Cluj-Napoca is a beautiful city in Romania, considered the unofficial capital of Transylvania. Cluj holds the title of the European YouthCapital in 2015, won during a competition that had 49 European countries as participants. Because of this recognition, some of the objectives for this year are for the city to become a major European centre for events, appointments and conferences, to involve yougsters and youth organizations in the urban development process and to involve the local community in youth projects and youth activities. Therefore, you can imagine Cluj as a vibrant, young city where a variety of interesting events are happening this year.

You can read more about Cluj as the European Youth Capital, at www.cluj2015.eu, where there is also available a calendar with all the events that are happening during this year.

In April, I spent time with a group of international youth that visited Cluj-Napoca. They had a beautiful experience and agreed to share with you their thoughts about the 2015 European Youth Capital. And if you are still thinking whether to visit Cluj or not, maybe their testimonials will convince you to do it.

Emma Karlsson – The Netherlands

“Cluj is the perfect destination for a city trip. It has interesting history, culture, nice bars and restaurants, or you can just do like the locals and hang out in the Central Park. I am recommending all my friends to go there.”

"As soon as we landed in Cluj Airport, I felt good vibrations around me. I was very surprised by the local people’s kindness and their eagerness to help me to find the hotel. Moreover, two people gave me their valid tickets for free so I didn't have to buy them. Another pleasant surprise was the level of English knowledge of local people.

I visited many spots in Cluj, but I regret I couldn't stay longer to explore all sights worth seeing. The big park with small lake was also memorable and since I do a lot of sports, I was thrilled to see many old people working out in open gym. All in all, Cluj experience was really nice and hopefully I will visit Cluj and Romania again."
Mustafa Gündoğdu -Turkey

"Before my visit to Cluj-Napoca, I expected to see a «smaller Bucharest» with less people, less buildings and less action. Due to my first expectations, I could not stop comparing these two cities. But Cluj clearly showed me that in many aspects, Europe is not actually divided by the national boundaries, but it is a continent of diversity not only among its countries but also within its cities: Cluj and Bucharest were very different from each other and they had their own specific beauties.

Contrary to what I expected, Cluj is not full of Soviet-style buildings. Yes, this was the first thing that surprised me in this city. Actually, its architecture made me feel as if I was somewhere in Western Europe. After my conversations with local people, I learned more about the historical German influence in this region. The unexpected architectural style must be a result of this. Regarding the architecture, you can also easily notice the contrast between the old and the new. It is possible to see a fascinating old-style building next to a bigger building full of glass and advertisements all around.

After I spent more time in the city, the second thing I observed was how kind and welcoming the people were. Well…in smaller cities, you mostly do not have high expectations to be welcomed as a foreigner. But here you can have this expectation because the friendly attitude of local people makes you feel at home. And you will probably have no language problem in this city because most of the people can understand and speak English. Maybe it is because Cluj is known to be a «University city» with a high population of young people.

I think it would be a good city to live in. Although it is relatively small, you can find anything you will need: when I wanted to have some rest in a peaceful place among the trees, I could go to the Central Park or to the several small lakes close to the city centre; when I wanted to enjoy the night, I could find many pubs, night clubs in the city (some of them are open every day until morning!); when I wanted to have a good view of the city, I could simply walk 10 minutes to climb the small hill near the city centre, at «Cetățuie» etc. If you get out of the city, you will also see lots of beautiful villages among the aesthetically-scattered small mountains.

In short, Cluj is like a geographical and cultural connection point between the Eastern and the Western Europe. It is a good place to visit for several reasons: friendly and welcoming people, a unique atmosphere, cheap prices, and active entertainment life, etc."

Panoramic view from Cetățuie hill

Nefeli Papagiannakou - Greece

"My first steps in Cluj ground were quite impressive. I remember staring outside the taxi's window at the buildings, the people and the park. I was so amazed from this specific park! It was big, full of people, having their stroll around the lake, playing with the pedalos, or others, staring at the sky lying on the hammocks.

