Author Archives: Fatca Pop

About Fatca Pop

Fatca Pop is a dreamer, adventurer, cook, and blogger. Fatca was a hairdresser, company secretary, and teacher.

Nokia’s real mistake (And Bosch’s Wisdom)

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Fatca Pop

If you live in Cluj, you might have seen the outdoor exhibition for Bosch near the main square. If you are new to Cluj, this exhibition may look like an advertisement. But other historical exhibitions have occupied the same space, … Continue reading →

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Cluj’s small museums

Posted on May 13, 2024 by Fatca Pop

Most museums in Cluj are relatively small, especially compared to the British Museum or those in capital cities like Brussels.  But some can be seen in less than an hour if you need something to do before lunch. The Pharmacy … Continue reading →

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Vegetarian eating in Cluj

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Fatca Pop

Cluj doesn’t have many exclusive vegetarian restaurants, but if you are like most people, you don’t go to the restaurant alone.  And, if you are like most vegetarians, you probably go to the restaurant with someone who wants meat. We … Continue reading →

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Getting the “Trump Bible” in Romania

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Fatca Pop

The “God Bless The USA Bible” costs about sixty dollars.  (It is only 59.99, but you can no longer buy a gumball with a penny.) But what if you want one in Romania?  Well, if you get the default shipping … Continue reading →

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Pharmacy museum now open

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Fatca Pop

Okay, so the Pharmacy Museum in Cluj was open before Valentine’s Day.  But we didn’t visit until recently. Ever since 2020, the old house of George Hintz had been closed, and it appeared to be closed for good.  At first, … Continue reading →

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All Lives Matter (poem)

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Fatca Pop

All Lives Matter, an original poem for 2024:

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Fruit travelling further, creating higher CO2 and nitrogen footprints

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Fatca Pop

Over most of the past three years, citrus fruits in Cluj were mainly from Spain.  Your zucchini might have been from Italy.  Pears could be locally grown.  Carrots might be from Romania, Hungary, or Holland. This winter, it seems like … Continue reading →

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Palestine demonstration in piata unirii

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Fatca Pop

13 January, 2023.  At 2 pm today, in a march starting from the main square in Cluj, you might have heard chanting in Romanian and English. In English, they said, “Free, free Palestine.” In Romanian, it was, “România nu uita, … Continue reading →

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Words and lemmas

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Fatca Pop

What is a word?  Well, I used four words to ask that question, right? But people who create spaced-repetition apps, and create word frequency lists, to learn languages don’t understand what a word is.  A single word, in the dictionary, … Continue reading →

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Are two major Romanian newspapers on strike?

Posted on October 12, 2023 by Fatca Pop

I bought a copy of Libertatea last Saturday and noticed something.  About half the paper seemed to be dedicated to Sudoku games and things that were even less newsworthy than Sudoku. Now, looking back a couple issues, I found out … Continue reading →

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