) They offer a great choice of international beers and wines as well.

Restaurant Matei Corvin is located on the street of the same name, both named after a Hungarian king who was born on this street. The restaurant’s slightly cramped interior is complemented with a random selection of paintings. It offers big, hearty portions of Romanian foods – including a tasty tripe soup.

For Hungarian specialties really well done, try Nostalgia, located on Strada Universitatii. It’s a friendly place where they serve delights such as crispy duck with mashed potatos and steamed red cabbage, pork cutlets soaked in garlic, and cabbage leaves stuffed with minced meat.

If you want to get more international, try Club Roland Garros, located slightly north of the city center. It has an imaginative and large menu with Mediterranean touches, such as octopus salad, moussaka, and many pasta options. It is unusually vegetarian-friendly by Romanian standards – the menu even indicates which dishes are meat-free. It has a stylish sport-pub interior, and a pleasant terrace down by the rustling river. From here, you can look up at the bridge leading into the city center and at the elegant 19th-century buildings on the far side. If only the river were not greenish-brown and dotted with garbage.

A more unexpected international menu is encountered at Napoca 15, a restaurant whose name is also its address. While its rivals vie to offer the best local food or the best “western” cuisine, this place offers specialties from other East European countries. There’s a Bratislava-style pork cutlet (which is stuffed with brain), a Prague schnitzel, a chicken Kiev and a Stroganoff.

Bistro 1900 is a place aiming for a European turn-of-the-century mood. There’s not much variety on the menu except for a wide range of light pasta dishes, which arrive very well presented. There’s a good choice of Romanian wines, and the bistro also does a hot chocolate that is delightfully bitter.

Pizza Rex only serves pizza and pasta. But the food is tasty and the service is brisk – a rarity in Romania. It has a pleasingly simple décor, with dark wood furniture against yellow walls, and the arrangement of its tables in booths makes for a comfortable atmosphere.

Lugano, with its elegant menu design and prices toward the high end, is going for a more posh experience. It serves truffles and fancy Italian dishes in a serene, peach-colored interior. Service isn’t quite as good as the food.

Finally, there’s the unique experience of Etno Club, which is in the basement of a building that also contains a museum of ethnography. Hence the curious combination of folk furnishings – wooden tables and chairs and the occasional antler or wagon wheel on the wall – all with techno music. The menu consists of typical Romanian dishes, plus pizza. Come in the summer, when the establishment spills out of its walls, setting about 50 large tables in the gorgeous courtyard.

Casa Ardeleana
Bd. 21 Decembrie 1989 5 (Sora Shopping Center)

Hubertus
Bulevardul 21 Decembrie 1989 22

Diesel Club
Piata Unirii 17

Pizza Rex
Str. Bolyai 6

Written by David Hill for EuropeUpClose.com

The area of Romania known as Calata (in Romanian) or Kalotaszeg (in Hungarian) may be rich in traditions, but it also has some unexpected sides. In among the sleepy Transylvanian villages and farms, the well-preserved medieval churches, and the peasant handicrafts, there are a few unusual things that stand out.

For one, there is the castle in the village of Stana (Sztana in Hungarian) that was built in 1910 by Karoly Kos, a Hungarian architect. Called the Varjuvar, or “crow castle,” it served as his home and workshop for a good portion of his life. Kos was a student of the area’s folk architecture, and he incorporated elements of it into his own creations. But for all the traditional features of its construction, the building definitely has the feel of having been created in the modern era, and by a highly individual, waywardly talented person.

Other people answering that description were among the residents of a notable architectural complex in Ciucea (Csucsa). This complex, atop a promontory at the east edge of the town, was the home of the writer Octavian Goga. It includes a palace with yellow outer walls where Goga himself resided. You can visit his pretty library with 6,000 volumes (he could read in six languages) and the bedroom where he died.

Also on the grounds is a white-colored house, which contains displays of Transylvanian furniture, folk costumes and icons. These items, dating from the 17th to 19th centuries, were collected by Goga. The house, for a while, was the home of the writer Endre Ady with whom Goga had what must be described as a most unlikely friendship. The Hungarian Ady wrote symbolist, erotic poetry, lived hedonistically and criticized rural life compared to his own  urban existence, while Goga, a patriotic Romanian, celebrated the charm of villages.

