1936 On the Continent

sort of treatment that is known to the practitioners of this comparatively new art. Luxurious hairdressing establishments will be found in or around the Calea Victoriei.
    Haggling over the price of anything—except food and drink listed on the menu in restaurants—is both permissible and unavoidable. It is the custom of the country to haggle, and if you buy a pair of gloves you may be asked double the price that will eventually be accepted.
    The language difficulty is hardly likely to arise in Bucarest—or in any other big town in Roumania for that matter—since practically every educated Roumanian speaks a little English. If it is your ambition to converse with the ladies, do not worry about your ignorance of Roumanian, for the women of Roumania understand
all
languages spoken by attractive males. But it is only fair to warn you in this connection. Do not converse too much with any young lady unless she has been introduced by someone you know and trust.
Provincial Cities
    After Bucarest you may wish to visit Cluj, the capital of Transylvania. Cluj, also called Klausenburg and Kolozsvar, is more westernised than Bucarest. It is a University town and in some ways it resembles Cambridge, though it is situated in mountain country. The English visitor to Cluj may rely on a right royal welcome from the Hungarian
intelligentsia
. They will “bathe him in milk and butter,” as the Hungarian idiomatic phrase of hospitality goes. He may make the acquaintance of a local celebrity at one of the smart cafés, and an invitation to the celebrity’s home is almost bound to follow.
    Cluj has a most beautiful Botanic Gardens and a really excellent Opera House, where performances are given from October till June.
    The British Consul at Cluj—a man of extraordinary charm—will no doubt be pleased to advise you how to spend a pleasant week in Cluj.
Oradea-Mare
    Another Transylvanian town that the English or American tourist is advised to visit is Oradea-Mare, also known as Grosswardein and Nagyvarad. Oradea is close to the Hungarian border in the west and has a considerable military garrison. Oradea is a very old town, with a fortress dating from the time of the Turkish invasions of Europe, yet in its social, commercial and industrial life it is not merely modern but ultra-modern. Here again the English visitor will be received with open arms. Indeed, Oradea has a few English inhabitants who came as tourists and found themselves held captive by the fascination of this half Roumanian, half Hungarian town.
    But though ultra-modern in many respects, Oradea has lost none of its picturesqueness, and on market days—Mondays and Fridays—the visitor may see tens of thousands of Hungarian, Roumanian and Saxon peasants in their various colourful regional costumes, crowding the market places and overflowing into the neighbouring streets.
    An idea of the cost of living in Oradea may be gathered from the fact that 10,000 lei, or the equivalent of about £12, is regarded as a very high salary, upon which a family can live in luxury.
    Railway travel in Roumania is less comfortable than in England, but if you travel first class you will have no reason to complain. The cost will not matter, as railway fares are extremely low if measured by English standards. Also, trains run practically to schedule, and if the speeds do not compare favourably with railway speeds in some other countries—well, you are on holiday and in no particular hurry.
    There are omnibuses to take you from the towns to neighbouring health resorts or watering places, as, for instance, from Oradea to the Hot Springs at Felix, whilein the mountain districts there are, in most places, local trains to take you over the most difficult part of the terrain.
    In built-up areas you can still hire a horse-cab, which is both cheap and really comfortable, though you must not leave it to the driver to fix the charge. If you offer half of what he asks you will probably arrive at the right figure after a little friendly haggling.
Cuisine
    The English traveller will not require special information about Roumanian cuisine, or, to be precise, about the cuisine in Roumania. For there are about a score of different cuisines in the territory covered by present-day Roumania. There is the Hungarian cuisine in the greater part of Transylvania, the Sekler (“Hun”) cuisine in its eastern part, while Saxon dishes may be enjoyed in towns like Bistritza, Roumanian dishes in parts of Transylvania