Cluj-Napoca.

Tonight our hotel is in the city of Cluj-Napoca. Not too early, we left Baia Mare, a much bigger city than we had expected, and headed south towards Cluj. The countryside was really pretty and we went through lots of typical Romanian villages.

We actually set our GPS for Turda about 40 kms the other side of the city so we could go to the Turda Salt Mine. It is one of the oldest salt mines in the world. It was dug during medieval times for salt exploitation, with the first documented reference of the mine dating all the way back to 1271.

Excavations continued until 1932. After that, the salt mine served multiple purposes. The mine was used as a cheese storage unit, as well as a bomb shelter during World War 2.

Despite the passage of time, the mining and machinery used to transport salt were kept in an excellent state of preservation. And, in 1992, the salt mine was opened to tourists, offering visitors a fascinating glimpse into the past.

Russell and I had been once before. It is an interesting experience. 120 metres underground is a brightly lit adventure park! Right at the bottom they have a lake with row boats. Also things like a ferris wheel, mini golf, table tennis, bowling, an amphitheatre etc.

It was really nice seeing the countryside while it is green. Our Romanian trips when we lived in Hungary were all in winter time, so we were used to either snow on the ground (pretty) or the dead winter brown look (not
so attractive).

Our GPS sent us a crazy way to our hotel, not on the obvious main road and we passed a shanty town. It was terrible to see.

We missed lunch as we arrived at the Salt Mine at 1pm and it was too late when we had finished. So we had an early dinner at our hotel restaurant - including the delicious Romanian dessert called Papanasi and chocolate lava cake.

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