Are you ready for Cluj Days? What are Cluj Days, or Zilele Clujului? It is a big party in the middle of town, not only on the main square but on other squares, that includes plays, puppet shows, cultural booths, lots of food from around the world, and crowds as far as the eyes can see.
Okay, this is what we did in Cluj Days before. Like any other special days, we waited in line for a Langos. But there are so many permanent langos places in the town center by now, we’ll skip that.
We played an indonesian instrument. We danced with the African and Arab students. We waited in line for some kind of cooking event with the Korean department, and got sick of waiting in line, and then waited in line for a langos.
And, like with almost any festival in Cluj, we heard music. Lots of it. Some of it loud, often in multiple locations in the evening with live bands. (It might be too loud for pets or small children, but earplugs are available for relatively cheap, if you have sensitive ears like us.)
Cluj Days will be a time to see flags from around the world, as the international departments of the university go there to show off their goods. However, some of the departments (or cultural centers) seem to be harder to find now, so we wonder if they’ve closed down.
We bought a little Ukrainian cake, and had a Romanian fresh juice to go with it. We watched part of a classic play by a well known Romanian author, performed by the same professionals that you might have seen in films at the local film festival.
This year, there will be a treasure hunt. But, as usual for websites based in Cluj, the Cluj-Days website is currently out-of-order (or under construction… at least it’s not three years out of date like some websites.)
According to the official website, the program “în curând” or coming soon.
Our original article was ten things we should miss about Victor Orban. However, the first time we really visited Hungary was only five years ago.
traffic law enforcement. The Rule of Law
“Can’t you see the sign, it’s the double yellow line?”
if you break the law in Britain, Holland, or Orban’s Hungary, there is rule of law. In six years in Cluj, I have only once seen someone getting a ticket for parking illegally. (Maybe you do in the very center of town, but in much of the residential part, no, people park where they please.
Some people say it was a bit excessive in Hungary. They seemed ready to trap you.
Well, you can’t have everything.
Of course, the downside was the airbnb always claimed there was parking nearby, when there wasn’t. Maybe the airbnb owners were from Cluj, where people just park where they like and how they like.
2. Funding for events in Cluj
Did you notice how there used to be so much funding for events in Cluj? Like, Hungarian movies on almost every week at the arts cinema?
Well, you can probably kiss that goodbye. (For those using a weak digital translator, “to kiss goodbye” is a figure of speech. Do not actually kiss a movie screen. We use a lot of figures of speech on this website.)
3. Angry, ignorant neo-liberals
It was fun to watch people who had never even been to Hungary get angry at Orban for actually no reason. They talked about him being a dictator, yet couldn’t provide examples.
It was so easy to win arguments against these stupid people. Now that more of these people will actually travel to Hungary, they are less likely to make the same stuff up about Peter Magyar. We will have to actually work for our argument wins this time.
4. Hungarian cinema
Magyar is talking about cutting Hungarian TV. That cuts a lot of the great blockbuster kinds of movies that Orban’s government financed. Sure, they will be able to unlock more EU funds, but Mediadesk films just aren’t as grand or as fun to watch. They usually have the same three or four themes.
A lot of people might pretend to dislike “Orban’s” cinema, but those who can understand it appreciate it. Others dismiss it without even watching it.
We all know what the EU does to popular culture. Name some great UK comedy shows, they were created when it was just an economic treaty, the EC. As soon as EU funding came in, Belgian comics were ruined, British television was ruined, French movies were ruined, and Italian… okay, Italian stuff was bad because of Berlosconi, and it seems to have bounced back a little despite the European “Union.”
5. Great swimming pools
If you compare the swimming pools in Hungary to the neighbouring countries, you’ll notice something. Those in Hungary are more efficient, better run, tend to have slides and other parts that work, and more likely to be open when you go there.
A lot of the customers at Hungarian swimming pools and water parks are Romanian. But despite the large Hungarian minority in Romania, you don’t hear a lot of Hungarian at the swimming pools on this side of the border. You don’t cross the border to go to worse water parks or inferior swimming pools, do you?
