The market of Mărțișor is open in central Cluj.
Among the market stalls is one where you can buy wooden recorders and other musical instruments. (Many of these seem to be suitable for young children.) The seller speaks some English, he asks you in English if you want a bag. Very kind person.
There are also some street food stands we are used to. We recommend those that we have tried so far, but we also saw an interesting one with a large variety of Romanian snacks that include some we’ve never tasted.
The usual Mărțișor bands can be found. One place looked a little scary. There was a box of 18 plus martisor bands (in other words, not suitable for under 18s, like a horror film). And apparently photos are not allowed, according to another sign. We were not curious enough to look inside the sealed box, so we don’t know why they were unsuitable for under eighteens.
In addition, there are all kinds of skin creams, gingerbreads, and other nice little gifts. I am not sure if there is something for everyone, but we found a few gifts that were worth giving.
If you don’t find something in the centre, then there is a new second hand bookshop (anticariat) by the centre. The clerk there also seemed to speak English, asking us if we wanted to pay by cash or card. (To be fair, our books were in Dutch, so maybe it looked like we couldn’t speak Romanian.) There are plenty of English books at that shop, and a few in other languages.
The name of the shop is Târgul de cărți, or book market. And as today is mother tongue day, you might be missing some reading material in the language you grew up with.
On the 24th, another market will open in the Avram Iancu market near the theatre.