August 30, 2016 by Rae

A Shout-Out to Villa Amadeus in Nessebar

I had a really lovely stay at Villa Amadeus in Nessebar. It was a two-star hotel with five-star service. The gal at the front desk (Ana, I believe) deserves a raise as there is no way she is being paid enough for the amazing job she does. I’m not a particularly fussy traveler and I’m so new to not being a bare bones budget traveler that my hotel expectations are still quite low. A harried front desk clerk remembering my coffee order and getting it perfect each time from one day to the next is huge to me. Add in that she made me a lunch for the road on my departure day and, really, what more could you want?!

Well, imagine my disgust with myself last Tuesday when, hours after I checked out, I realised that I’d left my camera in the room! I still can’t get over how I can travel with so little and still manage to forget something so important! I do know how it happened, and it’s because I had the car. I didn’t have to pack as well as I normally did and I brought some loose items down to the trunk, so I didn’t realise I was missing something in my purse. Routine is important!

I promptly contacted Villa Amadeus through booking.com and asked if the camera could be sent to me here in Malak Izvor. They got right back to me promptly saying that my camera had not been found. I was disappointed and thought that was that. But a few hours later, I got another email back saying that they found it!

Yesterday, Monday, I contacted them again to confirm the camera had been sent to me. Yes, and I got a tracking number that put the camera at Ekont’s office in Lovech. A few hours later, I got a call in Bulgarian that I couldn’t deal with, obviously, and the person hung up. Moments later, I got another call from the same number, this time from someone who spoke English, saying it was Ekont and I could come pick up my package. Um, slight problem on that, I don’t have a car! The man said he would call (Ana?) and call me right back, which he did.

This time, he said someone would bring me the camera on Wednesday. Reception here is very poor and I had to confirm four times that I’m in Maluk (Little), not Bulgarski (Bulgarian), or Golyam (Big) Izvor (Spring)!

This morning, I received a text message that I translated to mean the camera was coming today and that I owed 11.80BGN. But it also put my street as being Maluk Izvor. Augh, what happened to the perfectly formatted address info I’d sent Villa Amadeus?!

Around noon, I got a call, which I understood to be from the driver. He had some English and said he was in the “centre.” I tried to get him to confirm that he was here in the village, but he kept telling me no and hung up. Confused, I went back to work. Moments later, he called to ask me where I was, saying he was waiting in a big white van in the “centre.” I asked if he was near the store and he said yes, so I said I’d be right down, not for one second believing that he was there, imagining him in Golyam or even Bulgarski Izvor!

Well, ye of little faith! I did indeed owe 11.80BGN, which, of course, was not a problem.

My camera was super well packaged for the journey:

It is a super robust camera and waterproof, so I wasn’t worried about it being manhandled, but I have to say I’m really pleased with how it was packaged.

And here it is back with me, after a week apart!

Thank you so, so, so much, Villa Amadeus!

August 27, 2016 by Rae

A Lazy Morning in Sofia

I was a bit annoyed that I woke up around seven this morning, but then realised I actually felt rested. Quality of sleep is just as important as quantity! I still managed to doze till about 8:30 and then lazed in bed with the iPad till about 9:30. 🙂

When I finally got up, it was to finish off a small job due tonight so that I wouldn’t have to work when I got home (I might, though…). I dressed, packed, and checked out around 10:30.

By this point, I was famished, but marveling that I really don’t get that “coffee, NOW” feeling that so many people do. I could have quickly gone down the block for a Starbucks before work, but I was perfectly fine waiting.

There are lots of these basement shops in Sofia, where you have to bend down to speak to the shop attendant. There are also lots of tiny kiosks with a price list out front where you have to ask for what you want.

I made my way down Vitosha Boulevard to Makis for a sandwich and a cappuccino, doing the entire transaction in Bulgarian. It was amazing to hear a bunch of bla bla bla and have meaningful words emerge from part of it, “za tuk,” and be able to reply without hesitation, “Za tuk!” She was asking me eat in or takeaway and I replied the former. My sandwich was really yummy, loaded with ham, cheese, and their “Makis sauce” that I could eat by the gallon (I think it’s a tomato chutney).

By the time I was done with breakfast, it was 11:18. I thought of going to the history of Sofia museum, then realised I simply didn’t have time. I was still a good 15 minutes from the bus station on foot and I wanted to pop into Billa for some peanut butter and bacon before catching the 12:30 bus to Ribaritsa that would drop me just outside the village.