Another interesting feature here is the mausoleum where Goga and his wife, Veturia, lie side-by-side. Veturia, a visual artist, created the colorful mosaic work that covers the mausoleum – it took her 20 years.

The grounds also contain a little stone church, where services are still sometimes held. Constructed in 1575 in a nearby village, the church was transferred here, stone-by-stone, on the instructions of Veturia Goga, to spare it from destruction. The church is quite tiny inside – watch your head! The whole Ciucea complex can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday between 10am and 5pm. Incidentally, Ciucea also happens to be a good place to bathe in the Cris river, as it runs quite shallow here and the water is warm in summer.

Belis (Josikafalva) is a village with a haunting story to tell. Its inhabitants were forced to move from the original, low-lying location to the top of a hill in the early 70s when the communist government decided to create an artificial lake here. The old village church still stands under the lake, although the local folk did take its furniture and icons with them and even exhumed their dead to rebury them in the new site. The church is still clearly visible to the many tourists who row boats across the lake or scuba-dive under its surface. In hot weather, the cross atop the church tower appears above the water’s surface. It is said that under the church is a fortune. Belis today is a very nice, relaxing  resort town with a host of tourism, sport and spa facilities. The surrounding hills are also good for hiking, strolling, and skiing.

The main town in the region, Huedin, is a great place to see an architectural phenomenon that has become quite prevalent in Transylvania over the past ten or fifteen years. These are the showy mansions built by people of the Roma (Gypsy) ethnicity. This group has increased in size in Huedin since the fall of communism, and several families have become wealthy (at least by local standards), thanks to money sent home by young relatives who work in western countries. They have poured the cash into big houses topped with glittering roofs made of steel galvanized with zinc. Occasionally the roofs are adorned by shiny insignia such as western automobile logos or currency symbols.

Finally, a head-scratcher. Calata/Kalotaszeg is known as an area populated by Hungarian-speakers, and as a stronghold of ancient customs of that ethnicity. But Calata also happens to be the name of one particular village in the area, and it’s a highly unusual one: its residents are Romanians.

Written By David Hill for EuropeUpClose

In western Romania, between the city of Cluj and the town of Ciucea, is an area of gentle hills and winding roads, of sunflowers and storks, quaint villages and ancient churches. Called Calata in Romanian, it’s known as Kalotaszeg to the ethnic Hungarians who form the majority of the population, and who continue to practice age-old handicrafts and customs. Agri-tourism thrives here, with many villagers renting out rooms in their homes, while others advertise with the German words “Zimmer frei” (room free).

The people are friendly and unhurried, happy to exchange a “jo napot kivanok” (good day) with a passer-by. You’ll spot some interesting headgear, with women toting headscarves or broad straw hats while men wear tweed trilbys (black felt hats) or porkpies. Considering the unforgiving sun that beats down in summer, head protection is wise.

A lot of houses are decoratively hewn from wood, and filled with embroidered drapery and pillows, stoves covered with carved tiles, and red-painted furniture with floral motifs. In an incongruous modern touch, some homes have satellite dishes, picking up TV stations from Hungary.

Quaint villages hold beautiful old churches, with whitewashed outer walls but colorful decorations inside. If a church is closed, ask around the village for the priest – “preot” in Romanian or “pap” in Hungarian – who will let you in. The churches, originally Catholic, now mostly serve the Calvinist denomination, to which many Transylvanian Hungarians converted in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The main town is Huedin (Banffyhunyad in Hungarian), home to about 10,000 people. It is built around a main road, lined with shops selling car parts, household appliances and hardware, with a great deal of through auto traffic thundering along.  Huedin’s church, founded in the 13th century, has much in common with others in the area. Its interior walls are festooned with cloths decorated with red and blue embroidery that depicts traditional motifs or spells out heart-warming rhymes. A cloth like this is known in Hungarian as “falvedo” (wall-protector.) You’ll see another typical feature if you look up from the wooden pews and study the church’s slightly warped ceiling. The ceiling is covered with a patchwork of wood panels (“cassettes”) painted with religious or folkloric designs and sayings. These were added to the area’s churches in the 18th century. Another 18th century touch found here, and in other churches, is the carved pulpit, topped by a sculpted pelican. This bird was used to symbolize Jesus, because of its mythical habit of nourishing its chicks with its own blood. If the church is closed, you can find the priest at number 28 on the side street that runs by it.