My first thoughts were «I wish I had such parks back home». What I have in mind about Cluj: is a big city which offers «shots» of nature, combining lakes, parks and street walks.

I will totally recommend Cluj to my friends."


Ana Mirza - Moldova
"Cluj-Napoca - one of my favorite places in Romania, even though I didn't see many places from Romania :). Why I'm thinking like that? Well, because Cluj is Cool, Likeable, Uptrend and... and Jolly (I could not find a better word). It seemed to like a small, friendly, young and warm city. One of my favourite places in Cluj-Napoca, that I recommend you to visit as well, is the Central Park.

I really liked the fusion of an old Renaissance atmosphere (maybe because of the architecture) and 'Young Blood' air. I should come back... I will come back to Cluj."

Central Park - Photos made by Ana Mirza

Lilit Adamyan - Armenia

Harry Saunders - UK

"Cluj-Napoca was nice, a very different experience to some other places due to the absence of many western tourists... This makes it feel like a more authentic experience seeing local people.

I really liked some of the cool bars. So yes I'd recommend it, but not to too many people otherwise it will become full of tourists!"

Theresa Song Loong – The Netherlands

“It was my second time in Romania and the first time in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania. I really enjoyed the city! It is very friendly, peaceful and surprising. I think yes, surprising is just the best word to describe it. Honestly, before coming to Cluj I expected to see completely different city but in reality it was not so gorgeous as people told me. At first I was even a little bit disappointed.  But day after day I discovered more and more about the city. Really, it has some kind of magic. And the people are really friendly and will help you for sure!

Cluj-Napoca is full of contrasts. Its architecture is quite strange because on the same street you can see old baroque buildings and next to them is a Soviet one, go ahead and you will see high office center made of glass. But it gives the streets some special charm. The tiny streets, trees and plants everywhere, lots of cafes, strange architecture style, big monuments and busy roads – that is my words to describe Cluj-Napoca.

I even got a chance to visit two concerts. The first one was in the local philharmonics and it was modern orchestra music. Strange experience for me because I’m not really a fan of it. The next day I went to the free Haydn concert in the main Catholic Cathedral. It was magnificent. I enjoyed the walks in the Central park; it’s quite big and green. A lot of students like to spend there their free time, read books, have picnics or hanging in the hammocks. For me it was like another planet because in my native city we don’t have such parks and you will hardly meet someone reading or just sitting on the grass. People usually do it just in the city center. If you go to Cluj you should definitely go up to Belvedere view point, from which you can see the whole city from the height. It is unforgettable experience, especially at night.

I strongly recommend visiting Cluj! Everyone can find something to do in this city. And my advice is not to judge it from the first impression. Give it time and you will totally fall in love forever and will come back again and again. Trust me :)”

This chart is made by Marry Ellen Tribby in 2011 after meeting and working with some of the smartest, most successful entrepreneurs in the world - as she wrote about it. 

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My advice: 

Print it and put it on your desk, in your agenda or somewhere else where you can see it every day.

As MarryEllen Tribby said,”as long as we recognize and identify where we need to improve and continually strive to get there -- greater success will follow”. In her vision, people that succeed and reach their goals make 17 things. Let’s take them step by step.

1. Have a sense of gratitude 

2. Forgive others 

Nobody is perfect. I am not perfect. You are not perfect. Everybody makes mistakes. This is how we learn. Life is too short to hold on negative feelings. Really, let them go. Instead of holding any grudges, offer your forgiveness.You will feel happier and you will find peace of mind this way, not concentrating on someone’s mistakes.

3. Accept responsibility for their failures 

As I said before, everybody makes mistakes and this is how we learn. Thus, be a grown up and accept your failures. Do not blame someone else or the Universe for something that you did wrong. Only you are responsible for your actions and decisions, nobody else. "Big people” should understand this. So from now on, no more “sorry I’m late, the traffic was horrible”, and leave home earlier next time you know you have an important meeting.

