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7 Days in Bulgaria: Veliko Tarnovo to Plovdiv

poweredbytofu — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:29:05 +0000

This week, I wrote about my travels through Bulgaria last fall. I loved Bulgaria for the amazing history and gorgeous outdoors. Sofia was a surprisingly interesting capital city and I loved being able to get outside and hike in Bansko. If I visit Bulgaria again, I would love to go in winter and see Sofia, the Rila Mountains and Monastery and Bansko.

7 Days in Bulgaria:

Bucharest, Romania to Veliko Tarnovo – Deciphering Cyrillic in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
Sofia – Bulgaria Wishes We All Could Be California Girls
Rila Mountains – Rila Mountain Monastery
Bansko – Hiking and Bear Spotting in Bulgaria
Plovdiv – Coffee & Cigarettes
Plovdiv to Istanbul, Turkey – Overnight on the Orient Express to Istanbul

If Bulgaria is on your list of places to visit, try finding a cheap flight to Paris or London and then take a local carrier (BulgariaAir) into Sofia, (easyJet now flies to Sofia too), or go overland by train.

Next up, Turkish delights!

#41: Visit Europe Again

poweredbytofu — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:07:14 +0000

My first experience traveling abroad was to France in 2006 (when I officially got the travel bug). Since then, I’ve wanted to go back and see more of Europe. However, with the euro and dollar exchange rate at $1.60 this summer, I decided to stick to the outer edges of the EU that don’t use the euro yet. By starting in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, I didn’t have to cringe every time I made a purchase, but still had the convenience of being in the EU. Turkey was my next stop, and while not quite Europe, it was an amazing introduction to the Middle East. By the time I got to Greece in September the USD was on the rise and I didn’t feel guilty with every gyro and second gelato purchase of the day. So I rounded out my second visit to the European continent by ending in Spain. I’d still like to see more of Europe (I probably always will). And I still haven’t been to Italy! Or Germany! Or Sweden! Or…

Overnight on the Orient Express to Istanbul

poweredbytofu — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 05:19:33 +0000

I spent my last Lev on snacks and baklava, changed into my comfiest outfit and headed to the train station to catch the overnight sleeper train to Istanbul. It’s kind of neat to be on the Orient Express to Constantinople. ;) Our train was, of course, late so we ended up leaving two hours later than expected. I fell right to sleep and was awakened shortly at the Bulgarian border. Thirty minutes later we got to the Turkish border and then the real fun began. Everyone had to get off the train to buy visas and then stand in line. When I finally made it to the front, they stared at me and pointed to a different line. Several lines and exhausting hours later, my passport was finally stamped, and we were allowed to get back on the train. Thankfully, our belongings were untouched!

After a bumpy night, our train pulled into Istanbul around 10 am. I was sweaty, hungry and just about grumpy, so after we ditched out bags at the hotel, I ran for the ATM to get Turkish lira and then settled in for my first real Turkish coffee! We were right in the heart of the tourist area in Sultanahmet, so everything was pretty expensive, but I ordered the fruit platter anyway. After being in Eastern Europe for three weeks it was amazing to have a massive plate of fresh fruit! Ahhh! Türkiye

Coffee and Cigarettes

poweredbytofu — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 05:03:21 +0000

Bulgarians don’t do breakfast. I went into town and ordered a cappuccino (while eating muesli and yogurt from the market). I sat outside, writing in my journal and enjoying my coffee, while everyone else was smoking and drinking coffee. So very Coffee & Cigarettes. I’m wondering if Bulgaria has a higher smoking rate than other European countries.

We traveled to Plovdiv yesterday, and our hotel is right in the downtown, pedestrian-only area. Brilliant location. My plan was to walk up to the ruins on the hill to see the Roman Ampitheater, but the entrance shown on the map was locked and very deserted, so I walked all the way back in to the other entrance. Frustrating, and after walking around for a bit, I grabbed a gelato and headed for dinner. Typical Bulgarian food for dinner, I had grapeleaves and a salad, which consisted of… cabbage!

This afternoon we went to Aqualand waterpark in Plovdiv. Hilarious. I would highly recommend visiting a water park in Eastern Europe, good times. Oh, and oddly, there wasn’t a changing area, and only one bathroom. I guess the Bulgarians know to put their bathers on before arriving at the park! It was fun to get some sun. After five hours of laying out, inner tube slides, swimming, and watching a few Plovdiv residents get more than a little frisky (yes, it was a little shocking), we headed back into town to get ready for the overnight train to Istanbul – The Orient Express. Excited!

