We’ve spent the last couple of days in Cluj-Napoca. Many times it’s overlooked by tourists but we’ve found some good museums, restaurants, and a lively arts scene. We arrived on a sunny afternoon but the last couple of days have been cloudy, breezy and chilly.
The historical center of the city is lively and lovely. Gothic St. Michael’s Church is in the main square, Piata Unirii.
Behind the church is a gigantic equestrian statue of Matthias Corvinus, a 15th-Century ruler. It’s big and bold!
Nearby is the Art Museum housed in the 18th-Century Baroque Banffy Palace. The museum has a good collection of works by key Romanian artists. The piece below is titled “Bluish Flowers” by a noted artist, Stefan Lucian. We liked it because it shows brights flowers in contrast to a traditional Romanian ceramic vase.
Roata is a local restaurant with traditional Romanian fare. It’s the type of food that we were expecting to find in Bulgaria. Heavy on roasted meats, beans, sausages, and potatoes but, a bit light on salads and veggies. We miss the delicious salads of Bulgaria! The restaurant served local wines and Țuică (plum brandy.)
Partly due to Cluj’s Austrian-Hungarian history, we’re never far from a coffee shop or a pastry kiosk. The pastries pictured below could be savory, filled with cabbage and potato or sweet, filled with cherry jam.
Cluj Napoca is a university city and we’re staying near the campus of the largest university in Romania, Babes-Bolyai University. Classes are taught in both Romanian and Hungarian. Our hotel, Capitolina City Chic is in a good location for exploring this city.
Last night we attended a performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Hungarian State Theater and Opera House. It was a wild show with lights, acrobatics, contemporary music, and wacky costumes. Totally unique, clever, and entertaining!
One more day to explore this city…it’s raining so the day is off to a slow beginning. Tomorrow, we’ll leave Cluj-Napoca and travel to our next stop…Sighisoara! (Shown below in a painting be Romanian artist, Pericle Capidan – 1869-1966).
