Author Archives: James

Babes Bolyai summer school in Cluj

Do you want to jump a level in Romanian?  Well, The Transylvanian International Summer Course of Romanian Language and Civilization might help you in less time than it took me to remember the name. For the basic price, you have … Continue reading

Posted in education | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The basil is back and the garlic is blooming

The herbs are out, we can see alliums (garlics), basils, and sages at the Botanical Gardens in Cluj. That’s right, basils.  There are many varieties of basil, from cinammon basil to Thai basil to Piccalo basil to good old sweet … Continue reading

Posted in opinion | Tagged | Leave a comment

to do: Cluj Days, cacti and the Genitive Case

It is that time of year again.  Cluj Days are just around the corner.  The cactuses are out at the botanical gardens.  This is the perfect opportunity to learn the genitive case. The genitive case shows ownership, or is used … Continue reading

Posted in education | Tagged | 1 Comment

Learning Hungarian in Cluj

When we mentioned apps to learn Romanian, one of our readers mentioned a desire to learn Hungarian. Classes If you do a quick Google search for live classes of languages in Cluj, the results might make you pleasantly surprised.  However, … Continue reading

Posted in education | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Price rise at Cluj Airport

We all know that things are more expensive at the airport, but seven euros for a box of chocolates? Yes, we heard that is the case.  Not a specific brand of chocolates, not a box, just a bar with Dracula … Continue reading

Posted in politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Academic work sales to become illegal.

When I lived in the UK, there was a big push by the government and universities to help academics, universities, and students “monetize” (or profit from) their academic research.  It appears that in Romania, there is a push for the … Continue reading

Posted in education | Tagged | Leave a comment

What do you call a fast food capital in Romanian?

Is Cluj the fast food capital of Romania?  Făclia de Cluj called Cluj the “champion” of Romania in fast food on its front page on the 9 January.  The residents of Cluj (including ex-pats and perhaps tourists) ordered 42,372 cheeseburgers in … Continue reading

Posted in Development and change | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Romanian New Years traditions

When you have lived in enough places, trying to find the differences between countries is difficult, it is much easier to find the similarities. Here are some Romanian New Years Traditions according to the Romanian weekly, Magazin: New Year’s fish. … Continue reading

Posted in Events | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Cluj Art degrees worth millions

A graduate of the University of Art and Design (UAD)  in Cluj, Andrian Ghenie, has sold a painting in Hong Kong for seven million Euros. UAD is supposedly the lowest ranked University in Cluj Napoca.  How do they do the … Continue reading

Posted in education | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Cluj women’s team in Romania Cup

The Romanian football cup will be held at Gherla, at 1.30 pm (1330) on 7 December 2022 at the municipal park.  Gherla is about an hour from Cluj-Napoca by car or train. Competing will be Atletic Olimpia Gherla and AS … Continue reading

Posted in Events | Tagged , | Leave a comment