6-100 Hungarian language education, etc
Do we have any evidence that Peter Magyar will be worse for the swimming pools? Or the hospitality industry in general? Or education, tourism, and the like?
No. Well, we do a bit. We can see what the EU has done to other countries that followed the dictates that Orban rejected.
Am I blaming this or that community? Not at all. All those communities existed in Hungary, you’d have seen them if you visited. Often, EU money is the problem.
Not only does EU money come with visible strings attached, it comes with the invisible string. If you are self sufficient, if you do your job well enough to prove that you don’t need it, you fear losing eligibility. This is the opposite of rewarding excellence. EU funding rewards dependence and incompetence.
That isn’t to say we’re against European projects. It would be great if the EU built a pan-European high speed railway, to repair Germany’s and France’s lagging systems and connect the East to the West. It would be great if projects were conceived to create things that benefit all Europeans.
Perhaps the EU could make films about Europe’s common history, the Roman Empire, the Celts, the Beaker civilization, or even the history of the European Commission itself. The times when Paris or Vienna were centers of art that attracted people from around the continent and around the world.
But no, the current leadership of the EU prefers to look at times when it was divided, to put shame on one or another part of the population. To look for crises that involve spending a lot of money, and shaming anyone who wants to research the crisis for himself, without handouts. Imagine if Pavlov or Darwin were stopped from their research by ultranationalists and antinationalists.
Next, we’ll write things we miss about the last Prime Minister of Romania, Bolojan. No we won’t. We don’t miss him.
Clujenii (residents of Cluj) are invited to a market of “Made in Romania” at the Horia Demian Sports hall. (About halfway between town center and the Vivo mall or on the road on the way to Floresti.)
From the 8th to the 10th of May, 2026, crafts and products from all over Cluj will be on display in the “Produs în România” market at the sportshall near the “Sala Sportilor” tram stop (Yeah, Horia Demian) from 10 am to 9 pm. Starting at four pm, on every day of the market, there will be a folkloric event.
What kind of products will you find there? Meat, milk, bread, baked goods, honey, syrops, natural beverages*, handmade goods, and more.
Why the star by natural beverages? The Romanian says “sucuri naturale” which, in your Romanian 101 class, you probably learned meant “natural juices.” In this context, it may mean natural juices. However, anyone who has spent time in Romania knows that, to some people, “suc” basically means any non-alcoholic beverage that isn’t served hot like tea and coffee. In many restaurants and supermarkets, “suc” can be a fruit flavored drink that is mainly sugar and artificial flavors. For Patrick from Spongebob, “suc” meant soda.
At most markets so far, “suc” has meant juice, and we expect to find some juice at the market.
It is a bit out of the way, but it might be worth going to. Mind that around 5 pm on Saturday there may be a minor traffic jam in Cluj, but the locally made jam at the market is sure to be worth the trip.
You might have looked for international schools in Cluj, and found two. Or maybe you thought you found four, and discovered one was online and one had closed down.
In any case, it isn’t easy to start a school in Romania. First, you need the necessary accreditation. That part alone is too complex and difficult to explain here. Continue reading →
Excuse me, do you have The Magazin (Newspaper)? “Fără supărară. Aveți (Ziarul) Magazinul?”
It is a very informative newspaper, and normally gets things right. However, the more I talk to Europeans (or even young Americans and Brits) the more I wonder whether people know their history. They attribute false histories to people as recent as Reagan and Thatcher. And when it comes to European history, even the history of Romania, people just seem to accept whatever adjective a YouTube video throws at them. It is little wonder, then, that we find misunderstandings when talking about someone as long ago as George Washington.
A recent issue of Magazinul, from 30th of April, 2026, spoke about George Washington becoming president on 30th of April, 1789. From the first sentence, we question the author’s expertise in US history. “Come on, do you really believe that?” we ask ourselves.
“Pe 30 aprilie 1789 a avut loc unul dintre cele mai importante momente din istoria Statelor Unite: prima investitură prezidențială a lui George Washington, considerate părintele fondator al națiunii americane.”
