Our arrival at Cluj-Napoca was filled with excitement and anticipation. None of us knew what to expect from this TCV conservation holiday to Romania, particularly as we had all met for the first time the night before, when we spent one night at the Travelodge in Luton to get to know each other.

Our Romanian-Hungarian guide, Laszlo, met us at the airport and welcomed us to the country. The first thing we did was drive into the town of Cluj to grab some lunch and do some quick sight-seeing. My first impressions of Cluj was that it had a very Mediterranean feel to it - bright and breezy with smart looking buildings, many of which were painted yellow. The architecture actually reminded me of the French-style Vietnamese buildings I saw in Hanoi.

After grabbing a very cheap but tasty lunch, we had a quick look round the central cathedral, which belonged to the Orthodox faith. The grand, ornate style was in direct contrast to the quiet, peaceful atmosphere inside.

Soon after, we began the long car journey to Odorheiu Secuiesc. The 300km journey took us to the town where we would stay for the next ten days. On the way, we drove through spectacularly rugged countryside where we saw many family farms with chickens and small patches of land for crops. The rolling hills transformed into a small range of mountains, with the more majestic Eastern Carpathian mountains in the distance. White stalks were a common site; more interestingly was the site of a Hoopoe! Many of the buildings in the countryside seemed to be half finished or falling down from age. I also noticed small, scattered piles of litter on the roadside verges. I later found out that this is an issue in Romania which the government and conservation organisations are trying to resolve. Aside from this, many of the vehicles which we came across on the roads were horse and carts! There were also men walking along carrying various farming tools home, while the elderly folk sat on their doorsteps chit chatting away.

Soon enough we arrived at Odorheiu Secuiesc. Laszlo dropped us off at the pension house, which quickly became our home. We had two apartments next door to each other, with a long balcony and a front garden. There was a recently abandoned car in the garden which made for an interesting ornamental feature.

After settling in, Laszlo took us to a nearby restaurant called Select, where we had a well deserved dinner. It began in typical Romanian style: a generous shot of blackcurrant schnapps followed by a bottle of beer! To start, we had soup with pork meat (which somewhat conflicted with Michael's vegetarian food request...). The main course was a pork schnitzel with chips and grated cheese. All very tasty!

The evening ended with a dose of live blues music at a smoky local bar. The atmosphere was buzzing and made for a great first night in Romania! The beer flowed freely and continued to do so in our garden until we staggered to bed.