Due to differences in paid time off one of us has more time off and plans to use that extra time to go back to Romania and a few other countries to visit friends and relatives. But first it is time to leave Phoenix while being slightly under the weather which is not ideal. At least all the planes leave relatively on time including the intercontinental one.
The food on the intercontinental Lufthansa flight is reasonably good and after a long flight it is time to deplane at Munchen. Here is the first meeting, with a friend that lives relatively near the airport.
The friend preferres not to pick up from the airport so first it is time to explore how to use the S-Bahn to arrive to the spot where the pick up will occur. It all goes well and after a nights sleep and lots of conversation it is time to return to the airport.
The last leg to Cluj is uneventful, it just takes a long time versus the actual duration of the flight.
And then it is time for the Cluj portion, the longest, of the trip. A big part of this is the food aspect, visiting different markets and malls to buy food both prepared and not.
The breakfast choices in Romania are especially endless, there are sausages, cheeses and a bewildering array of other choices to choose from every time when visiting the market.
At the mall the choices are mostly prepared food, some good and some less so.
And then there are the sweets, they are everywhere and beckoning with multiple choices, all appetizing.
Visiting of the city is mostly restricted to the downtown and shopping area. This is due to bad weather most days and also due to Covid, one of the relatives caught Covid which necessitates multiple visits in the hospital.
The city is beautiful as usual however it is also more colder versus the usual time of visit, August-September.
On a weekend it is time to visit Budapest and the relatives there. It is an exhausting there and back weekend trip but at least the relatives are well met.
Back in Cluj it is cloudy and cold most days and a lot of exploration is of stores to see what is available here versus the USA.
There are also meetings with friends and in one of them the decision is made to go mushroom hunting in the hill around Cluj.
The trip is a success with lots of parasol mushrooms found, unfortunately it is the day before the return so none are kept. Still some are already prepared as a picnic from a previous trip and they are quite yummy. And then the next day it is time to return to Phoenix after a successful visit to relatives and friends. The flight is long but goes well and then a few days (weeks) of sleep are needed to recuperate after the exhausting trip.
