by Eva Schupp

I spent a week in Transylvania, a region in the north of Romania. When I arrived, I was greeted by my host, Csenge, who visited Germany during the last EUU retreat in April, and Maria, who took part in organizing my exchange. I spent three nights at Csenge’s house in Cluj, which is where the John Sigismund Unitarian Academy is located. I visited it on the second day. The school was founded in 1557 by the Unitarian Diocese of Transylvania, while the current building, located next to the Unitarian church, was constructed in 1901. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to attend the welcoming ceremony, as the teachers were on strike.

Instead we went on a tour of the city in smaller groups. Our job was to visit five important places or monuments in the city and interview one person at each place about the role sustainability plays in their life. It was interesting to see all the different answers that each individual gave. During the next day we visited the Salina Turda, which is a salt mine located in Transylvania. Afterwards we drove to the Turda Gorge and rode a zipline from the top of one mountain to the bottom.

The next nights were spent in a hostel in the village of Torockó, near the mountains. There, we ate traditional food and learned the art of making sourdough bread. We also went on a long hike up the mountain.

On the last day we visited a small watermill and a local museum, which had traditional clothing and household items. We learned that sometimes the village residents wore their special attire on Sundays as a sign of respect and remembrance. These garments had been handed down from generation to generation. In the evening a group of students performed a cultural Hungarian dance, which we got to try and recreate later on. In addition to this we ate gulyás (goulash), one of the national dishes of Hungary and a symbol for the country, and had a small campfire.

I’m so glad I got the opportunity to visit Transylvania. It was amazing to experience the different culture and lifestyle along with so many other people. I will forever treasure the memories and friends I made and can definitely recommend visiting the beautiful landscapes of Transylvania sometime!