Transylvania International Film Festival Day One: Nord-Rhein-Transylvania

In Cluj, thinking about Bonn

I didn’t expect my trip to go so smoothly. On the same day as my planned trip to Cluj-Napoca, NATO started their massive Air Defender exercise across German skies. 250 aircraft from the Luftwaffe, USA and elsewhere, up to 10,000 soldiers and six air bases have been commandeered for a two-week exercise as a show of Western force against the existential threat of Russia — civilian trips to Mallorca and Antalya be dammed. Yet, despite some warnings of delays and cancellations nationwide, my Wizz Air flight left perfectly on time, its flight path unhindered by fighter jets and stealth bombers. 

To calm my nerves before what I thought would be hours of waiting for the overzealous military to give the all-clear, I stopped in Standige Vertretung, an outpost of Rhenish culture in Berlin — Kölsch beer served in small glasses, heaps of Himmel un Ääd  (literally meaning “heaven and earth”, it’s a tasty mixture of black pudding, fried onions and mashed potatoes with apple sauce) and a TV feed explaining its prominence in Berlin’s rich tapestry. Politicians, ideas, culture, etc, etc. They didn’t explain the pictures of Mother Theresa or Greta Thunberg on the wall though. I might be wrong, but they don’t sound like Kölsch drinkers. 

I opted for two portions of mett (raw beef seasoned with salt and pepper) with some raw onions and bread, washed down with a couple of small beers, and wondered why I started my trip to Romania thinking about Nord-Rhein-Westphalia. 

Read the rest over at Journey Into Cinema!