Western Balkan Adventures

One really cool thing about living in Bulgaria is the proximity to so many other fascinating places. Obviously, I love to travel, and I have taken the opportunity to visit most of our neighbors in the Balkans. I still need to add Albania and Kosovo to the list, but we're getting there... Three years ago I spent a month backpacking in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. Last year I visited Macedonia, Greece, Romania and Turkey.

If you're keeping track, you'll notice that I've actually been to every former Yugoslav country (again, not counting Kosovo). For whatever reason, I feel right at home there. I think it has something to do with the breathtaking landscapes, amazing food and kind-hearted people I've met in my travels. As a continuing theme along with my last post, I am going to share with you some highlights from my travels around this exciting and beautiful region.

Stop #1: Lake Bled, Slovenia

This gorgeous mountain lake is close enough to the capital, Ljublijana, to make it a day trip. We rented a paddle boat and ventured across the lake to see the medieval church built on a small island. As you can see, the scenery is gorgeous, with plenty of lush green forests all around. There are also lots of ducks and swans swimming around, and other water sports available to tourists. Ljubliana is probably a more exciting place to stay at night, though.

Stop #2: Split, Croatia

Croatia's Dalmatian coast is full of excellent beaches, charming towns and ancient historical remains. You can find all three around Split, right in the middle of the Adriatic coastline. We explored a Roman emperor's palace, took a ferry to the island of Hvar (with the most beautiful beach I've ever seen), sampled local sea-fare and walked through the botanical gardens (the big green hill, pictured). If you visit the big towns in Croatia, be prepared for lots of crowds, like any major European tourist destination. If I go back, and I hope that I will, I plan to visit some smaller towns and fishing villages in the north, along with the Elaphite islands near Dubrovnik.  

Stop #3: Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mostar is a small town in the Herzegovina region, but its central feature- the old bridge- is an important symbol of cultural identity. Like all former Ottoman towns, Mostar's population was divided into separate living quarters but its groups carried out business and maintained friendly relations with one another. In general, the bridge separated the Christians and Muslims who lived on either side of it and served as a connection point between them. It was also an unfortunate casualty of the 1993 war, when it was completely destroyed. International efforts to restore this cultural property began in 2001, and the bridge was reopened in all its former glory in 2004 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One tradition that has remained over the years is the diving competition, where young men take the daring plunge into the cold water of the Neretva river below. 

Stop #4: Ostrog Monastery, Montenegro

I have a harrowing tale to go along with this photo. But first, let me begin with the church built into the face of a cliff. This is something I've seen in other parts of the region, namely in Bulgaria and Greece. Under Ottoman rule, many monks lived in remote, mountainous areas and built some impressive dwellings to keep up their hermetic lifestyles. To get there, you have to drive through winding roads and mountain passes, sometimes too narrow for more than one car to pass at a time. My friend Wade and I had rented a car to get there, but I ended up having to drive because it was a manual transmission and he could only drive automatic. I don't love driving, and hadn't expected to on this trip, but it was the only way we were going to get there so, after a few stalls along the way, we made the journey to the monastery. 

About halfway up the steep slope where it's located, I was making a sharp turn and forgot to change gears, which caused the car to stall and slowly creep towards the edge of a very high cliff. Pretty freaked out by now, I pulled the emergency break and then tried to re-position the car so we wouldn't fall to our deaths. At that moment, a group of burly men stepped out of a Jeep to assist us- or, rather, Wade. First asking if we spoke Russian, they interrogated him in broken English about why he, the man, wasn't driving. Sigh. Unfortunately in this case I was acting a bit helpless, but it never feels nice to be patronized. Taking the keys, one of our rescuers managed to turn the car around- facing down the hill. 

- "Wait," we protested, "we want to go up, not down."

- "No more drive like this." was their reply.

Defeated and car-less for the rest of the trek, we hiked the rest of the way up to the monastery, which took about 45 minutes. It was impressive, with sweeping views of the valley below. On the way back, we hopped back into the car and rolled along down the hill and back onto the highway towards our hotel. I really hope I never have to drive stick shift again.