Billa had Gala apples! This time, I knew that I had to weigh my produce before going to the till. I made a note of the word for apple (which, as it turns out is very similar sounding to Yablanitsa — yabŭlka — I sense a correlation), then went to the weighing machine. Like at Kaufland, it’s only in Cyrillic, but unlike at Kaufland, it did not have pictures. The first screen had two words, one of which I recognised as being “vegetables.” So I assumed the other one would be fruit. Clicked on that and got a menu of words, enough of which I recognised to know I was indeed in the fruit section. I spotted yabŭlka and clicked on it. A label spit out, which I examined and was surprised to see said Gala. I guess they only stock one variety? My four apples were the price of one in Canada, but, to be fair, they were a bit smaller…

I found peanut butter, bacon, and, finally, baking soda. I cannot believe how hard that has been to find! People have seemed to know what I was asking for (I tried “bread soda,” per a couple of dictionaries, and “bicarbonate soda”), but no one seemed to stock it. I tried the spice shelf at Billa (yes, shelf, singular) and was rewarded with this:

At last!

The cashier was not happy with me as I paid with a 50BGN note. I got my car deposit back in 50s and it was only this morning as I dozed that I realised that is going to be a major problem, like trying to pass 500-peso notes in Mexico. I got rid of two at the Plovdiv bus station and the hotel, but I knew the rest aren’t going to be easy. What I understood with my transaction with the cashier is if I have even change, then I’ll have better luck. That is, my total today was 10.57BGN and by giving her 50.57BGN, she only had to give me two 20BGN notes. I feel stupid for not having paid my 30BGN dinner tab last night with a 50. The clerk at the hotel this morning said that I should be able to get the bills changed at a bank, but banks aren’t open on Saturdays. Should have done it in Plovdiv yesterday, dang!

Since I had so few things, I thought I’d be able to fit them all in my bag, but to no avail. So my peanut butter was carried in plain sight, identifying me as a North American! 😀

I got to the bus station around 12:15 (the lineup at Billa was looooong) and by the time I managed to convert a 2BGN note into coins so I could get into the bathroom, it was 12:20. I couldn’t believe I was about to miss my bus! Thankfully, since I knew where to go, I made it at the last second. This bus attendant understood when I said I was going to Malak Izvor, so I didn’t have to do the point to the map and say “on foot to Malak Izvor.” Linguistic tip: learn the shortest, not necessarily best or perfect, way to convey your thoughts! 🙂

It was a long and jerky ride, so I was very glad to arrive at the turnoff around 2:30. It was then a hot, but fairly quick walk into the village. I’m not sure exactly what time I got in, but it was about 2:50, which sounds right considering I’d walked 2KM.

It’s been a great week and a half of touring Bulgaria, but it’s time to get back to my normal routine and crack down on making some real money before I leave in just a few short weeks!

August 26, 2016 by Rae

Returning the Car to Plovdiv and a Friday Evening in Sofia

It’s funny how work is sometimes. It was pretty slow this past week I was traveling (minus the rush work due while I was in Plovdiv). But now that I’m ready to get back to it, projects are pouring in and I am booked through next weekend! Needless to say, I need to get back to my routine. But, first, I had to return the car.

So I woke up at 6:30 this morning with either an easy two-hour drive to Plovdiv ahead of me, or a four-hour technical drive through a windy mountain pass. Even though I was tired and knew I’d have to work whenever I landed in Sofia tonight, there was no question of taking the easy road. The whole point of having the car is to see parts of the country I wouldn’t from a bus seat! I did a bit of today’s drive yesterday, but once I got south of Troyan, it would be a new adventure and one last time to indulge in the sheer pleasure of driving.

I walked the dogs, had breakfast, responded to a few clients, packed, and hit the road around 7:20, with my ETA in Plovdiv being around 11:30, the car being due at noon.

So I drove… Past Troyan, as I went through the Beklemeto Pass, I did a double take when I could have sworn I saw a large stone arch rising above the treetops. It disappeared, so I figured I was imagining things. No! Some time later, I saw it again and a sign saying it was the Arch of Freedom and I could access it by driving 2KM straight up the mountain.

I turned. Up and up and up and up and up I climbed a super narrow and scary one-lane road with increasingly bad pavement.

The final bit was the worst because I had no idea if there would be a place to turn around at the top and I was inching my way through potholes the size of Bulgaria with a sheer drop on my driver’s side and an uncomfortably steep slope ahead of me. The only reason I kept going was because I didn’t want to back down that road unless I absolutely needed to! But I made it, and there was room to turn around!

This arch commemorates the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878.

It was freezing up there and very windy, but the view!

The drive down was no less terrifying. Here, I’m not even halfway back to the main road!

By the time I got over the pass, I still had about 70KM to Plovdiv. I reached the end of the road and saw signs that said Sofia to the right and Burgas to the right. I am going to do a post about driving in Bulgaria, but let me give you a spoiler: the signage will drive you bonkers. It is either over the top or completely inadequate. I was pretty sure I had to go left, but I called an old man over to confirm. I just said, “Please, Plovdiv?” and he pointed left, then right, exactly what I thought. I thanked him and turned. Yes, I had a map, but this was more efficient!