If you want an exact translation, you can put that into a translator. There are facts that are correct in that sentence. Yes, George Washington did become the first official President of the United States. And the date for Washinton’s inauguration is probably right, it is cited elsewhere.
But, he is considered one of the founding fathers, not the founding father. Continue reading →
We heard a conversation between an immigrant and some students, about a Federal Europe. The pro-federalist students mentioned that Europe doesn’t have its own Facebook or big social media companies. The foreigner countered that it did, and allegedly, the European Union killed them.
Politics all over the world tries to kill social media. Yet, a social media company created in Romania could succeed. Look at the success stories from Estonia, Skype (was killed by Microsoft when sold) is known throughout the world and even became its own verb. Bolt already was a verb, so it didn’t change the language, but we all know what “get a Bolt” means.
There are other electronic brands in Europe that compete. Open Source 3D animation studio, Blender, is based in Holland. Sure, it is a non-profit, but many other non-profits have failed when competing against giants like Adobe and Autodesk. You might have even used a Romanian antivirus company without knowing it.
Still not convinced? Here are some European Social media companies that could have beaten Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, or YouTube if not for internal flaws and lack of local support. (I won’t be including Russian brands like Yandex or Rutube because censorship protects them against competition. And China has some successes worth mentioning, but it is not in Europe.) Continue reading →
I saw this video on Edward Snowden. It reminded me of the movie about him that was available on the TIFF (Transylvania International Film Festival) online by Oliver Stone. (We won’t link to TIFF unlimited because that Snowden film is no longer there.)
Yup, Cluj’s local film festival has an online edition. There are a few films in Romanian on there, not necessarily my favorite Romanian films, but a few interesting ones.
In any case, Snowden can’t see this video, apparently, because YouTube is banned in Russia. They can still see Mr Beast and other top influencers, and films from everywhere from the US to China, on a site called Rutube. And just as the website sounds like a ripoff of YouTube, it looks like almost every one of the videos on that site is pirated.
In any case, if we look at what is blocked in Russia, we see why it might be easier for Snowden to learn Russian than someone here in Cluj to learn Romanian.
Cluj has easy access to people back home.
According to the video, Russia suffers internet blackouts, it banned or limited websites like Skype and a bunch of crap like Facebook. Therefore, Snowden doesn’t have a lot of time to like stupid memes in English. He can, however, find stupid memes in Russian.
If you are feeling lonely in Cluj, just skype home. No need to learn Romanian and talk to your neighbours. In Russia, you might have to talk to your neighbour, and that would involve learning the local language.
Cluj allows English more
In Russia, there were recent laws that shops need to have a trademark to have an English name. So, a lot of signs that were in English are now in Russian.
Cluj has a lot of English speakers who will hear your bad Romanian and reply to it with second rate English. Trying to speak Romanian in Cluj can be a battle of the wills once they learn you speak any English.
FATCA/CRS vs MAXX
In Russia, every thing you do is sent to the Russian government. In Romania, everything in your bank account is sent around the bank, and to the US government. Anyone at the bank thinks they have the power to annoy you. (And, it isn’t pleasant to make someone lose their job over it, although it is sometimes necessary if that person is ruining your career.)
The problem is, the Russian spyware, MAXX, is in Russian. The American spyware, FATCA and FBAR, are in English. So, while you can sometimes deal with FBAR questions in Romanian, the core problems will likely bring up English language documents.
With other treaties, you might expect French language documents. But, English is often used as the lingua franca, even between Romania and France.
Snowden did the right thing…
We still say that Snowden did the right thing. If I were president of Portugal, I would grant him a Portuguese passport so he could escape into Europe. Or if I were president of Norway, a Norwegian passport.
He has faced consequences for his actions, but he is a hero. If any streets need to be renamed because of the Vexler law, I say we name them after Edward Snowden (or Rachel Corrie, or Rachel Carson.)
In any case, his life is probably easier in Russia than it is for expats who have to go through all kinds of “transparency” laws.
But anyway, it is a hassle getting tv access in Cluj compared to most countries
In the UK, you simply buy a TV and the government sends you a threatening letter. In Belgium, the government sends you a nice reminder. Here, there is no mandatory tv license, you just pay to unscramble the TV.
