Székely

[shewhomust]

It's a sign of my ignorance about Romania that I had not anticipated how much the regions differed in ethnic make-up and all that goes with it. We drove through the mountains and over the pass, and came out onto the high plateau where, as David had warned us, the roadside vendors try to sell you honey instead of mushrooms or walnuts: there was a chocolate bee on my pillow at the Hotel Fortuna.

They also speak Magyar, and build larger, solider houses, less exuberantly decorated - which is not to say they don't have their own decorative style, but it involves richly carved wood and flat panels, rather than bright colours and finials. Horse carts continue to outnumber horse-carts, but not by so wide a margin, and there are more tractors.

Miercurea Cluj is an actual town, with actual shops whose windows contain things you might actually want to buy, arranged with the intention of making you want to buy them.