TRANSYLVANIA | part II – Daiana Darlene's Blog

Despite having lived there for 14 years, I had to turn 20 to find out that Romania goes vegan several times a year: before Xmas, Easter, Wednesdays and Fridays, and pretty much before any other religious occasion (such as Virgin Mary’s bday).

Sure, this is veganism based on religious reasons and not based on the non-speciesist view that animals aren’t ours, I hear you say. But hey, they’re doing the least harm during these times of the year and oh it’s so good for vegan travelers.

Another point worth mentioning is that this vegan diet, or how they call it ‘mancare de post’, is accepted within the media so you can easily find in most magazines vegan recipes. It is not an alien diet. It is more socially accepted than in the UK I dare say. Not to mention, this makes it so much easier to eat out.

For instance, my grandma lives in a small village up in the mountains. Quite a developing area, yet they had a much tastier vegan cheese than the ones Tesco provide near my uni. Not to mention, a bakery near the market sold vanilla, apple, and cherry doughnuts as well as the good old sesame seed and poppy seed pretzels. All vegan!

We then got to experience a range of new foods, such as nettle soup – I must admit I was sceptical at first, but it was stupendous!

To further my point, cafes, restaurants, coffee shops, virtually everywhere, vegan food is to be found; just look for the ‘de post’ tag.

We then indulged in a tour of my hometown, Cluj, where I couldn’t fail spot a few major modernisations in the dusty city. It’s all getting there slowly but surely! The sun was at its peak when we decided to have lunch on the terrace of a central restaurant. Just a note on money matters, eating out is not a luxury at all: with the pound to lei conversion, you can get a three course meal in a fancy place for around £5. The cake in the picture above is just slightly over £1. Bargain!

I must confess that during our meal we got approached by a citizen who asked for money or food – I felt compassionate on the food part, as the lentil soup was quite different from the one I have home, but upon asking the waitress, she politely replied that they’ll be more than happy to give them left over food (especially as ours was virtually untouched), but that this will attract more of the homeless.

Yes, way too sunny to face the camera.

Pink soup from grandma to match my nails. Beetroot soup to be precise.

Home, many people think vegans have allergies and thus avoid animal products, whereas in Romania they will assume you are vegan for religious reasons. Not sure which I dislike most… It is somewhat bothersome that it won’t even cross people’s minds that veganism is not about those reasons, at all.

Vegetarian and vegan travelers can easily find a tasty dish suitable for them if they ask for mancare de post (food suitable for religious fasting). Because Romanians are in their large majority Eastern Orthodox Christians, fasting involves removing of all the animal products from their meals (meat, dairy products or eggs). Even though Lent seasons only cover a small part of the year, you can find fasting food throughout the year. However, note that most of the Romanians are unaccustomed with vegetarianism or veganism; still, you can find fasting food “mancare de post” all year round since most of the Romanians fast also outside Lent, on Wednesdays and Fridays, as part of their orthodox faith.

As the disc of the sun was matching the round window is its joy to lighten the room, the flow of the conversation moved to our wonderful adventure in the land of Romania. We shared our experiences of the camping trips and expeditions in the mountains. What stood out most was one of the wonders that stems right from the heart of the mountains, and is known to attract a lot of tourists: Bizom water, an intense magnesium filled mineral water, which can be collected fresh as it springs at the top of the mountain. A true reward after mountain climbing. But more on this in part III…