Next to the church stands a tower, which was already here by 1411. It formed part of what was originally an entire fortified surrounding wall, where Huedin residents took shelter during raids by Turks. Right opposite the church is the hulking concrete Complex Comercial Vladeasa, a block that contains a large restaurant named Montana. It has a covered terrace in front with log tables and benches and it is not a bad place to eat.

As for smaller localities in the area, one worth visiting is Sancraiu (Kalotaszentkiraly). It is also an agri-tourism center, with many residents offering rooms for tourists. A dance camp is held every August and has grown to become an international event. It is organized by Davincze Tours, which operates out of house 291 near the church. The village’s 13th century church proudly displays a ceiling covered with 200 panels.

Another village, Vistea (Magyarvista), contains a church on a little hill in its center. It’s approached by entering a gate and climbing a spiraling path framed by stone walls, into which gravestones are set at intervals. Founded in 1280, the church was renovated several times in subsequent centuries but retains many original features. In a throwback to the days when Christianity was something to which locals had to be introduced gently, you’ll spot some pre-Christian symbols – a moon, sun and stars – on the southern entrance. Other intriguing, old characteristics can be found inside. Frescos dating from earlier than 1580 were uncovered in 1913, having been designed and created  in the days before the local population converted from Catholicism to Protestantism. Calvinist ideas about proper church decor required that the frescos be covered up after the conversion. Incidentally, this was one of the first Reformed churches throughout Transylvania, having made the switch only a few years after Calvinism was established in the region. Unusually, the Vistea church’s bell tower is separate from the main building, and made of wood. The timber is said to have come from a now extinct forest which grew on a hill close by while the bell was forged in 1784. The priest lives next to the church, his house and yard separated from the church grounds by a simple gate.

Many master masons operate in Vistea, with signs on their houses advertising their skills. It’s an industry for which the village’s inhabitants have had an excellent reputation for centuries.

Other lovely village churches – displaying many of the same typical features – are in Valeni (Magyarvalko) and Manastireni (Magyareromonostor). And there is a particularly large one in Izvorul Crisului (Korosfo). It is surrounded by fortifications and stands on a hill. While it shares the cassette ceiling found in other churches in the area, it has one unique feature: a 1660 Turkish carpet. This was donated by Gyorgy Rakoczi II, prince of Transylvania, in gratitude to the villagers who nursed him after he was injured fighting Turk invaders.  Izvorul Crisului is also a great shopping village. In fact, its entire main street is full of shops selling craft and art items. Some of these are tacky trinkets, identical from store to store. But look more closely and you will find some interesting handmade wall hangings and ceramics – charming pieces of Kalotaszeg to take home with you.

Written by David Hill  for EuropeUpClose

Welcome to Cluj, Romania: a city that for centuries has embodied the religious diversity typical of its region, Transylvania. Survey downtown Cluj, Romania, from atop the citadel hill to its north, and you can see churches of six denominations. Scanning left to right, you first see the tall domed tower of the Romanian Orthodox church, then the spire of the Unitarian church, which swells into a bulb before rising to a point. Next is the white-topped Lutheran church. Then look into the distance to find the massive bulk of the Calvinist church, before bringing your focus back to the foreground to observe the largest church, a Roman Catholic one. Finally, there is the small gray roof of the Greek Catholic church.

Then, consider that the Unitarian, Lutheran, Greek Catholic and Orthodox buildings are not just any old churches, but cathedrals: the seats of bishops in their respective denominations.

Since it would be overwhelming to tour all these churches in one go, I will focus on the two biggest cathedrals: the Orthodox and the Catholic. The four smaller churches - and a couple of interesting others that don’t happen to be visible from that hill – have their own curious stories to tell, so they will be the subject of a whole different post.

The Orthodox cathedral, with its carved stone facade built onto a skeleton of concrete, serves the Romanian community which, today, is the largest ethnic group in Cluj. It was erected between 1923 and 1933, after Transylvania became part of Romania. Intended as a monument of Romanian national pride, the building has neo-Byzantine architectural features – most notably its central cupola. The church is 64 meters tall and has room for 2,000 worshippers. Its interior dazzles with large mosaics and murals in many colors, with gold predominating. Walking straight ahead from the main entrance, you eventually reach a grand iconostasis with icons arranged in five rows. From the huge alcove behind it, a mural of Mary and Jesus gazes down at you. Hanging far down from the interior of the cupola is a massive chandelier shaped like a crown, which was a gift from Carol II, King of Romania.