Stop #5: Belgrade, Serbia

Belgrade, the grand capital city on two rivers, has plenty to offer in terms of history, cafe culture, nightlife and pristine parks. The old citadel, Kalmegdan, is surrounded by a beautifully manicured park and also houses the national military museum, which has some very interesting exhibits on the Balkan Wars. In the summer there are floating restaurants and bars that open up along the riverbanks where you can spend an evening dining and enjoying great music. 

The most unique part of Belgrade, in my opinion, is the House of Flowers, where the remains of Josip Broz Tito are kept within the grounds of the Museum of Yugoslav History. Just like the mausoleum of Bulgaria's first communist leader, Georgi Dimitrov, which used to stand across from the Gallery of Foreign Art in Sofia, the House of Flowers commemorates Yugoslavia's founding father who symbolized the ideals of socialism. Tito's tomb today serves either as a shrine for "Yugonostalgists" or simply an important part of recent history to be remembered by future generations. The mausoleum in Sofia was destroyed in 1999, and it's questionable whether or not its existence will be remembered in the future. 

There are so many other places I visited on that trip and many more I plan to see in the future. I hope that this post gave you a taste of what the countries in this region have to offer- a lot!

Film review: "The State of Shock"

"A bittersweet comedy about capitalism and changing social values during the past 20 years, which have completely transformed the Eastern European countries. A story about losing and regaining the power of honesty." (Sofia International Film Festival website)

I was so impressed by this newest feature film by Andrej Košak (Slovenia). A collaborative effort between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia, the film centers around a Yugoslav metal worker who goes into a state of euphoric shock when he is awarded with a communal apartment at the first of May worker's celebration in 1986. He wakes up from this catatonic state ten years later to find his entire world changed: Yugoslavia no longer exists, capitalism has replaced the socialist system he loved so much and his wife has married his best friend. As he struggles to adapt to this new reality, the audience witnesses some of the violent economic and political changes taking place in the region today. Most of the people he meets think he is crazy because he lived in an institution for so long, but as the film draws to a close it appears that he may be the only sane person left. The script was touching, funny and thought-provoking. 


Because I attended the Bulgarian premiere at the Sofia International Film Festival, the director and leading actor (Martin Marion) were there to answer audience questions at the end. A testament to how much modern technology has permeated everyday life, Marion revealed how he first met Košak: a few years ago he read a comment the director had written on a mutual friend's blog and realized they were both living in Berlin. He contacted the blogger on Skype, got Košak's phone number, called him and they soon began working together on the film. Originally rejected in Slovenia, they finally won the support of several screenwriting organizations and local production companies to fund the project. The result is one of the best films I've seen in years, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the recent past of the Balkans or Eastern European society in general.


You can watch the trailer here. 

Remembering Dimitar Peshev

On a quiet street in the center of Sofia, a small group of people gathered around an unassuming apartment block on a Friday morning. They were there to remember the actions taken by Dimitar Peshev, deputy speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly during WWII, to prevent the deportation and likely death of Bulgaria's sizable Jewish population. March 9th marked the 69th anniversary of the date when the order given by Hitler to send all Bulgarian Jews to German-occupied death camps in Poland was refused, at the urging of Peshev. This remarkable event, although quietly remembered today, is hugely important to the few Bulgarian Jewish families who remain here and the thousands living abroad. I went to the small ceremony held at Peshev's former home with a group of students and teachers from the Hebrew School. Several leaders from Sofia's Jewish community spoke about Peshev's life and legacy, and the Deputy Minister of Culture said a few words about Bulgaria's history as a tolerant and accepting nation. While the story may be more complicated than that, it is a moment in history that Bulgarians can and should feel proud of: not one Jew from Bulgaria was deported during the war.

