A Year Off - a Hungarian teacher’s diary who made her getaway: Kalotaszeg

As I have written earlier I like travelling to Romania. Explore new places or visit those ones where I have already been.

Two weeks ago I went to Kalotaszeg which is located from the King’s Pass (Piatra Craiului) to Cluj Napoca. This area is one of the folk regions of Transylvania like Maramures.

However, this region is so different. Village architecture, folk customs and customs have survived like in Maramures but this is a traditional Calvinist area.

The other difference is the population. While Maramures is inhabited by Romanian people, the population of Kalotaszeg is mainly Hungarian.

My company was half Hungarian, half Romanian. A group of joyful people from Oradea who meets practicing English every Friday evening. Their leader, an enthusiastic English language teacher and tour guide, Öcsi organizes a trip for his students every autumn. It was the second time when I was lucky to be invited to participate on their annual trip.

Our destination, the little village Nagypetri (Petrindu) is 130 km far from Oradea.

The stop at the King’s Pass (Piatra Craiului) is a must for everybody. Not just because traditionally this pass is the gate of the Historical Transylvania but because the view from the new car park is breath-taking.

Nagypetri is a little village in Kalotaszeg, has just 480 inhabitants. The only guesthouse is Magnolia panzió which is run by the priest and his family. The house is neat and cozy.

At the entrance, on the left there is a traditional “clean room”, which is similar to a family “museum”. In Kalotaszeg it is full of painted furniture, a “made bed” with embroidered bed linen and rich collection of clay pots.

The other rooms are less decorated but tasteful and comfortable.

The huge garden is proper for varied outdoor activities such as playing badminton, table tennis, lighting fire, cooking, or just hanging around.

After cleaning vegetables for our dinner, “gulas” me and a friend of mine went for bike riding.

We explored the little village and the neighbouring one as well.

The dinner was great. Anikó did her best just always.

Next day we visited the old church which was built in the XIII-XIV century in Romanesque style.

Originally the church was catholic but became Calvinist at the time of reformation.

The interior seems to be a mini version of Huedin (Bánffyhunyad) church. The Renaissance panelled ceiling was painted by János Umling and his son Lőrinc. The carved pulpit and the lovely red “written” embroidery are also typical in Kalotaszeg.