A Transylvanian Cabin Retreat, Walking in Cluj
"So faßt uns das, was wir nicht fassen konnten, voller Erscheinung, aus der Ferne an — und wandelt uns, auch wenn wirs nicht erreichen, in jenes, das wir, kaum es ahnend, sind;" Rilke
As this year comes to an end, I cannot help but remember all the nourishing conversations that created worlds of possibility, hope, abundance, expansion. The conversations that were an open invitation to live, to feel, to be, to become more.
What are the conversations that you want to remember from this year?
Reuniting with an old friend, Alina, after many years of living abroad in different countries. All the conversations that we had this year brought me deep joy and gratitude. It’s a gift to be able to live near close friends.
Coaching sessions with Kate, talking about visibility, responsibility, becoming.
The Flâneurs Project’s walks in Clingendael Park. We talked about belonging, new cities, and loneliness. People opened up about how vital these community gatherings are for a more rooted sense of home.
The Realisation Festival’s conversations that we had within our discussion group (“Group 8 Realizers” as we called ourselves) were vulnerable and truthful, echoing over and over that “heaven is other people”.
The conversations during The Break Fellowship in Spain, in particular with Melanie & Kerry. Thank you for the long conversations at Julia hotel, at midnight, over wine and tapas. Hope that we find that peace that we so much seek.
The Interintellect salons that I joined lately, especially the most recent one with Kevin Kelly which reminded us to keep on following our curiosities and to live a life with optimism.
And many other conversation with new and old friends, some of them emerging out of this newsletter. Memory is a funny, beautiful, fragile thing. We remember more often how people and places made us feel, perceive, think, rethink, learn, unlearn than the actual conversations.
On another note, it’s my birthday this Sunday, on the 10th. I’m celebrating 31 years of life. This year I will be tucked away in a mountain cabin somewhere in the Romanian mountains.
I was craving a place of peace and quiet this year, close to my city of birth, surrounded by nature, lots and lots of snow, and a slower pace of life for some days.
🥂 My birthday wish for the upcoming year is: more (life-bringing, life-changing) conversations, please. 🥂
Weekly Curation
Your Unsolicited Curated Day in Transylvania
If you ever find yourself for a day or two in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, I am sharing a guide to help you explore this beautiful city through the eyes of someone who used to live there a while ago.
Start with an early long morning stroll in the Old Town, followed by coffee and brunch at Olivo Bistro (alternative: Eggcetera on Napoca 13 Street).
After a long pause and some delicious food, continue your flânerie and stop at Cărturești bookstore on Alexandru Vaida Voevod Street. Stroll on Unirii Square, sit on a bench and watch the world pass by.
Start a conversation with a stranger. Continue your stroll and end up in a museum - The Art Museum of Cluj or Steampunk Transylvania, depending on your mood that day. Continue your stroll and have a quick bite at any Panemar in town (famous bakery, try their heavenly sandwiches, or if you are in the mood for something sweet there are many Romanian cakes to choose from).
Embark on a longer stroll and end up at Samsara on Emil Racoviță Street, try their tea and butter biscuits, pause and rest in the “cosmic room”. Continue your stroll and have dinner at Garlic bites & tales, try their mains with garlic sauce and a good glass of Romanian red wine. For dessert, try some papanași, our traditional cheese doughnuts with sour cream and blueberry jam (recipe inserted below).
End your day with a night stroll in the Old Town.
The Flâneurs Project - Walking in Dallas with Alex Viviano
I’ve published a new interview on The Flâneurs Project.
You can read the full interview here.
How Buildings Learn
“We are convinced by things that show internal complexity, that show the traces of an interesting evolution. Those signs tell us that we might be rewarded if we accord it our trust. An important aspect of design is the degree to which the object involves you in its own completion. Some work invites you into itself by not offering a finished, glossy, one-reading-only surface.
This is what makes old buildings interesting to me. I think that humans have a taste for things that not only show that they have been through a process of evolution, but which also show they are still a part of one. They are not dead yet.”
― Stewart Brand, How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built
Art: Happiness Goes Round and Round
Food
papanași recipe
(Romanian donuts with cottage cheese, sour cream, blueberry jam)
Reading: I Teach the Humanities, and I Still Don’t Know What Their Value Is
“The task of humanists is to invite, to welcome, to entice, to excite, to engage. And when we let ourselves be ourselves, when we allow the humanistic spirit that animates us to flow out not only into our classrooms but also in our public-self presentation, we find we don’t need to defend or prove anything: We are irresistible.”
Poem: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
BY ROBERT FROST
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Thank you for reading!
As always, book an intro call to say hi here, or book a slot to ask you a few questions about your flânerie experiences here.
Onwards,
Patricia