4. Compliment 

Do you like someone's smile? Tell him/her! Are you impressed of your colleague's work? Say it! When we see a successful person, we may tend to be jealous. But instead of feeling like this and start to criticize, let’s feel happy for that person, for his/her ideas and hard work. Let’s compliment him/her and try to learn from his/her success. 

5. Read everyday 

As Will Smith said - in his speech about the key to life - there is no new problem you could have that someone hasn't already solved and written about it in a book. Reading helps you grow, get inspired, develop new ideas, find out new information in so many domains. There is always something that you could learn about. And the more you learn, the more you will find yourself in Albert Einstein's quote:

6. Keep a journal 

Keeping a journal has many benefits, like boosting our creativity, keeping a record of our progress or releasing stress.

7. Talk about ideas 

Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." Why waste time talking about other people when you could share ideas and get inspired as well. You will not believe how many interesting thing you could find out from other smart people like you.

8. Want others to succeed 

This is connected with step no.9 – sharing information. I offer my help and accept helping people with as much as I can. Yes, I want other people to succeed because this is how we can grow together. For example, I want every young people to develop as much as they can, to become better human beings and to succeed. This way we can succeed together as a community, as a country, as a continent, as the world :)

9. Share information and data 

Sharing is caring :) I like to share my knowledge, experiences and ideas. One of the ways I do it is through this blog. Another way is through the international projects in which I participate and educational projects that I organize through the NGO where I am a member. Why am I sharing? Because I want to help people develop as well, to find out easier about the things that I discovered and learned by myself. We should not be in a competition, we should act like a big team, helping each other.

10. Keep a "to-be" list 

Always aim to become better. Write down the qualities that you would like to define your personal branding; after that, think about what you need to do in order to become like that. Make a plan and get to action. 

11. Exude joy 

Start to be happy for everything that you have, for every person that is in your life, for everything that you achieved. I, for instance, enjoy every little thing in my life – like a warm tea in a cold day or when I put my sunglasses on in a sunny day, like the smell of the chai latte that I drink or the taste of the cocoa that I put on top of it. I simply smile like a child and make other people smile as well.

12. Keep a "to-do/project" list
This step is important. I keep an agenda and it is extremely useful. Keeping an agenda helps me be organized and remember what I have to do while also prioritizing my tasks. I started keeping an agenda in the first year of university when I started volunteering and participating in trainings, conferences, workshops and other events and projects at the same time- my schedule became so full, that I couldn't rely just on my memory anymore. 

13. Set goals and develop life plans 

It is important to think about what would you like to achieve and who would you like to become. Then you may concentrate all your efforts in reaching your goals. Here is an article about how to write a life plan.

14. Embrace change 

Don’t be afraid of change. Take my advice and always try to get out of your comfort zone. As time will pass by, you will feel how your comfort zone grows and the challenges that you have to overcome will become bigger and bigger; and you will become better and better.

15. Give other people credit for their victories 

Appreciate other people’s effort and successes. This is really important especially if you are coordinating a team. Support your team members, give them recognition for their achievements and help them grow. Don’t take credit for something that you didn’t do and be proud of your team instead.

16. Continuously learn

Most people stop learning after graduation. But this is a big mistake. Learning is a continuous process, so we should do it for the rest of our lives. That is why you should take into consideration advice no. 5. Please, don’t change books with TV after finishing school. Knowledge is the real power. If you want to grow, to develop, to get smarter every day, to get better at your work then you know what you have to do.

17. Operate from a transformational perspective
Through your actions you should be looking to change the future, rather than keeping things the same.

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I discovered this speech held by Will Smith, in which he is sharing with us the key to life. It sounds complicated but actually it is really simple: the key to life is running and reading.

As he explains, running is important because this way "you will learn how not to quit when things get hard in your life" and reading, because "there is no new problem you can have, that someone hasn't already solved and wrote about it in a book".

So, there you go, two simple and easy things that you could do and that will have a significant impact in you becoming more successful.