The Orthodox cathedral stands on a square called Piata Avram Iancu, one of the main squares in Cluj. And just a few blocks west is another, similarly sized square, Piata Unirii, home to an older, Catholic church. This, the tallest church in Cluj, is, in fact, the tallest in Transylvania, at 80 meters including the cross on top. The magnificent Gothic church, dedicated to the Archangel Michael, is not a cathedral, because Cluj is not a Catholic episcopal seat but, in stead,  falls under the bishopric of nearby Alba Iulia.

Catholicism made a comeback at St Michael’s after a couple of other denominations held it for a while. In 1551, St Michael’s became a Lutheran place of worship, and then became the seat of a Unitarian bishop in 1566. It has been a Hungarian-speaking Catholic church since 1718.

St Michael’s was built between 1350 and 1487, although some of what you see today is reconstruction, including the clock tower which was rebuilt, in neo-Gothic style, in the 19th century. The likeness of St Michael (killing a dragon) above the main door is original. To its left is an inscription in Latin proclaiming that the depiction was installed there in 1444. Still older is the church’s 24-meter altarpiece, made in 1390. The colossal, richly adorned pulpit, carved from wood, is a comparative youngster, dating from 1750. The interior is massive, with huge arches bolstered by two-meter thick pillars separating the side naves from the main one.

There is evidence of conflict between Catholics and Protestants on the church’s interior walls. When they were in control of this building, Protestants obliterated almost every trace of rich, 15th century frescos. But some patches of fresco painting can still be seen, having been uncovered when the church was restored in the mid 20th century. At the rear, under the clock tower, is a small chapel where there is a whole mural showing the Crucifixion.

The rich history of Cluj and its diverse population is indeed reflected in the outstanding art and architecture of  every church you visit. 

Written by David Hill  for EuropeUpClose

Gherla, Romania is a town with 24,000 inhabitants and a character all of its own. Its downtown is little changed since it was first laid out in the 18th century by a community of Armenians who settled here in Transylvania after fleeing invading Tatars.

Though a settlement has been here since the 13th century, the immigrants decided to create a new town center on land that had not previously had streets or houses. They designed a regular grid of square blocks – something that would later become common in the US, but remains unique in Romania. Built in the Baroque style popular at the time, Gherla’s orderly rows of buildings are rather stately, with their large, evenly-placed windows framed by ornamented facades. Some streets are lined with broad beds of roses or marigolds, and since most buildings are single-story, Gherla’s churches retain the prominence they had when they were built.

The Piata Libertatii, a pretty square filled with grass and trees, is the town’s centerpiece. Passing by that square is the main thoroughfare, which is called Strada Bobalna to the north and Strada 1 Decembrie 1918 to its south. Locals just call it “Principala”. Piata Libertatii is dominated by the Catholic church of the Holy Trinity, built by the Armenians in 1748-98. While Michael Apafi, the Transylvanian prince who granted them residence here, had hoped to turn them into Protestants, they met him halfway by shifting from their traditional Armenian Apostolic Church to the Armenian Catholic Church.

The church’s interior is vividly painted and full of expressive sculptures of saints, some endowed with halos dotted with small light bulbs. There is a painting of Christ being taken down from the cross, attributed to Rubens or a pupil of his. This was given to the local Armenian community by Austrian emperor Franz when he sought their material assistance for a war. Much later, at the end of World War II, the painting landed in Budapest. In 1952, Hungary gave it back to Romania, but it was not until 1999 that the painting was returned to Gherla. In the walls of the church’s vestibule, some people have scratched messages to God. Some simply say “ajuta-ne doamne” (help us Lord). Others are more specific, requesting a good exam score or admission to a particular college.

A couple of blocks further east, on Strada Closca, is the intriguing Salamon church, the first one erected by the Amenians in the 1720s. Its walls have paintings whose captions are written in the unique Armenian alphabet. A staircase leads to a pulpit decorated with wood panels depicting the four Evangelists. Effigies of saints stand to the left and right of the main altar area, including one of St. Anthony in his brown habit, holding the Christ child.