Hiking and Bear Spotting in Bulgaria

poweredbytofu — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:14:40 +0000

Hiking day! I’ve been itching to get outside since I was in Bucharest. Thankfully, Bansko has a lot of hiking opportunities since the mountain is used for skiing in the winter. We drove up to the last lodge area where the road ends and hiked for a few hours alongside the creek. Incredible views! It was so nice to be out in nature. I spent a little too much time rock hopping and got a little too comfortable in my surroundings, as there was a falling incident. I banged my left ankle up and have scratches up and down my shins. Oddly I didn’t really feel any pain, but I was bleeding so that raised some alarm. We took a break by the creek, and then hiked back down to the trail head. Today was probably one of my favorite days thus far. I want to come back in winter! After lunch, we visited the Dancing Bear Sanctuary in Belitsa. Although incredibly depressing, it was amazing to see how the bears have been rehabilitated. One of the requirements for Bulgaria to gain entry to the EU was for the cruelty of animals to be outlawed, as it was still legal to have dancing bears in the streets of Sofia. From a young age, “dancing bears” would be disfigured and mistreated, in attempts to train and show them in order to make money. The Sanctuary was created to house these bears and also in attempts to rehabilitate them. There are several fenced walking paths through the 3 acre park. At first I wondered if we would see any bears, but we ended up finding quite a few! It was so neat to see them on the other side of the fence walking or laying around, especially since they’ve all been saved from being tortured and they couldn’t live in the wild on their own. The girl at the front chatted to us about the bears and apparently I’m a lot like a bear… they’re vegetarian, but they do like fish and they love honey. ;)

Rila Mountain Monastery

poweredbytofu — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:53:01 +0000

I went back to the “California” smoothie shop for breakfast, grabbed some lunch items at the supermarket and we left Sofia around 11am. We drove south through gorgeous scenery into the Rila mountains, to the Rila Monastery. It was all very Pacific Northwest-y. The Rila Monastery was founded in the 10 century and acted as a safe haven for Bulgarian culture during their foreign rule and WWI & II. It’s in great condition and a beautiful complex. The Nativity church is extremely colorful, but it’s the whole structure, with the balconies and forest background that makes it just perfect. I’d love to see it in the winter, with snow on the ground.

After leaving the monastery, we drove down to Bansko. Like Sinaia, in Romania, Bansko is another Eastern European ski town. However, they’re quickly expanding, due to Sofia gunning for the 2018 Winter Games. The town center is fairly small, but the outskirts is filling with newly built condos.

Bulgaria Wishes We All Could Be California Girls

poweredbytofu — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:56:09 +0000

I read that Veliko Tarnovo was good for rock climbing. So yesterday, after searching for the climbing office, which was closed with no signs of re-opening, I decided to just relax for a day.

Today, we took an early morning bus to Sofia. At first glance, it appears to be a big, rundown city, which is quite common for the old Eastern bloc. However, Sofia is incredibly charming, especially after seeing the city on foot. I ate lunch at a vegetarian cafe called Dream House Sofia, which was delicious, especially after last night’s Mexican food debacle. After two weeks of eating out in Eastern Europe, it was nice to have something typical of what I would cook for myself back home.

After lunch, and with the Cyrillic alphabet in hand, we checked out the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It’s one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world, and by far the most gorgeous. Incredible. Then we wandered around a few more churches and parks and past an amazing flea market. They were selling WWI and WWII items, which was a little strange to just see all of these Nazi and propaganda-type memorabilia out on the street. There was a lot really unique old jewelry and photos too.

I checked out one of the Sofia mall food courts for dinner, and did a tiny bit of window shopping. I bought a smoothie from a little shop called California Smoothie, and they were so excited! The manager even came out and asked if I was from California, lol. (I love how having blond hair immediately makes you a “California girl”.) I chatted with them for a bit and they asked if there was anything they could do to make their smoothies and shop more like the ones I go to back in the US. ;)

A bunch of us decided to go back to the mall later and watch a movie. It was fun to experience a regular thing, like watching Batman The Dark Knight, but in Bulgaria. The movie was in English, but with Cyrillic subtitles. And they don’t drench the popcorn in butter. It looked like homemade. I wish that was an option back home! In closing, check out the McDonalds sign in Cyrillic. :)

Deciphering Cyrillic in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

poweredbytofu — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:06:16 +0000

Our train left Bucharest at noon, crossing the Friendship Bridge into Bulgaria in the afternoon and arrived in Veliko Tarnovo around 6pm. Although the trip was long and hot, with six people to a cabin, it was nice to have a breeze from the window. We listened to music, read, chatted, snacked and played celebrity head. It was interesting being the only North American, as our views of celebrities are vastly different than the Aussies. For example, I listed Michelle Obama and Smokey the Bear, which were practically voted out as being unfair after no one knew who they were. We’ll have to give them a few months on Michelle Obama, but I think Smokey the Bear is out of luck.

Veliko Tarnovo is one of the oldest settlements in Bulgaria and was one of the strongest fortifications in the middle ages. The town consists of three main hills with a large canyon and river in the middle. There’s a massive statue of the Four Horseman out in the canyon area, which my room looks out over. It’s kind of ominous. After dinner tonight, we went in to town to a local club for cheap cocktails. It was very Eastern European slick, and a great place to people watch. And for $2 mojitos, who am I to complain. So far Bulgaria is incredibly budget friendly. The farther south we get, the cheaper things are.

Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic alphabet so it’s more difficult navigating than in Romania, since all the signs are in cyrillic. It reminds me of trying to read signs in China! Although, it’s a little easier, since many of the letters are similar. I’ll be carrying around my Cyrillic alphabet paper this week.