Piatra Secuiului

 After visiting the salt mine, our next stop was Piatra Secuiului. I have never been there before, although is not that far from Cluj-Napoca where I have studied. 

You know you are in a village where many Hungarians live when at the local shop you are greeted in Hungarian and not in Romanian, although you are in Romania and not in Hungary.

We did not spend much time in the village, we also did not have much time left of the day, so we hurried up to reach the top. I did not prepare very well for the hike, had no map of the hike and I just hoped it will be well marked as it usually is in Romania, and I was not wrong. 

On the way there we met a praying mantis. It is quite often in Romania to come across either green or brown praying mantises. 

On the top, we met two other hikers and their lovely dog. Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of the dog .... I should start writing it down. We also had a lovely view of the valley. 

After enjoying our small break we headed back to the village, as I was not sure how long it will take or where the path was going and we still had to drive to our lodging for the night. Before descending through the forest, we meet another cute dog waiting for his group to return. 

One thing I really love in Romania is the many Crocus flowers you see in the fields in spring and autumn. It is truly magical each time. 

After a long walk in the forest, which felt like forever, we were out in the open fields again. This time we met another dog but without his owner in sight. He walked in front of us, kind of showing us the way, but at some point stopped waiting for us and then we lost track of him. I felt a bit sad seeing the dog alone, I hope he has a loving family somewhere. 

Back in the village, we encountered a group of playful dogs and cats. It breaks my heart seeing dogs on the streets, especially as I know Romanians are not taking very good care of their animals, and most probably none of them are sterilized. I wish I could take with me any street animal I encounter and offer them love and a shelter...