A newer and grander edifice is the Romanian Orthodox church, serving what is, today, Gherla’s largest ethnic and religious community. Set off to the west of Strada Bobalna in a park of its own, it is white with a glittering silver dome. Continuing past the church over a little bridge, you come to the main part of this pleasant, large park, which contains massive new statues of Romanian cultural figures like the poets George Cosbuc and Mihai Eminescu. At the center of the park is a circle from which paths radiate, and in whose middle is a fountain with a sculpture of three dancing women.

Further north lies an area that was Gherla’s center before the Armenians came. The difference is palpable, as the grid gives way to a maze of winding streets. In this area is a building which could be a tourist attraction, were it not in use as a high-security prison. It started life as a castle with construction begining  in 1540 and dragging on into the 17th century. Designed by an Italian architect in the Renaissance style of the day, it has a symmetrical ground plan and has been a prison since 1785. Though it has been chopped up and modified, parts of the original castle can be tantalizingly glimpsed over the modern, outer walls with their high surveillance towers. The castle is reached by taking Strada Andrei Muresanu westward off Strada Bobalna, and then turning onto Strada Cetatii.

Gherla’s main shopping street, Strada Avram Iancu, leads east off Piata Libertatii. Full of hardware and home appliance stores, it is effectively pedestrianized, in the sense that cars rarely venture down it and people wander all over it.

The nicest restaurant in Gherla is Conte, located on Strada Theodor Sperantia, just off Strada 1 Decembrie 1918. In warm weather, it is pleasant to eat on the big patio surrounded with baskets of flowers. Failing that, there is Cola, a three-star hotel and restaurant with a terrace. It is located on the west side of Strada Bobalna. The large park near the Orthodox church contains a big, round terrace, where they serve drinks and have festive evenings. The only foods available here are mici (grilled meatballs) and packets of snacks.

Gherla is, indeed, another fine example of the successful melding of the traditional with the modern in a medium size Romainian town. I recommend it.

Written By David Hill for EuropeUpClose.com

High in the Apuseni range of mountains in western Romania, between the cities of Cluj-Napoca and Deva, lies a dramatic area rich in wildlife and full of geological curiosities. It is inhabited by hardy villagers skilled in logging, woodworking, precious metal mining, and rearing sheep and cattle. They are the Moti people (pronounced motz), and the area is called Tara Motilor: the land of the Moti.

Tall trees – pine, beech and oak – are everywhere you look, and locals are skilled in fashioning wood into things they use in everyday life: pitchforks, spoons, two-handled tubs, chests, barrels, pails. Houses, too, are frequently made of wood, generally without nails. Wooden waterwheels harness the swift mountain streams to drive mills. And wood is used to make the area’s traditional musical instrument, the tulnic, a pipe several feet long that is blown in a style reminiscent of a didgeridoo (Austrailian wind instrument). Another plentiful local material – sheepskin – is used to make the tall hat, called a caciula, worn by many Moti men.

The Moti people have settled surprisingly high up in the mountains, building their houses, with their pointy straw roofs, into the steep inclines. The remote communities are mostly self reliant, but people sometimes go to a nearby town to buy supplies, with a big spree in the autumn as they stock up for winter.

Every household has horses and the horse-cart is the most common way of getting around. Loggers will pile the trees they have felled onto carts that consist of little more than two pairs of wheels, while sitting on the logs as their horse pulls them home. Families also have one or two cows, which roam free most of the day. After grazing by the river, the cows wander home in the late afternoon to be let into the backyard by their owner. Besides serving as the cow’s living quarters, backyards often contain little sawmills.

The region’s most famous attraction, the Scarisoara cave, is one of about 4,000 caves that riddle the local terrain. While many of the caves have stalactites and stalagmites, the Scarisoara cave contains a massive glacier with a volume of about 2.5 million cubic feet. It has never melted in over 3,000 years. Exploring the cave leads you to the “church” at the back, with intriguing pillar-like formations.

The Scarisoara cave lies at the end of a road that is so rough and steep it is best to take a jeep. Once you reach the cave, the procedure is to wait with other visitors for one of seven allotted time slots each day, between 9am and 5pm. Batches of tourists are allowed to descend the ladder to the cave entrance. If there are more than 20 people, a guide – who only speaks Romanian – goes with them. At the guide’s hut you can buy brochures and books, but the nearest place to buy refreshments is the village of Scarisoara itself, a few hundred yards down the hill.

