Poieni, which means clearings or glades in Romanian, is a small village in the hills of Cluj county, on the edge of the Apuseni mountains, and the point called Cornu Sonului lies a few kilometres from it. The landscape is that of western Transylvania as it begins to climb: rolling green hills, patches of beech and oak forest, meadows and farms with steep tiled roofs. To the east and south the land rises toward the great limestone country of the Apuseni, with its caves, gorges and high pastures, while to the west the road drops toward Oradea and the Hungarian border.
Ciucea, a few kilometres away, was the home of the poet and politician Octavian Goga, one of the most important Romanian writers of the early twentieth century, who died there in 1938. His castle, now a museum, stands in the town and is a fine place to see how a cultured Transylvanian lived between the wars. Ciucea also sits on the main route between Cluj and Oradea, so it has always been a place where traffic pauses, and it has a railway station with services in both directions.
The landscape also holds traces of the Roman frontier of Dacia Porolissensis, whose watchtowers ran along the ridges of the northern hills, and the Cornu Sonului name seems to point to a high, exposed place with a view. Whatever the local story is, the hill gives the right feeling: air, wide skies and distance. It is also a place where old life persists, with horse carts on the road and wood smoke rising from chimneys.
The road through Ciucea is a busy one, with trucks and cars hurrying between two cities, so use the quieter lanes through Poieni and Negreni where you can. The bends are open, the asphalt is usually decent, and the countryside is calm. Spring blossom, summer meadows and autumn leaves are all lovely, and winter brings snow and ice to the higher lanes. Ciucea has fuel, a few cafes and shops; Negreni and Poieni are smaller, so check your fuel level at Ciucea before heading into the hills. For a proper meal, look for a roadside restaurant with grilled meat and homemade sour cherry juice, and ask about the local cheese.