Cluj Day 3: Botanic Gardens and Apple Strudel

And today, we had Mark all to ourselves. On my agenda? Breakfast at our "chosen cafe" right on the piazza, Cafe Corso. They had delightful espresso, so we returned for another round.

House dog. 

Pepperoni omlette.

Pancakes.

And off to the Botanical Gardens. I was determined to see their famous 2 meter wide Japanese water lilies. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. I had to settle on carnivorous plants instead. The gardens had much more than the greenhouse, it's spread out over several acres, awesome for meandering and enjoying the fresh air. It is probably better to visit in the springtime, but it was worth making the effort to get there.

 Before our trip ended, Mark and I desperately wanted to return to Cafe Vienna, for a pre-flight gut stuffing kasekreiner and  apple strudel. Their food probably deserves an individual posting, but let me just say that normally I don't even like strudel. However, their strudel is by far the best either of us EVER had. In Cluj no less! So worth the gut bomb and indigestion!

Oscar Meyer nor Betty Crocker stand a chance.

Cluj Day 2: Piatas and Churches

On Saturday Deets and I walked Mark to his next meeting taking opportunity to capture a brief glimpse the neighborhood. I did the best I could considering Mark pretty much speed walks wherever he goes, with or without a twenty pound baby weighing him down.

Centru

Wow. Cars all nicely parked on the street!

Orthodox Cathedral, built 1921-1933

Statue of a LAWYER?! Who knew?

Mark's meeting would be brief, so we hung out at a playground before resuming the sightseeing.

St. Michael's Church, built 1442-1447 

St. Michael's

ORIGINAL painting!

Not pictured: A gaggle of children practicing
their 1st communion prayers. So precious.

Mathias Rex, King of Hungary.

Popular meeting spot on the Piaza.

A gorgeously pink Catholic church.

Helloooo Mary! You look extra dazzling!

Cluj Day 1: Taxidermist Heaven. Or Hell

Mark treated Deets and me to a trip to Cluj, Romania this weekend. He had a few things to do for work, so Deets and I were responsible for finding our own fun.  The city is terribly pretty, and imminently walkable, so I smooshed Deets into his backpack and we were off. First stop, the Museum of Speleology. It was by far, the coldest freakin' museum I have EVER been to. The temperature outside was warmer than the inside, but then the animals are stuffed dead. What do they care?

Hedgehog habitat.

Killed' em with my own bare hands.

Monkey and sloth, friends 4Eva!

Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' badgers!

Scoping out the Wetlands Mural.

He could have spent HOURS here.  

Elephant OVARY! No joke!

I look happy, but really,
the smile was frozen on my face. So COLD.

I finally couldn't take the arctic temperatures anymore, so I packed Deets back up and headed to the Pharmacy Museum. What, you say? A museum dedicated to preserving the life and times of pill makers? Yup. Watch out. Row after row of ceramic containers and wooden spoons. Sad.

Spoonful of newted hogwarts
will clear that right up!

18th and 19th century ceramics
for all your purgative needs.

After a nap at the hotel, we were back in town for some highly recommended good eats at Baracca with Mark. We had their wood fired pizza, completed with beer and a grapefruit-mint-cooler for toasting.

Fresh basil right on your table. Whammy!