Blogs from Cluj-Napoca, Cluj, Transilvania, Romania, Europe - page 2

June 6th The train ride was beautiful, and I tell you what, our room is so gorgeous! I was expecting pallet-style beds in a dorm room, and instead we have an awesome attic apartment to the three of us with our own really nice shower (it has jets!). Apparently it was just renovated. It's kind of nice that the three of us have stayed together (Jaclyn made sure of it) but there are already serious cliches based on who managed to meet Budapest, and it would have been nice to mingle a little more in terms of rooming together. Ah well. At least I'm not rooming with a monster, so that's nice. The whole group is here now. There are nineteen of us, including another student from UW! Weird! Her name is Tessa. Our intro to ... read more

Budapest to Cluj-Napoca, Romania 490Km Well today had it all. Spotted hookers in the lay-by (adds some meaning to the term - lay-by that is, not hooker), then wanting to give up and go home, then an hour later elation riding through Zaleu amid rolling hills and singing “The Hills are Alight…” and then being exposed on the top of a bare hill with cell towers in a lightening storm. Fortunately, all I suffered was a complete soaking through my semi-waterproofs I suppose this is what it is all about but it was a grueling day on the road no question. I had an enormous breakfast as usual. This serves three purposes a) it saves money since it is usually included in the room; b) time change makes it seem like dinner-time; c) It lasts me ... read more

Today was exactly one week from the day we left the Enbankment. James (one of the tour leaders) pointed this out at the exact (GB) time and so I felt a bit homesick at first. This abated pretty soon, as there was plenty to distract me, although I'm still missing everyone and lookijng forward to seeing them, even though I don't want the trip to be over too soon. Obviously, with the four hours spent getting replacemnt passports for Paul and Nichola and the killer traffic jam yesterday and the killer traffic jam, we didn't get to look around Budapest when we arrived on day seven. Instead we had a very brief driving tour and stopped to get postcards at the citadel. Which was fine, because the delay wasn't Ozbus's fault and could have been so ... read more

Well Well Well... Tomorrow (Thursday) is my last day in Cluj. I'll be taking the train to Timisoara on Friday and starting the last 2 weeks of my trip. I've loved Cluj and totally admire the kids I met. They're so amazing and wonderful and I cannot thank everyone here in Cluj enough for making my stay so great. A few of the kids even brought me traditional-type Romanian gifts... One is a hand size statue from the Catholic chruch in town of one of the hero's against the Hungarians. Another is a woodan farm scene. I love both of them and will but them on my special shelf where nobody can touch or hurt them. I'm really excited to meet the next group of kids and see life in a smaller town... I hope all ... read more

Today staerted out with news that a)there would be a prayer service held to commemorate the day when Jesus cleaned his face (or something like that). It wasn't a typical holiday for us back home so I wasn't to sure what the Priest was saying. and b) I would be interviewed by reporters for the local paper. Both very exciting ways to mix things up a bit and keep the body guessing. The kids were funny trying to be quiet through the service. Also, we had a few of the Prison Project kids PLUS more new kids. So it was fun with them. I did notice with the children from the prison program that their paintings had so many dark and vivd colors compared to the rest of the kids. Also, when the "normal" (for lack ... read more