I pulled over just outside of Plovdiv to top up the fuel (ended up putting in a tad more than I needed to) and to ask Google Maps for directions to the Tany 97 car rental office. I knew it shouldn’t be too hard to get there as it’s right off a main boulevard, with just a couple of blocks to do in streets that are much too narrow to offer both parking and travel in both directions — and yet do!

Sure enough, I got there without incident around 11:15 (it helps that I had walked to the Telenor office on that boulevard and so had more solid landmarks than what I remembered from driving out). Alex, the English speaking clerk I hadn’t met, but chatted extensively on the phone with, greeted me with, “Hi, Rae!” Guess they were expecting me. 😀 He gave the car a once over, I handed him the documents (registration, etc.), and he gave me back my 300BGN deposit without my having to ask for it. Yay! Tany 97 is in both Sofia and Plovdiv and I highly recommend them for car rentals in Bulgaria as they have some of the best prices I saw, they have staff that speak good English, and, perhaps most importantly, their cars are in good shape!

Alex offered to call me a taxi, but I wanted to walk to the bus station (3KM away) so I could get a light lunch and an ice cream en route, so I declined. I headed straight for the donair place I ate at my first night in Plovdiv and got a small donair that was just as good as the first time. Next stop was a Raffy stand for gelato. They didn’t have chocolate hazelnut so I tried chocolate cherry… and have a new favourite. Dang!

I made it most of the way back to the bus station without needing navigation, but I did check the map quickly when I got to the Singing Fountains.

The Plovdiv bus station is a mess. It’s just a collection of stands and buildings with no central office or departures/arrivals board. I walked around a bit and could only see booths selling tickets to Athens, Istanbul, and a few points in Western Europe. Finally, I spotted a bus marked Sofia that appeared to be ready to pull away, so I ran to it, hoping I could get a ticket on board. Nope. The bus driver slammed the door in my face and drove off. That was fine. I would have been upset if I had been walking around for an hour and not received any help, but I knew there were lots of buses to Sofia and I would not have been comfortable on a 2.5 hour bus ride without using the bathroom first! I found a bathroom and then wandered around some more when I saw this sign:

I was pretty sure it says “Tickets for the Plovdiv-Sofia line sold here.” Okay. The arrow is pointing down. Does that mean someone shows up before the bus leaves to sell tickets? That did not seem implausible. But since there was no one around, I went back into the larger building, the one that appears to be the official departure lounge, to again look for any sort of departures board with Sofia on it. Instead, I found that same sign, but with an arrow pointing to the right. Huh? I stared at it for a full minute when someone tapped on my shoulder. I looked up to find a woman smiling at me kindly. “Do?” she asked (“To?”). “Sofia,” I replied. She laughed and pointed to the door right in front of me that was plastered with information on all the tickets I could buy to various places in Greece. She shrugged in solidarity at my confusion. I thanked her and went into the ticket office.

There was a short lineup, so I had just enough time to find the schedule for the Plovdiv-Sofia trips. There was going to be one at 1:00! Perfect! By this point, that meant only 20 minutes to kill. It was my turn to be served when a woman cut in front of me and started talking to the clerk. What the clerk told her was so clear it was like she was speaking English, “I’m working here and will serve the next customer. Get to the back of the line!” It’s sort of like when I had my breakthrough with oral Spanish and realised that I only need to understand a few words to get what is being said. Wow!

I stepped up to the counter and said, “To Sofia, please.” The woman replied in perfect English, “One o’clock?” “Yes.” “14 leva, please.” What service! I’ll take the Plovdiv mess of a station over the Sofia Centralna Avtogara any day!

It was only when I stepped outside that I realised I’d forgotten to ask her what sector to go to. But I figured it would be the same one that I had seen the last Sofia bus at. So now, I had 15 minutes to kill and I realised that what I wanted was a coffee. I’ve somehow managed to avoid getting coffee from the myriads of little stands all over Bulgaria, where you get a shot of espresso in a tiny open cup. The sight of Bulgarians with such a cup is so ubiquitous that it’s almost like the cup of coffee is a mandatory Bulgarian national accessory. Now was the time to join their ranks!

There were several coffee stands at the bus station and I picked one that had a menu with prices. I ordered a coffee with milk and handed over my 60 stotinki. The woman started to yell at me (which I know is just a Bulgarian being a Bulgarian, nothing to take personally) that milk costs extra. Hey, I was just reading your menu, lady! I passed her a 1BGN coin and she slapped change down while still yelling at me. Being in possession of my mandatory Bulgarian national accessory, I yelled back at the same volume, “It’s okay. Thank you very much!” and headed for a bench!

Question: why does “I would like a coffee with very little milk” in my terrible Bulgarian get me a perfect coffee every time while it gets me a cup of milk with a drop of coffee at chains like McDonald’s and Tim Horton’s?!

