Barely returned from my second trip to Tenerife and I got some tickets to visit Timișoara. This is a fairly big city, our Pearl in the West, the capital of the traditional Banat region of the country and a town that I was postponing visiting for about two decades. I have friends that were born and raised here, friends that came here for university and everyone was always talking about the town with very high opinions.
So, without further waiting, as soon as I unpacked my Tenerife luggage, I started to pack my backpack. Joking, I just kept the clean clothes, switched some things and bag’s all done! Got to the airport and I was happy to have a place at the window, on the account of the plane not being fully booked. The flight from Bucharest was very fast, it only took 50 minutes to cover the 400km in straight line, which is way better than the 11 hours it takes to cover the distance by train.
First impressions…
After waiting for a few minutes, I got a but that takes about 30 minutes to reach the city centre and only costs 4 lei. That’s about 80 cents, which is way cheaper than the 20 euro a Bolt/taxi would cost. Once I’ve got to town, I started to explore the streets of old town, as I had a few hours to spare until my room would be ready for checking in, because it was still early morning.
Even if the photos don’t show it, as I was pretty careful to try to exclude people as much as possible to capture the beauty and look of the places, it was 9 in the morning and the town was already buzzing, cafes would start to open and some bistros were already fully booked with people having coffee and breakfast.
I was lucky enough to catch during my stay here a part of the Easter Festival, which it’s set to cover both the Catholic Easter (March 31st) and the Orthodox one (May 5th), so the Liberty Square was filled with booths with a ton of nice foods and handmade things.
The general mood in the town is a relax one. You can see people going to work and talking about serious things, but most of them have a smile on their face and you can feel a layer of feel-good on everyone’s auras.
The other big square in the area, the Union Square (Piata Unirii) was already buzzing with people, some sitting at the cafes around the place or eating breakfast. Although it was a Friday, it felt more like a Sunday morning, and it was really fun to roam around.
After grabbing an omlet to eat and had a hot tea, I went into a tram and headed towards my first planned destination. Two minutes later, I got off, because I was so mesmerized by the beauty of the city that I took the tram in the wrong direction and it took me a bit to realize it. Walked back to the same place where I left from, but on the other side of the street, waited for another tram and now I was now finally on the correct way towards the first destination on my list: Viniloteca.
Viniloteca
Founded in its current form in 2015, Viniloteca is the dream of Emil Biebel, a mom-and-pop shop with everything that you want. Blending together good coffee, a bit of beer, some nice tea with a varied collection of music, this is the perfect place to spend an hour. Or four. The place itself is really warm and welcoming, and is always welcoming visitors with warmth and with something nice spinning on the platter of a powerhouse of a Technics SL-Q2 direct drive turntable.
When I arrived there, I was greeted by Herbie Hancock’s Sound-System spinning relentlessly on the platter.
I got a coffee and then a cola, and I talked with Dorian about all kinds of music, about drinks while I was browsing the store for some records. In the meantime, the records kept jumping on and off the turntable and without noticing, more than two hours passed by. As I got a message that my room was ready, I left, with the promise to return again.
I really loved the atmosphere there, it’s a little cozy shop, but it’s more than that. Emil built a small community around it, and people don’t only come for the coffee, the music or both. They come for the experience, for the people here, for Emil and for being part of a community.
Various — TM Lost Tapes
2021 - 3xLP, White, Translucent Red, Transparent Green, Limited Edition
Various — TM Lost Tapes Vol. 2
2022 - LP
Various — TM Lost Tapes Vol. 3
2023 - 2xLP, Compilation, White & Black
So, of course, on the second day, I went back there, to meet Emil in person. After getting several records from him, especially the “TM Lost Tapes” series, a series of records which he curated and coordinated the project, to revive and unearth lost recordings of various bands from Timisoara and bring them into the attention of the public. It’s a brilliant idea, and I think more people should follow it. I hate the idea of losing data, and finding a proper way to promote the lost recordings of bands that would actually be lost to the sands of time. We also talked a bit about the upcoming Implant pentru Refuz vinyl release of the “Subradar” album due this month, when none other than Pișta stepped into the shop and we talked a bit too.
Spending time with Emil was brilliant. As it was Saturday, the shop was a bit more animated, with people coming by and talking about poetry, literature, philosophy, music, friends and the future. People of all ages stepped inside and the atmosphere was really chill and entertaining, while we all had something to learn.
Emil also told us about his life experience, about his work with Implant pentru Refuz in their early days, about the years he spent in Greece, and the history of the Viniloteca shop, who actually started with the name Rocka Rolla, many years before, located on the Eugen de Savoya street, at number 10. Because of how things are usually in life and how everything happens for a reason, the location was exactly in the courtyard where I’m staying, not 10 meters away from the place I’m currently sitting and writing these lines.