Celebrating Bulgarian Women

For International Women's Day I created a lesson plan centered around short biographies of some of the most influential women around the world. I tried to keep the list as varied in background as possible, while still choosing public figures who would be interesting for my 8th graders to read about: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Angela Merkel, J.K. Rowling, Oprah Winfrey, Mother Teresa, etc. After we discussed who the most interesting or influential women on the list were, I asked my students to think of other names we could add. Most of them chose Bulgarian women, which was interesting for me because I learned something from my students, and I decided to share them here. These are just five of the most influential Bulgarian women (according to a random sample of Bulgarian teenagers):

1) Valya Balkanska- a folk singer from the Rhodope mountains best known for her recording of "Izlel ye Delyo Haydutin" (Delyo the rebel has gone outside) in 1977 that was sent into outer space in a time capsule.

2) Dilma Rousseff- the current president of Brazil and the first female president in Brazil's history. Her father was a Bulgarian immigrant from Gabrovo. 

3) Ivet Lalova- an international award-winning sprinter, holds one of the fastest records for the 100 meter race and is more widely known as the fastest woman in Europe.

4) Lili Ivanova- the "first lady of pop" in Bulgaria. Friends of mine have compared her to Cher.

5) Ralitsa Vassileva- a CNN International television news anchorwoman who has covered many global events and interviewed famous world leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev and Ariel Sharon.

Happy (belated) International Women's Day to all Bulgarian women, and all women around the world!

How many martenitsi are too many martenitsi?

Last Thursday, March 1st, marked a very important and unique Bulgarian holiday. Baba Marta (Grandma March), so called for the children's book character, is celebrated a month because Bulgarians look forward to the coming of spring and shaking off the winter cold. On this day people buy or make martenitsi, either bracelets or pins to be stuck to clothing, which they exchange with friends and loved ones. While each martenitsa can have many variations, the most important thing is that they are made from red and white thread. These small tokens are meant to bring the wearer good luck and health in the coming year, and it's a very sweet tradition that most people observe earnestly.

I posted some photos and wrote about martenitsi in last year's post but I didn't actually experience the holiday fully because I was on my way to England visiting relatives last March. So this year I was really looking forward to seeing how the tradition plays out at school. And I wasn't disappointed. At the First English High School here in Sofia, I was bombarded by students wanting to tie martenitsi on my wrist at the beginning of every class. After four lessons I had collected nearly 50 of them! Kiril joked that I probably hold the Guinness world record for collecting martenitsi, hahaha. I hope that means that I'll have lots of extra good luck this year.

Over the weekend we went to visit friends in Lovech, which is close to Pleven (where I lived last year). It was so nice to get away for a few days. Lovech is really quiet and peaceful compared to Sofia, with almost no traffic (people or cars) at all. Saturday was Bulgaria's independence day, and we took a walk up to the Vasil Levski monument, which was fitting because Levski was one of Bulgaria's most well-loved revolutionary heroes. The time really flew by quickly, probably because I was in such good company. I also got to catch up with my friend Dessy in Pleven, just for a couple of hours before we caught our train. I came back to Sofia feeling refreshed (although not exactly well-rested) and glad to be home. The snow is finally melting here and it looks like spring is finally on its way!  

Taking over the (digital) airwaves...

Shortly after the anti-ACTA protests here in Sofia a few weeks ago, two of my students at the Hebrew School asked me to take part in an interview for Off-Road Radio, an online streaming radio program that they sometimes host (which is pretty cool for a 16 or 17 year old kid, if you ask me). You can listen to the entire segment here, but just in case you don't have two hours to listen to a radio show in Bulgarian, my interview starts at 11:00 with a few musical breaks (mostly heavy metal). You can skip around until the end, which might be difficult if you don't understand Bulgarian, because the interview is almost entirely in Bulgarian (my answers are in English).

This topic is definitely a hot one right now in my English classes. All of my students seem to agree that it's an important issue that affects each one of them personally (internet piracy is pretty commonplace here, for lots of reasons). Talking about it in class has been eye-opening, but it was even more interesting for me to be interviewed by my students for the show and then have my answers translated into Bulgarian. And it's a very strange experience to listen to myself talk!