My coffee hit the spot. When I was done, it was just past 12:50, so I went to see if the bus had arrived it had! We left right on schedule.

I was really tired, but didn’t want to nap and couldn’t focus on a book or magazine. So I just played a word game on my iPad for 2.5 hours straight. It was the perfect way to pass the time, engaging enough to keep me awake, but not too mentally taxing. I was surprised by how quickly the drive passed!

We hit traffic coming into Sofia and the bus suddenly pulled over onto the shoulder. I understood why when I realised there was a metro stop right there. Fully half the bus got off! I was tempted as I knew what stop to get off at for my hotel (NDK), but by the time I realised that I was about to miss an opportunity to try the Sofia Metro… I missed my opportunity to try the Sofia Metro. 🙂

Thankfully, traffic picked up quickly and before we knew it, we were at my least favourite place in Bulgaria:

The only thing I like about it is the bathroom. 😀 Okay, and the croissants, but I didn’t get one this time.

It was 3KM to my hotel so of course I wanted to walk after that long bus ride. My donair and ice cream already felt far away, so I followed my nose to a pizza place and paid a whopping 1BGN for a slice with ham and cheese. 0.76CAD or about 0.50USD, and it was good pizza! I’ve been going to mid-range priced sit down places all week, but if you stick to fast food (which is not all crap), you can eat very cheaply in Bulgaria.

It felt really nice to be able to get to the hotel without needing navigation help. I’d booked at the Hotel Zenith again because I really couldn’t see a point of looking for something else as the price to amenities and location ratio was perfect. I’d asked for the same room as last time, but it was booked, so they gave me the one under it, saying it is identical. It is!

I sat at the desk for an hour and did some work. I should have done more, but I’d reached my limit for the day. The plan was to get a not too late dinner, turn in fairly early, sleep in tomorrow, then work until about 11:00, have a late breakfast/brunch, and grab the 12:30 bus to Teteven. I shouldn’t have to work when I get home, but I’ll need to get cracking, and then some, on Sunday!

By 6:30 this evening, I got the tummy growls, so I headed to the Happy Bar & Grill in front of the Sveta Nedelya Church for sushi. I took a different, more meandering route, than I would have taken in my first days in Sofia, but got there without an extra step. I ordered the same thing I’d ordered in Plovdiv, but remembered it wouldn’t be quite enough, so I decided to add one more roll. I was really curious about the pale pink wrapper used instead of nori on some rolls, so I decided to order a roll with it, realising only when it came that it’s very likely rice paper. This roll was about as unJapanese as you can get, but so yummy, and the first roll with cream cheese that I like. The creaminess of the cheese is cut with the orange and grapefruit. I could see myself eating a roll like this for a brunch! I don’t think there was any fish in it, now that I think about it. I had shrimp (cooked) in one of the rolls and raw fish in the other. Very good dinner! I can’t believe I prefer sushi in Bulgaria than on the coast in Mexico!

When I was done with my meal, I noticed this little device on the side of my table. Ready to order the peach cheesecake (back to my normal diet tomorrow, LOL), I experimentally pressed the “call” button and my server appeared so quickly it was like she was beamed to me! The cheesecake was okay (not as good as their Oreo one), but went down well with the rest of my beer. 🙂 Done, I pressed the “bill” button, and, boom, there’s the server again. I approve of these gadgets! 🙂

It was about 8:00 when I came out of the restaurant and I toyed with the idea of going to a bar for a glass of wine, but I was really done in. It’s been a really full week! I’m off to spending as much time as I can in the comfy bed here. 🙂

August 23, 2016 by Rae

Tsarevets Fortress, a Taste of Veliko Tarnovo, a Stop in Teteven, and on to Maluk Izvor

I slept soooo well in Veliko Tarnovo. That bed! The room was also dark and despite all the traffic in the evening, things quieted down around ten. I woke up just past eight (!), took a moment to wake up, and then went to have breakfast. I only had four hours till I had to vacate my parking spot and that felt like just the right amount of time for the day, but that I should not waste any of it.

Quite a nice view from my room. Soon as I opened my curtains, these guys waved at me and yelled good morning!

Breakfast was an acceptable buffet. The coffee was out of those popular Nescafe dispensers and too sweet for my taste, but the food was good. I enjoyed a selection of meats, bread, jam, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives, which I understand is a fairly typical Bulgarian breakfast.

This is what parking looks like in these car unfriendly towns, people parking almost on top of each other. Both myself and the folks in the light grey car had said we weren’t leaving till noon, so that dark grey car was parked behind us.

