This time we spend together three full days in Cluj and then we split with one of us making their way to Bucharest via car and the second one following a few days later via plane after staying a bit more with their family and friends. So we try to make the most of our stay together while also visiting with family and friends when together. As such we visit quite a bit the Marasti neighborhood where most of the family lives which has changed quite a bit. There are even a few foreigners here which weren’t in this area previously.
What hasn’t changed are the many apartment buildings in the neighborhood, all built in the communist chic style. Some look renovated but most seem the same as years ago.
Of course we also go with our relatives to a cake shop, the cakes in Romania are special so we try to eat as many of them as we can while visiting. There are so many choices but today we try a few traditional ones like Dobos, a famous Transylvanian cake.
We also visit our relatives which stay on a hill overlooking Cluj and spend a few fun hours with our relatives avoiding the rain before deciding to go to buy something to eat downtown.
Our first choice is impossible to park close by so while driving around we find a kebab shop and run inside and take some takeout to eat at home.
Another day we go to the Marasti market to buy some vegetables and even some goods like flip flops which can be found quite cheaply here.
Today we are eating at the mall to avoid the hard rain outside. The food is reasonably ok but it seems that the quality went down from last time we visited.
In the evening we go exploring some old sights that we remember from way back. The one of us originally from the city regales us with stories of the old taxi dispatch building which is now in ruin while admiring the new promenade following the Mill canal.
The major stop is the former pool complex Record, it is now abandoned and hidden away but we manage to take a look from an elevated location. And then from our hotel we go to visit our friends and spend a few hours eating and talking before returning to the hotel for the night.
On the last full day, after a relaxing night at the hotel and after exploring the grounds we descend into the city to explore the beautiful downtown area.
To get into the major downtown area we have to cross the Somes river with some nice views of our hotel on the hill in the distance.
We then continue exploring and enjoying the downtown area passing the firemen tower which unfortunately is closed this early so we cannot visit it yet. And returning we will be in a hurry so maybe next time.
Soon we are in the central square and for once it doesn’t seem there is a lot of construction going on. Even a street that has been almost completely closed last time we visited is now open and easy to explore, cool.
But first we enter into the most famous cake shop in the city, the Carpati cake shop. Of course we do that to eat some of the tasty cakes and drink something cold, it is quite hot today in the city.
As usual the cakes are quite good and we enjoy them and the few minutes of rest before continuing on our exploration.
We then pass through the central square taking some photos with the St Michael Church before exploring some shops and then moving on towards the old city walls.
Now we follow the city walls for a while, it is quieter here and we consider how different it may look from medieval times, maybe not so much on this side but for certain a lot on the other side of the walls.
The walls take us on a shortcut to the University and the plaza in front of it. It has changed significantly since last time also, it is now pedestrian only which is great for us but probably not so great for the drivers of Cluj.
We now pass the main University building and a few other buildings on the campus as we make a beeline to the Tailors Tower our major goal for the day.
However on the way we cannot stop ourselves from visiting a church that was always closed till today. The first entrance is a fakeout, with glass blocking the entrance. And this is where we always stopped till today. But now we see people inside, so how did they actually enter?
And looking around we see another hidden side entrance and that is the right way to enter today at least. Inside we explore the church respectfully before exiting, we finally broke through the illusion of the closed door!
And then soon we are at the Tailors Tower that we explore thoroughly and is described separately before continuing on our way though the downtown.
Exiting it is now time to start returning to our hotel exploring the many shops along the way. And also we want to eat lunch of course as we are quite hungry.
Unfortunately quite a few stores from last time that we hoped to visit are now closed but still we find a few that are still open to explore. Unfortunately many of them do not have AC which makes it difficult to spend a lot of time inside.
There is one more church we haven’t visited before and we enter it today. It is a modern looking Orthodox church both from inside and outside but still it is clearly an Orthodox one especially compared to the drab Protestant ones.
We then reach again the Central Square, now passing past the City Hall before buying some stamps and then looking for the restaurant we have chosen for lunch.
The restaurant called the Crying Monkey (Maimuta Plangatoare) is quite good and we know this because one of us has eaten here before. And today we want both to taste some of the delicacies on offer.
The food is quite special and we really enjoy it but afterwards it is time to return to our hotel to change and then to meet another friend before packing as tomorrow we have to leave for Targu Mures to meet another group of relatives.
