Day 2, a new beginning

I woke up late the next morning, and jumped up to find that it was 11:00. I had been told to call Carmen when I got up and I got worried that she might already be in meetings and wouldn’t be at her phone. I hurriedly pulled on some random clothes and ran down to the lobby. Incidentally, I found an entire men’s soccer team waiting around in the lobby. Well, good morning! I called Carmen from the front desk, and was absolutely thrilled to hear that Domnica, my professor from Washington and Lee, was sitting in the office with Carmen at that moment. What a relief! We planned to meet at 7, and this time, she would come get me at the hotel. Good idea.
So I went back upstairs, with the whole day ahead of me and decided I ought to take a look around town. I asked to receptionist how to get into town and she told me to get on the tram right outside the hotel and take it two stops. I walked outside and went to the stop, and saw a small booth, about the size of a portable toilet, where apparently tickets were sold. I looked around the stop to see if some sort of map was posted, but no, of course not. I approached the booth/john and asked if this was where I could buy tickets, and thankfully, the woman was friendly and explained that it was 3 lei and worked for a trip there and back.
The tram was fantastic, a true post WWII German relic. It went on metal tracks that drove through the streets, so cars wove in and out around it as it drove. For whatever reason, this trams windows had some sheer fabric covering the windows, so I couldn’t really see where were going, but I’ve gotten used to that feeling by now. I got off the tram and felt a moment of panic: I don’t know this city, I don’t know my way around, I don’t even know what I’m looking for. I strolled in a random direction and was really happy to come upon the Unitrii Centrii, a large open area where a massive fourteenth century church stands. I recognized this exact street as one Julian had driven me down when he and Danielle had picked me up at the train station last year. I perked up a bit and walked down this somewhat familiar street. I was really hungry at this point, and looked for something to eat. There are a lot of windows along the street from which people sell pastries, but I wanted something more like a sandwich. By change, I came across a tiny little produce shop where I bought a few pieces of fruit. The woman was nice and grinned when I accidentally gave her too much money, thinking the scale’s screen was showing the price. I found a window where sandwiches were sold and spent a few minutes deciphering what I wanted, but when I approached the window, I saw some pizza, and I said, pointing “I want… that!” The VERY nice woman disdainfully looked at me and sneered “Pizza?” I ALMOST embarked on an impromptu English lesson for her (..”in English, we’d call you a …) but whatever, I got 2 pieces and marched towards the large church to sit on a bench and eat.
Romanian pizza, by the way, is a fascinating blend of the Balkan and Mediterranean: this particular pizza had carrots, peas, corn, ham, stringbeans, and olives. Actually, it wasn’t that bad.
After that, I decided to head back to the hotel, and I went back to the stop where I had gotten off. The stop was on a median in the middle of traffic, and while I waited, cars drove by me, some quite normal European models, but a large percentage of the DACIAs, a really awful sedan that you see even more in the countryside. I knew I wanted tram 101 and that it was supposed to go in the opposite direction from where I came, but after 20 minutes, 101 and 102 had gone by in the opposite direction, and 101 and 102 going in the correct direction had passed without stopping. Hm. Clearly the stop in the other direction was not here, but it wasn’t located directly across the street (or even a block in either direction) as would be typical. I followed the tram on foot, seeing 101 ahead of me in traffic and kept it in sight until I came to a big 5 way intersection where I couldn’t find it anymore and there were tracks going in 3 directions. I was getting that frustrated, helpless feeling again: why didn’t I try to get a map first? Luckily, I caught sight of a stop to the right and found that the trams came to that stop and went in the correct direction.
When I got back to hotel, I messed around with my computer, and then made a to do list. I needed an alarm clock or I would never be able to catch a train before noon, I needed to think about a train ticket, and I needed a cell phone. I was really sick of my detached feeling and I wanted to be able to call someone if I needed to. I also read my Rough Guide to Romania, and having looked at a map and read some information abou Cluj, including directions to I went back into town, and found that, having followed that same route again, the familiarity made me feel more comfortable, and with guide in hand, I felt more confident about where I wanted to go.