That reminds me that I forgot to recount my adventure getting out of my parking spot in Nessebar! It looked like I had a lot of room to get out, but it was all in the wrong places. To avoid a bollard, I would hit a taxi. To avoid the taxi, I would scrape the car on my passenger side. I had to do like I did with Miranda and mentally imagine all the manoeuvres I’d have to do with the car to get it out. I was reasonably confident I’d figured it out when a man knocked on my driver’s side window. All I got of what he said was “Not good.” He made some motions that rather mimicked how I had planned to get out and then he pointed from his eyes to me. It was clear that he was saying, “I’ll spot you.” Well, he did, and it was a great job! I slid out of that spot smoothly, with no extra steps, in a couple of minutes. On my own, I would have had to continually get out of the car to check my clearances. He was my hero of the day!

Back to this morning, the first thing I wanted to do was visit the medieval stronghold of Tsarevets. It was the primary fortress of the Second Bulgarian Empire from 1185 to 1393. My hotel happened to be right by the entrance. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have parked closer to it!

Looking down from the hotel parking lot.

Around the corner from the hotel, looking towards town, the fortress behind me. When I left with the car, I drove up from the left in this picture and turned left to where that car is in the middle of the picture.

Tsaravets fortress! The ticket booth is right before it. 6BGN to get in.

The man in pink is the ticket checker. He had his hands full a few hours later as I came out of the fortress!

My mood was giddiness. Remember that I’m a medieval history major! This would be my second opportunity to explore medieval ruins (first time was, of course, in Scotland).

The wooden bridge felt very spongy!

This maps shows just how massive the complex would have been. There is quite a lot left still to see!

This was one of the only English signs on the whole property. “You might encounter reptiles” AND medieval ruins? 😀

There was a very clear PA announcement in a couple of languages, including English, which recited the warnings and gave additional information. It sounded like it was narrated by a poor man’s Alan Rickman (RIP), especially when he said, “You may encounter reptiles,” in that flat bored sounding tone of Rickman’s. Made me laugh every time I heard it!

I liked how they hid the modern pipes in these old broken ones:

One of many bells on site.

All the signage was in Bulgarian, what I assume is Russian, and German. Between the Bulgarian and the German, I could get just the gist of what I was looking at. We know from the above sign that I’m at Baldwin’s tower and I’m pretty sure that the site was restored in 1933…

The ceilings inside the tower were low. The main floor reminded me a bit of my house in Malak Izvor.

“Monastery complex” ruins ahead.

Tsarevets was a huge city and had many churches, monasteries, and residential and commercial buildings in addition to being a centre of administration and governance.

The complex is huge, but felt like it had a logical flow. I found myself climbing higher and higher without really noticing it.

This shows where the kings lived and governed.

These are the steps leading up to the church. I rounded the corner and heard québécois accents!

I said to the group of men that it was good to hear my accent again. They laughed. We did small talk for a minute. They are from the Outaouais, where I lived until 2008!

I came out of the church and heard some folks complaining in Spanish about the chill this morning (much appreciated), but that it was better than the unrelenting heat that was worse than anything they’d experienced in Hermosillo. Wait. What?! I had to intervene and asked if they were from Sonora. Yes! I said that I spent two winters in Mexico. We chatted for a bit and I offered to take pictures. I sure didn’t expect to get in some good Spanish practice this morning, but there you have it!

I went around the back of the church hoping to be able to get even further up, but my hopes were dashed by the elevator being closed. 🙁

No stairs either!

I was as far up as I could go, so I headed down, eager to find the “Cliff of Death” the loudspeaker announcer kept on warning us about!

There is a light show here at night. Must be spectacular!

And behold the Cliff of Death! This picture does not convey the sheer drop. Rumour has it there were executions carried out here.

Sumac, just like back in Quebec!

Something about a gate. *wry grin*

These stairs were fun in a long flowy skirt!

Well, that’s graphic! The point of the exhibits up here is for folks to touch them, so there were kids playing executioner and condemned!

I had heard shrieking on my way up, which I initially thought was the kids recreating the executions, but it was actually two gals who got their long hair caught in these very heavy helmets!

Back near the entrance was a catapult.

It was only as I left the complex, a full two hours after I arrived (I can’t believe how quickly time passed!) that I saw this lettering on the walls. Something about restoration in the ’70s, I believe.

I had just over an hour before checkout time when I’d had my fill of Tsarevets, so I decided to check out Veliko Tarnovo.

I would not want to be a bus driver in this town!

This ice cream brand has so many different names! No, I did not indulge…

This “Tequila Bar” made me laugh.

A statue of Bulgaria’s four kings. I didn’t have time to get right down to it.

There were many panoramic view points along the main road, but this was my favourite, a strip of steel and wood leading into the abyss.

This is where I had dinner last night:

You can sort of see how their rear windows overlook the city. I ate downstairs.

I found a Raffy’s gelato stand somewhere around this point. They are all over Bulgaria and, in my opinion, the best. The gal at the hotel agrees with me! I had my favourite, chocolate hazelnut!

This shop name made me laugh.

I headed back to the hotel through an alleyway behind the church.