Another attraction for which Tara Motilor is famous, is the “girl market” that has occured every summer, for untold centuries, at the top of the 4,870 foot high Gaina mountain. The fair was traditionally, at least in part, a matchmaking opportunity. Occupied with the daily rigors of watching their flocks, chopping trees, or creating handicrafts, the Moti people did not get out of their own communities very often, so this gathering of families from the surrounding region was a good way for young folks to meet a mate. But the fair has wider significance as a celebration of Romanian rural culture while providing an occasion for music, dancing, and trading. Held on the Sunday nearest July 20, the fair is opened with a tulnic chorus at dawn and then continues till evening.

Campeni, the major town in Tara Motilor, is home to just over 8,000 people and consists of a few streets arranged around a green, restful main square. Nowhere in town are you out of sight of the surrounding hills, thickly coated with trees. Nor are you ever far from a bar or café with an outdoor terrace or balcony from which those views can be admired. Two such bars are at the town’s two hotels – the decaying concrete block building of the Tulnic, and the more appealing, homey, two-star Hanul Motilor. On summer evenings, a veteran fiddler does the rounds of the watering holes. Campeni’s Romanian Orthodox church is on a small hill and is thus easily spotted. Its wood gate is adorned with carvings of important national events and heroes.

Possibly the best hotel and restaurant in Tara Motilor is the Poiana Verde. Located on a road between the villages of Albac and Horea, the 16-room hotel is built in a style based on the traditions of region, but also offers modern facilities, including internet access. The hotel organizes activities like horseback riding and trout fishing. And its excellent restaurant includes a deck, where you can dine while gazing at the mountains and watching horse-carts drive down the road.

In the village of Garda de Sus, almost every other house is a guest house (pensiune), usually with its own homespun restaurant. The village is quite attractive with a pretty, wooden church constructed in 1792. Its interior features naive paintings. The nearby village of Albac holds several guest houses, of which the best is probably Steaua Ariesului.

While in the region, you might want to visit Lupsa, home to an ethnographical museum, which displays traditional woodwork, clothing, and tools used for farming, mining, carving and fishing. There is also Zlatna, home to a famous church that dates back to 1424 and has frescos painted in the 15th and 16th centuries. There is a new monastery – opened in 2005 – just outside Albac, and older ones at Lupsu and Posaga. At the Posaga monastery, the monks are versed in the art of exorcism.

Turda, Romania, is a smallish town with larger-than-life tourist attractions. These include a big salt mine, a church where one of Europe’s first edicts on religious freedom was signed, and an over-the-top hotel that capitalizes on clichés about Transylvania, the region where the town is located.

Visiting Turda’s disused salt mine is a bizarre experience. You walk through passages and chambers hewn out of the salt. This is mostly brownish salt, but in places, especially toward the bottom of walls, it erupts into a white bloom. The air is cool and oddly refreshing. In fact, a visit here is sometimes recommended to people with respiratory disorders.
The mine, which stopped operating in 1932, was established in 1690. Some sections are named after Habsburg rulers, as a lot of expansion happened during the 18th century when Transylvania belonged to that empire. In one place, you can see a grooved circle on the floor, where horses drove machinery around to hoist the white gold up to the surface. The mine is open all year, from 9am to 5pm during summer and from 9am to 3pm in the winter. It is a mile north of the town center – you go up Strada Avram Iancu, then fork right onto Strada Salinelor.

Turda’s Roman Catholic church, at the northern end of the town’s main square, Piata Republicii, was the place where, in 1568, Transylvanian legislators signed one of Europe’s very first rulings on freedom of religion. It stated that  every priest should interpret the Gospel in whatever way he thought was correct, free from punishment or threats. At the time, Turda and other nearby places were abuzz with a newly formed faith, Unitarianism, which rejects the Trinity and teaches that God is one. But that is just one of a whole patchwork of faiths – including Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist and Orthodox – that has been a characteristic of Transylvania over the centuries.

For a building that housed such an important event, the church today is quiet. Its spartan interior is frequented by a minority of townsfolk who practice the Catholic faith. Originally constructed between 1498 and 1504, the church has a mostly Gothic exterior, but with a visibly newer, Baroque front facade.

Piata Republicii, which stretches south from here for about half a mile, is a curious sort of town square: more like a long street that swells out into wider areas at two places. The northern of these, where the Catholic church sits, is flanked by pretty 18th-19th century buildings. On its west side are a two-star hotel and restaurant named Potaissa – an old name for the town – and a courthouse with a little squat clock tower.

