Bulgarian Beauty

As funny as it sounds, we actually quite enjoyed our 18 hour train ride from Budapest (Hungary) to Sofia (Bulgaria). We'd decided to invest in a sleeper carriage (and a bottle of Vodka using the last of our Zoomas!), and despite several late night/early morning border crossings and passport checks we really enjoyed the simplicity and security of it all.

Honestly we had no idea what to expect rolling through Serbia and into Bulgaria. All I've ever heard about Serbia has been related to war, and/or to Kosovo. Although the towns looked a bit run down in parts, the reality is that there is a lot of very beautiful country, including green hills which almost broke into the European equivalent of rainforest in parts.

Although I knew that to shake your head in Bulgaria means yes, and to nod means no, the first question I was asked ("Do you want a taxi?") resulted in me saying "Ne" (No - although it means yes in Greek!) while rotating my head in a circle. It sounds so simple but nodding and shaking your head are so ingrained that you can't reverse the meanings without your full concentration!

Forunately for us, my friend Marty who is Bulgarian was our host, and although I and many others give him stick in Australia about his driving, he was conservative on the roads compared to his fellow countrymen...I see why he always says he gets bored on the roads around the Gold Coast. The traffic and roads in Bulgaria were....well let's say more interesting! We were very happy to have Marty and his wife Didi looking after u us, as having locals with us, we managed to go places, see things and eat things we otherwise would have struggled to do. Their hospitality was exceptional.

Bulgaria turned out to be a surprise packet! The country is full of mountains that are densely covered in pine forests not dissimilar to Nybro in Sweden. Marty told us that in winter most of the country is covered in snow and people can ski nearly anywhere. Also, as Bulgaria hasn't yet got the Euro (they still have the Lev) it is pretty cheap.

One of our outings took us to the Rila Monastery in the Rila mountains. I was curious why we were going to a monastery but when we got there I understood....it was an an extremely beautiful place, full of artwork on walls, beautifully decorated buildings, built amongst some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe.

We also spent a weekend in Bansko, one of many ski towns (although it is Summer here). You can actualy catch a ski lift from Bansko itself up the mountains that tower over it to go skiing in the season...i.e. you don't have to drive up the mountain. Bansko is full of really big alpine hotels that look really nice (and are actualy pretty cheap!), and I can only imagine that it would go crazy in the winter time. There are also countless restaraunts serving traditional Bulgarian dishes, and although we decided against ordering the calf's head in tripe soup, with Marty at the helm we managed to squeeze in just about everything you can think of. The food was fantastic, and didn't leave you feeling like you just swam in a deepfryer which was a welcome change from Greece! We also managed to visit the local swimming pool which is actually a thermal mineral spring that has been turned into 2 pools...and although it is the peak of Summer right now, it is a bit cool in the mountains....so a dip in 37 degree pool was pretty nice!



On the way back we stopped in at the high altitude sports training centre. This centre was jointly funded by the Germans and the Bulgarians back in 1968 up in one of the mountains. The interesting thing, and this will come as no surprise to any AIS people who have dealt with many German's in sport and know how protective they can be, the place was kept a secret for 20 years until after the 1988 Seoul Olympics! Only Germans and Bulgarians were allowed to train there, so even if others found out about it they couldn't go there. The place is decked out to accomodate pretty much any sport you can think of and pretty much all of Bulgarias and man of Germany's top athletes have done a stint here at some stage.

Had La Tomatina not been on in Spain, I think we would have spent a bit longer in Bulgaria. While a bit sad to leave it, we are happy in the knowledge that we will definitely be returning there in the years to come, probably to go skiing. Bulgaria was definitely one of the highlights of the trip so far...