Notice how modern life is squeezed into this ancient towns, cars parked where they can, rubbish bins under the bridge arches.

Last night, I completely missed this sign saying my hotel was thataway. But guess what? Even in broad daylight, sober, and with my glasses on, I still made a wrong turn getting there. It’s a wonder I found it in the first place!

I thought this wood being chain sawed was very pretty. As I took a picture, I heard one of the workers make a comment that had the word tourist in it. I bet it wasn’t flattering!

I’m so pleased I went to Tsarevets and Veliko Tarnovo! My morning and short evening were just the right amount of time. It was then time to head back to Malak Izvor and work. 🙁 It was surprisingly easy to get out of Veliko Tarnovo, just a couple of turns and then straight west.

I made a small detour to Teteven, a nearby town I’ve been wanting to go back to, to get a late lunch and some groceries. The town’s setting is spectacular!

This is the stand where I had my very first ice cream in Bulgaria. 😀 No, I did not get any today.

“Here…” something happened? 🙂

I was happy to find cold water!

I crossed the river to find the produce market, so reminiscent of Mexico!

A quick slice of pizza sounded ideal for lunch and I found one. I was shocked that the stand had a guy who spoke perfect English. The woman who started to serve me threw her hands up in disgust when she realised I don’t speak Bulgarian. Funny how some people are. The guy at the ice cream stand in Veliko Tarnovo spoke slowly to me and I was able to understand him fine even if I couldn’t always answer (eg. “Cup or cone?” and I’d point to the cup).

Well, it has finally happened; I’ve had pizza with sweet corn! It was actually good! The pizza slice had been there a while, but I actually prefer my pizza at this temperature, so I found this quite good.

I got a few groceries after my pizza and then it was then a very short drive to Malak Izvor, where the doggies and cat were happy to see me. I put on laundry, hoping the threatening rain holds off long enough for my things to dry, and took the pups on a short walk. Now, work! 🙁

I plan to work tomorrow morning and head off in the afternoon to view a local sight or two and then go further afield, past Sofia on Thursday. We shall see how that works out.

August 22, 2016 by Rae

Nessebar to Veliko Tarnovo By Way of Buzludzha (and 50 Billion Wrong Turns)

It was not an easy day, one of those where I found myself wondering multiple times why the hell I can’t just be content living a “normal” sedentary life. And then, I remembered a tee-shirt I saw last night that said, “No growth ever came from a comfort zone.” I’m starting to understand that a large part of this urge of mine to go and to do new things has to do with the angry, timid, fearful thing I used to be, that it’s a way of distancing myself from someone I loathed and had no patience for. Heavy stuff, I know, and probably not what you come here for, but it was a day for reflection.

I was up fairly early and went down to the lobby to use the hotel wifi since I’d used up all my free Telenor credit and was burning really fast through my balance. It was too early for breakfast, but the hotel clerk slipped me a coffee, with just the right amount of milk. What service!

Last night, I’d almost booked accommodation in Veliko Tarnovo, but I couldn’t commit to anything. It was the same thing this morning. It was just going to have to be one of those days where I landed where I landed, even if the thought of looking for a hotel “cold” in a country where I don’t speak the language filled me with dread. To be honest, I had a very strong suspicion that I would sleep at “home” tonight in Maluk Izvor.

Breakfast came, the same as yesterday, but with a red juice and pears for a change. I was asked where I was headed today and when I replied, the clerk was taken aback and said it was in the middle of nowhere, so she’d pack me a lunch! And she did! Talk about five-star service at a one star price!

I headed out around 8:30, with the plan being to get another top up at the Telenor store in Nessebar, just in case. Well… There is almost no street signage in Nessebar and what should have been a 10-minute trip took me about an hour, including a detour into Sunny Beach against my will! It was so ridiculous I had to laugh! But as it turned out, the Telenor store wouldn’t didn’t open until 9:30 anyway, so I would have had to wait or leave without a top up. Things work out!

This wound up being the Telenor store visit I wish I’d had when I first landed in Bulgaria. Sunny Beach is a Brit resort town, so there is English everywhere and this was the first time I encountered a Telenor store employee who spoke absolutely fluent English and could give me some tips. He was appalled that I’ve been paying for my data piecemeal rather than getting a plan and pointed out that I went from a 26BGN to a 0.10BGN balance in about 10 minutes of surfing last night. Woah!!! I’ve only ever used my phone for the odd surfing before, never for anything as intensive as the last couple of days, and had no idea I was paying so much for my bandwidth. The clerk added 20BGN to my account and then walked me through buying a 1GB plan for one week for just 4BGN. Better late than never! But, really, this was the first time since I got here that I felt that I got “taken” for bandwidth and I can’t be too upset since Telenor gave me 1GB of data with my last top up, in addition to tons of other gifts of bandwidth since I got here.

