a night out in Cund

Last night, our friend Gheza invited Relu, Dana and myself to head out to the village he grew up in. All I knew was that there would be drinking and jazz...so naturally I was up for it!

So we hopped in the caddy, which no longer has Michigan license plates I might add, and headed off into the countryside. Relu kept asking me why I was so quiet; I was taking in the scenery of all the little, old saxon villages that I love in this area. We kept going and Relu told me a story of a terrorist that had been hiding out in this area a few years ago. He was living in a barn before the locals got suspicious and contacted authorities. I never know if these stories are true, but they are always interesting. Finally we arrived in the village of Cund.

When entering town, I kept seeing signs in German...I had forgotten about the German influence in the area. Daily, I'm surrounded by Romanian and Hungarian influences, but this area also has Saxon roots. Cund is a quintessential Saxon village with a German heritage that runs deep in each of its inhabitants. We pulled the car up along side this beautiful old farmhouse with horses galloping in the pasture behind the main building. I was taken aback by the beautiful woodwork (Carpathian Oak) throughout the entire complex. It may be in the middle of nowhere, but for me this is what Transylvania should be promoting for tourism. It truly has stunning views and an untouched landscape that is so hard to find today. While staying at the guesthouse there are hikes, horseback riding, traditional crafts workshops, carpentry workshops...It's a perfect escape from our busy, complicated, modern lives.

We sat down, and to my surprise we were told that everything was complementary tonight. I loved hearing that! Jonas, the owner, made it clear that he wanted to party and enjoy the multicultural event with guests he had invited. There were German, Romanian, Hungarian, Spanish, American (me), and Swedish guests. We all communicated in English, and for once it was my friends (except for Relu and Dana who speak fluent English) looking to me to make sure they had understood correctly what the other person asked. So we sat down with glasses of champagne and a few beers scattered about on the table. We had a nice chat before Jonas announced the food was ready! I wish I had taken a picture of this, but there was a large buffet with name cards describing the foreign foods Jonas had made to introduce his non-Romanian guests to Romanian cuisine. Sure I love all the Romanian food, but I was excited for the grilled pork chops, pasta salad, german potato salad, and au gratin potatoes I could see and smell! It was all delicious, and I'm realizing more and more how much of my family's cooking is influenced by my German heritage. Anyway, we ate...a lot! Then we all wandered the grounds as the sun was setting behind the rolling hills. As soon as the sun went down, we were directed toward the tent set up in the backyard. For two hours we sat and enjoyed a great jazz band from Berlin. The crickets added a little background music for the band, and it was not lost on me how lucky I am to be experiencing these moments. I mean seriously...here was was sitting outside on a cool, spring evening listening to jazz in a small village nestled in the center of the Transylvanian hills.
Jonas and Ulrieke were wonderful hosts, and I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity to experience more of the quiet, serenity of a small, Transylvanian village.

Check out the website of, Valea Verde, an old Transylvanian farmhouse restored into a guesthouse.