And we're back to the reservoir--it's called “Ocolol Silvic Belis,” by the way, but has about 8 hundred accents and, erm, squiggly things around it. Romanian is crazy. So is Hungarian. (Polish, on the other hand...is, um, super easy?)
Okay, so, super awkward picture outside of the reservoir..why the HELL am I tipping so much?
What I tell you? Romanian is nuts.
This is my view out of the bus. And also my view of our amazing and terrifying driver. His name was, honest to God, Zoltan (pronounced “Zul-tawn”), and he was uber-badass. Like passing a semi on a blind curve in the mountains kind of badass. Like cruising up going twice the speed limit on to a truck hauling really, really huge downed trees only to pass it and barely miss having a head-on collision kind of badass. Yep, that kind.
riding the busssssssssssssssssssss........
Crazy tree in Cluj-Napoca, the capital of Transylvania.
Dalmation pigeon, a distant relation to the dalmation mice in “The Royal Tenenbaums.”
People in Cluj, the first of many sneaky shots I took on the trip. Good one, huh?
A few more sneaky shots for you. I just find the people in this region of the world so fascinating, in a truly “I am not treating you as creatures” sort of way. More like a “How can I ever understand your life? Will I?” manner.
Remember that hat picture from my previous album? This is its owner. He was our native guide to the region, a man of Hungarian descent who lives in Transylvania. A former Biology and Chemistry teacher, he spent much of the trip standing around and smiling at us. Still, he was extremely knowledgeable when our third guide (not Hajni and not this guy), Andresz, would finally shut up and translate for him instead.
In the main square in Cluj-Napoca.
Another sneaky shot. I like this one, too.
”But I wanna get pizzaaaaa....!“
...so we did.
Oh, sure, NOW she's an angel.
Fun with aviators.
A solo adventure in Cluj led me to this.
And this...
These, too. Is there a trend here? Death by falling rocks?
The trend continues...
And half a block later, one of the biggest cemetaries I've ever seen. A lightbulb went off--“Oh, I get it!”--and I began commending the Cluj-ians for their small cottage industry of wreaths. Very Eastern Europe.
And, in a stark change-of-mood...
Man, do I love Gothic ceilings.
Construction in Cluj.
An enormous Orthodox church. These were a common sight through and were subsidized by the Romanian government starting in the 1930s.
Oh yeah, it's Eastern Europe.
A few scenery shots. The geography was soooo varied, which made for an interesting bus ride (as if it weren't interesting enough with Zoltan's wicked driving antics).
Sometimes, it felt like another reality. Actually, since there was no internet or phone or any way to get a hold of “The Outside World,” it almost always felt like another reality.
We hiked through this valley, a national park.
A familiar face. Apparently, I'm getting shorter.
The tiny dot in the top left, on the hill, is our elderly guide. I'm pretty sure he was still smiling all the way up there.
Hikin' along.
I think my favorite is “The mountaineers can climb on walls in high over 200 meters,” and that they managed to hyphenate the word “traces” and put it on 2 lines. Too cool.
Beautiful? Yes. Polluted? Oh yes. I've never seen a national park with this much garbage in its rivers.
Parasailing.
Horses.
Hajni really liked dogs. No, like really-really. These three were helping herd the horses, and were taking a little sandwich break. (Don't worry--she didn't pet these ones, either.)