That done, it was finally time to hit the open road. I wanted to get to Buzludzha Monument and after that decide if I was going home or to Veliko Tarnovo to see the Tsaravets fortress.

I was stuck in a traffic jam just outside of Burgas when I realised I’d left my camera at the hotel! DANG. The battery went dead mid-day yesterday and I’d set the camera aside after transferring the photos to my computer, then forgotten to put it somewhere that I’d see it. I got through Burgas (much more easily this time) and pulled over to call and email the hotel. Long story short on that, they found it and I’m reasonably sure I will get it back. I love my camera and felt no need to replace it, but it is seven years old and starting to get spots in the lens if the sun hits it the wrong way. I will be happy to get it back, but am ready to accept its loss if it doesn’t get back to me.

But that leaves me with my phone for a camera, a phone with super crappy battery life. I’ve been using it as a GPS, which really sucks the life out of it. So I knew that if I only had my phone for a GPS and camera this week, I really needed a way to charge it on the road. Spoiler on that, I bought FOUR different car chargers today and not one of them worked with my iPhone. *expletive deleted* Apple. I might get it if they had a car charger of their own, but they don’t! I have to say that my day would have been much less stressful and exhausting if I’d been able to charge my phone and use the GPS as much as needed. I was able to return three of the chargers, so I’m only out about 7CAD, thankfully. When I get to Sofia on Saturday, I’ll go to an Apple Store and ask about a secondary power source for the phone. I’d like to once again point out that I only have an iPhone because it was free! Yes, I am a Mac and iPad geek, but, really, the iPhone is a huge disappointment all around. Aaaaaaaanyway.

I retraced part of my Saturday route to Plovdiv before swinging north at Yambol and then west at Sliven:

I got turned around at Sliven because of a badly marked roundabout and was getting really frustrated with the lack of signage as well as on the verge of heat stroke despite the AC in the car. I was really tempted to just give up and go home. But Buzludzha was the one thing I really wanted to see in Bulgaria before I knew anything about Bulgaria, that unique gem off the beaten path that embodies the spirit of an era. I made it to Kazanluk and, to my immense surprise, came across two signs directing me to Buzludzha! That was not expected. The signs had a different transliteration, but I could recognise the name for what it was in Cyrillic. I was down to about 5% battery power at this point and really grateful to have made it, even if I had no idea how I’d get anywhere from there. I pulled over and had my very nice lunch. What a gift.

A few more turns and then, nothing mattered anymore because I had finally found Buzludzha. I pulled over and just stared:

My phone died just after I took the above picture and I was devastated to have come all this way and have no camera to record my adventure. Then, I remembered that my computer has a camera. It would be clumsy, but better than nothing. Then, I laughed at myself when I remembered that I also had my iPad, with its own camera! Rather funny for someone who traveled for many years without a camera that I now have all these gadgets with cameras!

So Buzludzha… It is a monument to socialist communism, the construction of which began in 1974. The building was abandoned and left to vandals after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989. It is crumbling and after tourists were injured a few years back, the interior has been blocked from access, but there are now plans to possibly revive this building before it is completely irreparable. My best friend Bast sent me a video about Buzludzha just before I went to Bulgaria and I knew that if I could only get away from Malak Izvor for a day, I would have to find my way to this monument.

To get there, I had to follow a very long and meandering road up that reminded me of the Devil’s Backbone. At the end of it was a place to park, with a very long climb ahead of me. I didn’t realise the climb was that long and felt rather unprepared, with not enough water, but there was a lovely cool breeze at that altitude, so I decided I would start and see how far I got. I have to admit that I asked myself multiple times on the climb if I really needed to get to the top, it was that difficult of a hike!

I have to say I’m rather pleased with how my iPad photos came out!

Starting off:

I look so close here, but it was still so far! My heart was pounding and I had to remind myself that I didn’t need to break any speed records to get to the top!

I was done the worst of the climb up at this point, but still wasn’t there. I took a breather as I laughed at just how much it looks like a Starfleet vessel!

I am convinced the architect was a Star Trek fan!

I was shocked when I actually made it to the top! There appeared to be a spectator facility in front of the monument:

As I saw the monument from the front, I was really pleased I’d made it all the way up. There was something so spooky about it that I had not felt from further away.

Transferring a little of my energy to this place of immense power…

It was incredibly creepy and I heard weird noises, so imagine my surprise when I rounded the building and found workers! I wonder how they got their vehicles up there!

I got my fill of Buzludzha and the view and then headed back down to my car. There was a group at the the trailhead who asked me if the climb up was as hard as it looked. I replied that I’ve been hiking up a mountain twice daily for two months and found it tough, but it was worth it. At last view, the group was heading up. I wonder if they got there.

