Cluj architecture

This morning, in a somewhat hungover state after our lovely traditional dinner last night. we had a guided tour of the city. Again, a hard choice of blip but I opted for this example of Austro-Hungarian architecture which dominates the old part of the city. It's disused at the moment, but used to be the poshest hotel in Cluj.

The architecture in the old part of the city is stunning and if were anywhere else, would subjected to much pointing, oohing, aahing and photographing by hordes of tourists, but few tourists seem to find their way to this part of Romania.

Luckily, Cluj is sufficiently far away from Bucharest that it escaped much of the "re-modelling" so although there are some fairly hideous concrete blocks of flats, much of the original architecture remains. Just out of shot is a monument made of 7 pillars which represent the 7 men who were killed during the 1989 revolution.

It's a country that's had more than its share of trouble and in places is still very poor - but it's one of my favourites and the warmth and hospitality of the people there is just amazing.