Category Archives: opinion

Spring is returning to the Botanical Garden in Cluj

Posted on March 18, 2025 by James

Did you hear the adverts for Gradina Botanica by the bus stop? It spoke of experiencing “Linisterea primarii”, the peace of spring. Yesterday, the Botanical Garden surveyed its clients about what they liked and what could be improved. Do you … Continue reading →

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Cluj and Tallinn

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Fatca Pop

Romania recently claimed the world’s fastest Internet speeds.  Estonia also likes to see itself on the forefront of tech. Cluj is the tech hub for Romania, making house prices unreachable.  There was a joke, after Elon Musk bought Twitter, that … Continue reading →

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CTP Cluj, one of the easiest bus payments in Europe.

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Fatca Pop

In the old days, if you wanted to buy a ticket on a bus, you paid the driver. Or, you bought a ticket at a bus stop and validated it. Then technology gave us more options.  These were fully implemented … Continue reading →

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Twitter x and Tiktok Is the media the message?

Posted on January 8, 2025 by Fatca Pop

Ah!  Sounds like a title written by an academic stiff!  Too long for a TikTok. If you are an expat in Romania, your “informed” relatives probably bring up certain personalities.  We can’t list all of them in a Tweet, without … Continue reading →

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Happy Christmas from Hey Cluj

Posted on December 26, 2024 by Fatca Pop

Christmas was yesterday.  We saw some sad people, happy people, dog walking people, and not many snow people on our walks the past couple of days. What are some Christmas traditions?  Singing Christmas carols.  Religious ones, like Silent Night, and … Continue reading →

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Happy Rusali (pentecost)

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Fatca Pop

Sunday was Rusalii.  Monday is also a holy day in the Orthodox calendar. What is Rusali?  Pentecost?  Whitsun?  Traditionally, the fiftieth day after Easter, the Holy Ghost is said to have descended to the disciples.  This is celebrated on different … Continue reading →

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Review: Voyo

Posted on June 18, 2024 by Fatca Pop

We previously wrote about TV streaming you can get in Romania.  Well, I am not sure Voyo was tried. Voyo has some great content.  There is a documentary on Romania’s football team, a three-part about Ceasescu’s life, another informative documentary … Continue reading →

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Should banking be a human right?

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Fatca Pop

You might have read on Cluj.xyz that Banca Transilvania customers had a little trouble with their accounts.  This was annoying, but it doesn’t begin to deal with the problems that many British, American and French expats face because of regulations … Continue reading →

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The basil is back and the garlic is blooming

Posted on June 10, 2024 by James

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 →

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Hong kong carnivores?

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Fatca Pop

Someone who never went to Hong Kong told me that I should eat more meat because people in Hong Kong do that.  Perhaps I should also learn Cantonese, which might help with longevity, but I digress. Do people in Hong … Continue reading →

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