12 July 2012

Chilling in the shadows

Thanks to quite new CouchSurfing feature called itinerary or 'open couch request' we were invited over  by great host Cristina. We stayed much longer than we planned or even than we could expect. It's quite common nowadays to call someone 'open-minded', but she is much better than this. She is rather 'open-hearted'. Couch Surfers are usually very friendly, but this time we received more hospitality, than you normally get. Our host's summer cabin is located about 15 minutes walk from Coltesti village, between nice hills of Trascau. The valley does not only give beautiful views, but also provide colder breeze stepping from the mountains every evening.

Coltesti village seen from the valley
View on castle ruins from our cabin
Coltesti again
Lying man dividing Alba and Cluj counties
You better use sunscreen next time!
Our loudest neighbours
Tiny waterfall after long hiking uphill







Our beloved host organised us nice trips to nearby villages and towns. One below is an UNESCO heritage so it's maintained and looks exceptional here.




Cristina, Joanna and Andrei
Truly original style found in local church

We had nice time discovering Alba Iulia and its old city. Especially its old city walls which still have some secrets. After walking along the walls for about 20 minutes, we were supposed to turn back, because passage was blocked by large fence at the end. Thanks to my curiosity and laziness I found an old passage trough the wall. So after climbing on small wall, and walking trough 3 storeys staircase, we ended up right next to the main street of the old town.





We also had opportunity to visit atelier of Inter Art Foundation in Aiud (http://www.inter-art.ro/). Very active place with a lot of nice initiatives. When we visited them, they were preparing Summer Youth Art Camp. Shame I have no pictures from there, but I was really impressed when I saw their 3D paintings.

Back to our cabin and beautiful surroundings. As you can probably guess, there is small stream going right next to the place where you can wash dishes or yourself if there's such need. But the best thing for me was an outdoor cooking.



And at the end it was not easy to say goodbye. And the gift we received from Cristina made it even harder.

And the gift is...
...Zacusca!
Later that day we hitchhiked to Baia Mare and I lost my old, beloved phone somewhere on the road. One thing less to carry!

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