But signing up for a descrambler is not straightforward. It is almost like applying to a job in most countries. It is easiest to do this at the same time as you apply for your phone. Adding it in later can be a hassle. And if a different person signs up for the phone from the one who signs up for the tv? No, you can’t split the bill that way. Weird, I know.
Why is it easy?
If you have focus, however, you can find a lot of Romanian content on youtube. There are over 200 free movies available online (not all of them are good, but it is enough to get used to the language.) Most short films in Romanian have English subtitles, which might make it more difficult to listen and learn, but you can always cover the subtitles with a post-it note or something.
Every third Romanian wants to be a vlogger, so once you get to level A2/B1 you will find plenty of content to watch (especially on topics like politics, but there is not always the best content on science.)
Level A1 content is the most difficult to find. There are children’s shows dubbed in Romanian, especially the Fixies, but not a lot of Comprehensible Input. Most vloggers do not reinforce their messages with images or gestures, they tend to just talk. And most content creators of fiction do not make very visual stories.
But, if you are interesting in Romanian history, you can find things about the communist era. If you are interesting about scandals, those are available online.
This article is aimed at four groups of people. 1) University lecturers (especially in engineering) or other trainers of engineers, 2) those who run businesses that create appliances and other machines (including cars) and 3) anyone who cares about not turning the world into one big landfill and 4) anyone who is sick of things that break down and cannot be repaired.
It may also be of interest to engineers, politicians, and ordinary consumers who are curious about why things are changing.
“Governments talk about sustainability, yet they completely ignore durability!
“You cannot be GREEN if you are building machines for a landfill.
“True environmentalism isn’t about a recycling BIN, it’s about a servicable machine.
“We shouldn’t be selling NEW just to prop up a false economy.” Continue reading →
No self-respecting journalist wants to become an organ for hatred. It would make sense that everyone would support laws that actually helped fight prejudice, right?
Well, laws tend to have unintended consequences. The laws that Democrats put to stop tax avoidance by billionaires have forced people who aren’t even millionaires to renounce their American citizenships. If you can’t afford compliance, you might even struggle to afford the renunciation fee (but the stress of finding a knowledgeable accountant might make it worth it.) Continue reading →
The Gaudemaus (our dyslexic reporter told us “Gaumant”) book fair is in the main square (Cluj’s piata unirii) again. This is an annual event. 22-26 April, 2026.
Most books, naturally, are in Romanian, but there are a variety of books in different languages as well.
There are stands from the ethnic minorities of Cluj, including the Albanian stand that has a nice dictionary. These have literature written by members of the minority groups, many in Romanian but occasionally in another language.
And there is a second hand book stand with a wide variety of books in English (and Romanian, and other languages).
And, if you want to learn Romanian, there are plenty of children’s books. Also, some beautiful history books and box sets that would make excellent gifts.
We even got some books for university students learning Romanian while. It helped us learn all the different plurals. (And there are a lot of them.)
Opening and closing times – about 10 am to 8 pm
The stalls, or tents, closed strictly at eight pm, the bouncers were in full force. Hey, people who run these stands have a life too (and there are other evening events this weekend, like Fridays “crossul de noapte” where children and adults (and families) were running cross country races by the Casino in the “Central Park” (yeah, that park that is in the North Western border of the city. I guess it is central if you think of it in relation to Vivo and the airport.)
Not just books
Every stand there seems to be a publisher. But, a few of the stands seem to focus on something other than books. The first year we were here, we noticed a game stand with nice games. The second year we were here, we saw someone selling second hand records. This year, there is a kind of lame toy shop who also has a few comic books, and a jewelry stand.
There is also a jewelry fair in the museum square, however, none of those stands are selling books.
Anyway, the games are pretty fun, there is a wide variety of books, on everything from meditation to biographies and fiction you’ve heard of and new fiction.
Some of the authors are there too, and we had books signed there by three very nice Romanian authors. (I think I saw two of them today too. Maybe I’ll say hi and get another book.)
Recommended if you like books (or board games, or gem stones). But, there are plenty of other things to do in Cluj if you don’t.
