Arriving from Budapest through Hortobagy at the border we are surprised at how much the area has changed including the border controls. Passing the border control today is quite easy as we use the new border control post on the newly built divided highway and then it is a short drive to Oradea. Here we get detoured a bit due to construction but we make it through continuing to Cluj.
We do not have time to stop today but we still enjoy the varied landscapes and small towns and villages we pass on the way through Cluj. We always wonder how there is lots of money for grand churches while houses nearby seem to be barely maintained but that is how it has been since medieval times and even before.
We also like the castle like houses of the Gypsy community, or at least that is what is assumed, they are quite different from the usual houses in the region.
We arrive late in the evening in Cluj and we stay for the first nights in an Airbnb right in the downtown square. It is a great location and today we even have a concert going on right outside our window. Suprisingly the windows block the sound completely but we leave them open for a while to enjoy the music before finally closing them and going to sleep after this very long day.