Further south, but still in the northern half of Piata Republicii, several buildings have gateways leading to inner courtyards. One, on the east side, opens to a bustling marketplace.

At the midpoint of Piata Republicii, a street named Strada Sterca Sulutiu leads eastward to the Hunter Prince and Dracula Castle. Besides being a four-star hotel and restaurant, this is a tourist attraction in its own right: a deliberately over-the-top fantasy version of a medieval hunter’s lodge or vampire’s den. Questions of esthetic taste aside, Hunter Prince is the best eatery in Turda, offering game meats including boar, bear, ram and quail in some imaginative ensembles. Some involve fruit garnishes like apples and raisins.

Toward the south end of Piata Republicii is a little park, the town hall, and two more churches, both better attended than the Catholic one.  The Reformed (Calvinist) is the biggest church, and perhaps the most attractive in its austere way. It’s a Gothic edifice, first constructed in about 1400. Its simple, white, pointed spire is almost 200 feet tall. The church is surrounded by nice lawns and rose beds.

The Orthodox church serves ethnic Romanians, the majority of Turda’s 60,000 residents, today. Its exterior glistens with silver domes, and its interior is no less impressive, adorned with colorful paintings and imposing icons. Elegant arches and pillars support upper galleries. It’s all quite new, but done in the age-old style. This is an unusual Orthodox church in that it has a pulpit. It is rarely used because, in Orthodox services, priests stand at the front leading chants rather than stepping up to deliver sermons. Another unusual touch for an Orthodox church is that a choir of male and female singers, led by a conductor, sometimes stands on the gallery at the west end, backing up the congregation in the responses to the priests’ chants.

Turda is 16 miles from the major city of Cluj, and a main road connects them. If you’re not driving, it’s worth knowing that Turda is not on a train line. Trains from Cluj stop at nearby Campia Turzii, and frequent buses run to Turda from a stop near Campia Turzii’s train station.

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Sic, Romania, is a town with an appropriate name. Editors write “sic” to tell readers that what they have just read is intended, even though it may seem like a mistake or misunderstanding. And if you visit this town, you may find yourself needing constant reassurance that your eyes are not deceiving you. Everywhere you look, there are people dressed in folk costume that has not changed in 300 years.

About 80% of Sic’s 2,700 inhabitants wear traditional clothes all or most of the time. Men wear straw hats, and blue waistcoats with brass buttons. Women wear red flowing skirts, embroidered white blouses with polka dots, and headscarves that are carefully color-coded: red for young women, dark red for middle-aged women, and black for the oldest. Red dots adorning the scarves get smaller and smaller as the ladies get older, and a widow’s scarf is pure black. A woman wearing a white scarf is indicating that she is working that day. Skirt color, too, transitions from red toward black as a woman ages.

The locals take pride in keeping their clothes immaculate. On a Tuesday, which is market day, there are a particularly large number of people out and about, with different versions of the costume to admire.
Sic is 96% populated by ethnic Hungarians, and it is only they, not the few ethnic Romanians, who wear the folk costume. In fact, many Romanians do not know about this place. The Romanian man who visited with me, who grew up near the major city of Cluj just 25 miles away, was mystified by the locals’ dress and initially thought they must be celebrating some holiday. The town’s fame is much greater among Hungarians, who call it Szek.

Sic has a surprising variety of religious denominations. Reformed, Roman Catholic, Unitarian, Romanian Orthodox, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, and Greek Catholic believers all attend different churches. But the Reformed faith claims three-quarters of the population. The large, twelfth-century Reformed church is easily visible from everywhere in the village, standing on a centrally located hill. It is surrounded by fortifications, and is said to have a secret underground tunnel through which townspeople can escape if the town is besieged. The church opens at noon.

Sic is a divided community in another way, too. It is split into three sections, which center on its three main streets. First Street, the most central, is home to the richest people. Third Street is considered the lowest class. In practice, most of the life happens on Second Street. In Hungarian they are called Felszeg, Csipkeszeg and Forroszeg. Since about 1989, the three parts’ inhabitants have mixed with each other fairly freely, but for 550 years before that, they led isolated lives. Marriages between them were strictly forbidden. And, each of the three neighborhoods still has its own entrance gate to the central church.

