Revisiting Romania
It's that time of the year again when the Easter Bunny I visit Romania. History likes to repeat itself, but there are changes.
First change, which I welcome with open arms (and mouth), is that they have good orange juice in Romania. The packaging claims it's all natural, fresh, only pasteurized. And it actually tastes quite similar to the one I buy in Switzerland. \:D/
Second change is that they recently (in the last month) passed a law banning smoking in all public closed spaces. This means that you can go into a restaurant or coffee shop and enjoy your meal without coming out reeking of smoke. It's awesome. Of course, it will take some time until all the smoke comes out of the walls and you stop feeling the smell, but it's a huuuuge improvement. And it's funny/sad to see all the smokers lining up outside for a break.
What didn't change: me going to the Debrecen aquapark. Another relaxing day spent mostly in the jacuzzi.
Another thing that didn't change (or at least not in a good way): the potholes in Bihor county. The road in all the surrounding counties is decent, but as soon as you enter Bihor, I am warmly welcomed by all the potholes. I should pick a favorite one. :|
Also, Marghita didn't become any larger. I love going for walks with my dad and talking to him about all kinds of things, especially since lots of things happened to me recently. But after going three times for a one hour walk, we've pretty much exhausted all the streets in Marghita :(
But a thing that changed was that this time I went more like a tourist and took the time to walk around and enjoy Cluj. I finally went up the Cetatuie (yes, in three years as a student there I didn't go). And I noticed that Cluj is becoming a quite modern city. As you wander around, especially in the central area, you see lots of nice, cute, fancy and interesting restaurants and coffee shops. I started seeing this last year, but now I noticed even more. And Cluj is getting more and more hipsters. Which is good/bad, depending on your perspective. All in all, it left a good impression, and it makes returning here eventually sound not so bad.
The last thing I would mention is food. Romanian BBQ ribs are not as good as the ones in Memphis. Even if they are with Eros Pista. But this time I also want to mention food I brought with myself. My mom asked for some Swiss cheese. Of course I didn't want to bring home some generic brand cheese, but some fancy (read: more expensive and funny looking) ones. So I went to Jelmoli and bought 3 different kinds of cheese: Truffebrie, X, Y. I really should have Googled them before. Because... they have a really strong smell. Like really strong. Buuuut, they are really good. I will definitely buy them again (not for my mom). Especially when my dad comes to visit me (he enjoyed them too). :D