On my way to the airport, I took a small detour there again to say goodbye to Emil, and spent some time listening to more stories from him and from Tavi Iepan (founder of Cargo, Rezident Ex, member of Autostop, Metamorf, Sector, Progresiv TM) which made my five minute stay extend to almost two hours. These people are great and they personify all the good parts of Timișoara.
I really loved my time spent here and probably Viniloteca is my favourite place to spend time in the city. You can learn more about Emil, just by googling his name and “Rocka Rolla” or “Viniloteca”. He also writes great album reviews at “Plăcile lui Emil” and you can see his great inventory at Viniloteca, either in store or on viniloteca.shop.
As a side note, Emil also told me about his son’s business, Bereta Taproom & Bottleshop a really nice brewery with nice staff and 16 different taps of beer. Without discussing about it in advance, my local friends took me there where I tasted a Bereta 11.5% stout with chocolate macaroon flavour which really packed a punch.
I was also very lucky to see the Mayor of Timișoara, Dominic Fritz, walking by, so I went by to say hello, hoping for a photo op. I told him that I was visiting the city for the first time, so he took a minute from his time to stay and talk with me, to ask me what is my opinion of the city and what places I like the most. Very cool guy, hope people vote for him again.
Scârț Loc Lejer
Half pub, half museum, half theatre hall, half really cool place. The space, located close to the “Doina” park (now known as the Carmen Sylva Park), hosts the “Auăleu” theatre company and smallest theatre hall in Romania, as well as the Communist Consumers Museum. As well, Scârț Loc Lejer is the name of the pub hosted in the same house, where pretty much everything that is liquid can be consumed.
I love this place so much, because it’s more than the sum of its components and Ovidiu Mihăiță, the mastermind behind all this is a brilliant person. With the theatre band, they released “Miorița” on vinyl, one of the best Romanian theatre plays in a very nice version. Unfortunately, during my visit, there wasn’t any play in program, so I just had to enjoy a cold one while exploring the pub. Ovidiu is also a drummer in the band Haos, which also released a vinyl that I have, but was too dumb to post it in my records section. Will fix it, though. which I posted in April 2024.
Auăleu — Miorița
2019 - LP, Limited Edition, Numbered, #034/300
Haos — E Haos & Legea Pute!
2019 - LP, Limited Edition, Yellow Marbled, Numbered, #042
Half of the ground floor is a small theatre hall with a few chairs and a very intimate atmosphere. The remainder of the ground floor acts like a nice pub with a few tables and bookshelves with any book you can imagine and some nice communist posters on the walls, a “trailer” for the experience that waits for you in the basement.
Going down the stairs you arrive in the Communist Consumers Museum, an out-of-the-box museum that can be called “the Communist Hoarder Museum” as well. There are no explaining plates, but you can see together a lot of stuff reminding us of the communist period, when everything would be just reused, recycled and kept for “we might need it at some time”.
The museum’s room each represent a specific room in a traditional Romanian living space, ranging from the living room, the kitchen, a kids’ room, even something that resembles a classroom (at least there’s a school kid’s bench). You’ll find stacks of old electronics, TVs and radios made in communist Romania, photos, film slides, phones, pottery, toys and what not. Of course, we’ll find the traditional crochet on top of the TV set, with the omni-present glass fish.
At the end of the trip, make sure to stay a while and enjoy the garden with a beer or a glass of water and let the sensorial overload of the bar and museum settle in your mind and take in the experience as a whole. When I mentioned Viniloteca as being probably the best place in town, it’s because it’s tied with this beautiful chaos. Totally love it, make sure you pay a visit. Also check their presences online
One day before this, I went with some friends to Casa Tineretului (Youngster’s House), where a student festival was ending with a concert from a band from the Republic of Moldova, some really nice and talented kids called “Prima dragoste” (First Love). I also had the luck to meet Ovidiu Mihăiță in person, which was a super cool and random encounter.
And speaking of local celebrities, I had the magnificent opportunity to meet several times Kenny de Savoya, street cat by day, house cat by night (or Batman, still unclear). He then walked me to a terrace nearby which I suspect is secretly paying him in anchovies. He stayed with me until my Cointreau-powered coffee arrived and he then abruptly left in search for new customers or maybe for some lasagna at the restaurant across the street.
Bottom line …
Above all the cultural experiences and things that you can visit, Timisoara remains a very beautiful city, with large square where you can chill, go for a coffee, meet with some friends, or just wander around the streets.
This was just a quick trip for me, with no preconceptions, no research, just a vibe and some old recommendations. It’s definitely a place worth visiting, with really unique awesome places to discover, but more importantly, with amazing people to meet!
I’ve added only a part of the photos I’ve taken to this article, but you can find many more in the photo dump attached, Make sure you check them, they’re really really great! I’m leaving this town behind today, with its sunny terraces, relaxed beautiful people, fantastic small businesses, a place where I’ll definitely return as soon as possible. Moreover, Timisoara is only two and a half hours away from Beograd, a city I also want to see in the future, so that’s another reason to come back soon, maybe until then, there will be beer flowing on Bega.