As merry as Sic’s inhabitants may look in their colorful dress, there is a tragic story behind it. The people of the town vowed to adhere to this garb, with black symbolizing mourning and red representing blood, after an invasion by Tatars in August 1717 which killed 90% of Sic’s population. This calamity is commemorated each August in a week-long festival where people show off traditional dances and the main church hosts a special memorial service. During that festival, Sic’s population swells by about 1,000.

Another tradition observed here – though this is common in the region, not unique to the town – is to maintain a “clean room” in each house. The room is full of ornate furnishings and only used on holidays. Only six homes in the village make their clean rooms available for visitors. But you can see the type of things they contain if you visit one house that is permanently kept up as a museum – ask for the “muzeu” (Romanian) or “múzeum” (Hungarian). Here you can see intricately painted wooden chests and bright woven blankets and curtains. Folks in the area became very accomplished in eye-catching designs because these items would often be used in a dowry. The fancier the decoration, the greater the chance of marrying off the daughter.

Sic is celebrated for another custom as well: the dancehouse. For centuries, young people have gathered there for big traditional dances accompanied by folk music. Sic only has one dancehouse left, located on Second Street. Back in the day, each of the three neighborhoods had its own dancehouse – and visitors from the other two parts of town were not admitted unless specifically invited as guests.

Europe Travel Tip: If you want a guide as you tour Sic, go to the town hall. The administrative assistant of the mayor’s office – who speaks a little English, as well as Hungarian and Romanian – is happy to escort tourists around.

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Any tourist who visits Transylvania (western/central Romania) and asks “where’s Dracula?” is likely to be directed to Bran, the home of a medieval building that many tourist brochures call “Dracula’s Castle.” The problem: Bran actually has no connection with Dracula, whether you’re looking for the fictional Transylvanian count or the factual Wallachian prince. The consolation: Bran Castle is a stunning and spooky edifice whose true history is an interesting tale in itself.

As you approach the castle, you will encounter dozens of stalls that exploit the supposed Dracula connection by selling vampire-themed T-shirts, mugs and masks, as well as specimens of folk craft and musical instruments. So Bran is, among other things, a great place to buy a goofy souvenir.

If this commercialization seems a shame, it is worth bearing in mind that the real story of this castle, first constructed in the 14th century, has a lot to do with trade. Situated on a major road that linked the principalities of Transylvania and Wallachia, the castle was a customs point as well as a place where mercenary soldiers guarded the border. The castle, located atop a cliff, was erected by the citizens of nearby Brasov, the most southeasterly of the major cities of Transylvania. It would retain the function of Transylvanian border checkpoint until the 1800s.

Like the castle in Hunedoara, Bran Castle saw two particularly intense periods of physical development: during the era of Transylvanian ruler János Hunyadi in the 15th century, and during the time when Gábor Bethlen governed the area in the 17th century. The tallest part of the castle – the spindly tower with the lookout post at its peak – was added in 1622.

The castle started serving a different purpose after World War I, when there ceased to be a border here because Transylvania became a part of Romania. Owned by Brasov city until that point, the castle was donated to the royal family of Romania. Queen Maria adopted it as a summer residence during the 1920s and a small chapel in the castle grounds contains her heart.

A lot of what you see in the castle now, as you follow the designated tourist route around its four floors, dates back to Queen Maria’s period. You can see the bedrooms for the different members of the royal family, as well as their dining room, library and music room. Some furnishings reflect the fact that the queen – who was born in England – was a fan of Romanian folk crafts. But in addition to her touches, some artifacts from the frontier days are also on display, such as weapons and medieval traded goods.

The castle can be visited from 9 am till 5.30 pm, every day except Monday. Having wound around the different chambers, the route finally leads you to the pretty courtyard at the castle’s center.

Next to the castle, there is a “village museum” containing peasant buildings that were transferred here from villages in the surrounding area. The houses were originally constructed between the 18th century and the beginning of the 20th century. You can look inside to get a taste of typical peasant interiors – as opposed to the royal version of them found in the castle itself.

Heavily tourist-oriented, the town of Bran has plenty of restaurants and hotels. Hanul Bran, with an extensive covered terrace that looks right up to the castle, is quite a pleasant restaurant. Try its “Castel” cutlet, a slab of pork topped by a big chunk of liver and slathered with melted cheese.

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