It was rather a fun descent back to a “main” road. I turned north towards Gabrovo, where I would have to decide if I was going west to Malak Izvor or east to Veliko Tarnovo. This wound up being a sinewy mountain drive, the kind I love in a zippy manual transmission car!

I was feeling very parched by this point and hoped to pass a store soon to get more water when I rounded a corner where there were a bunch of cars parked and people milling about. I knew I’d started to understand some things about Bulgaria when my first thought at the sight was WATER.

There are so many fountains and mountain springs scattered all over this country, and sometimes in the most random places! I buy water when I really need to, but I’m learning to look for the fountains. I haven’t had bad tasting water yet nor any that played havoc with my fragile digestion. I filled up my water bottle, drank deeply, and then filled it again. I’m actually finishing off that water tonight, as I’m writing this post.

At Gabrovo, it was time to make my decision. Home or the unknown? It felt very important to me that I pick the latter option, that I was at one of those watershed moments of my life. I could seek the easy path or push forward through my fear. I’d successfully landed somewhere good and safe in Mexico after going off script on my first drive down to Mazatlán. And, really, nothing tonight could be as bad as landing in Edinburgh with a 20 quid a day budget to find all the hostels full. I chose the easterly route. Veliko Tarnovo or bust!

There was decent-ish signage for me to follow, but at one point, I saw signs for the town that pointed in different directions! I stopped for fuel and asked the attendant if he spoke English. He had just enough to tell me to, “Go that way and if you get to Romania, you go too far.” LOL LOL LOL That was my favourite moment of the day! I couldn’t believe I was less than 120KM from the Romanian border, just a bit further than Assiniboia is from the US border.

I made it into Veliko Tarnovo, a medieval city with narrow winding streets, occasionally pausing to take in the majestic view of the fortress of Tsaravets. Sorry, there was no chance to pull over and get a better shot than this:

I drove aimlessly, trying to find a hotel with parking. I finally passed a hotel with a parking spot right in front of it and wondered if I could really be that lucky….

Parking spot, hotel with English speaking clerk, and even at a whopping 80BGN per night (by far my most expensive hotel stay so far), very reasonable by Canadian standards. I also get breakfast and a discount at local restaurants. Fortune favoured the bold!

Not to get too graphic, I really needed a shower after marinating in the car all day and climbing up to Buzludzha, so I did that, changed, and headed out to find some dinner.

It began to POUR as I got close to the restaurant the hotel clerk had highly recommended, Shtastlivetsa, so I was quite wet when I arrived. They were super busy as it’s apparently the most popular place in town and has an amazing view. I somehow managed to get a seat with a bit of a view (too many people in front of me to make it worth taking a picture) and ordered a glass of white wine to sip while I perused the menu. Everything was super fancy and there were ingredients like spelt and quinoa. Prices seemed suspiciously low, especially the main that most appealed to me, what sounded like a pork schnitzel with roasted potatoes, for just 8.60BGN (6.50CAD).

Well, this is what came:

A green veggie would have been nice, but, wow! It was so good! The white thing was cream cheese with dill, which was yummy with the potatoes.

I wasn’t ready to call it a night, so I ordered a second glass of wine and asked for a dessert recommendation. They brought me “biscuit cake” which was three small balls of chocolately something (no pic because my phone was dead again). It was really good! Dinner would have been a real bargain if I’d just stuck to the main and wine, but even with more wine and dessert, I came out at 17CAD! I got a hotel discount of 10%, so I gave a slightly better tip than I normally give. 10% is actually a good tip in Bulgaria, but I sometimes give 15% if I felt service was particularly attentive. Food was was slow to come tonight because the restaurant was very crowded, but I didn’t have to wait long to be seated, order, get wine, etc. It was excellent service by Bulgarian standards!

I got very lost on the way back to the hotel. It was dark, pouring rain (so I couldn’t wear my glasses), and my phone was dead again. I ended up going around in circles twice before I finding a familiar landmark. Rae’s travel tip of the day: have just one glass of wine before going out into a dark rainy medieval fortress city with no street signs and a bunch of narrow streets that all look the same!

Well, it’s been another long one. Lots of good, some bad, plenty of character growth. I have the room till noon, so the plan is to have breakfast at 8:00 when it starts, then spend the morning at the Tsaravets fortress before vacating my parking spot and heading home. But my adventures are not over. I have the car till Friday and a laundry list of things I still want to see on day trips!

A Life By Design

"Sometimes in life, we reach to a right place by departing from a wrong port with a wrong ship!" ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

Accommodation

A Shout-Out to Villa Amadeus in Nessebar

A Lazy Morning in Sofia

Returning the Car to Plovdiv and a Friday Evening in Sofia

Tsarevets Fortress, a Taste of Veliko Tarnovo, a Stop in Teteven, and on to Maluk Izvor

Nessebar to Veliko Tarnovo By Way of Buzludzha (and 50 Billion Wrong Turns)