Forget Your Past

On our recent road trip through Central Bulgaria, Kiril, Laura, Sydney and I stopped off at what has become a popular off-beat tourist attraction: the space-like Bozludja monument near Shipka. This monument, built in 1981 to commemorate the founding of Bulgaria's communist party a century earlier, was once a proud symbol of the ruling government. Today, it sits crumbling atop the windy mountain where it was built over thirty years ago, and is very likely to fall apart completely if nobody steps in to preserve the structure.

Up until about a month ago, visitors could (illegally) enter the building because although there was a sign warning that the structure was unsafe, there was no lock on the gate. When we went there was a very sturdy lock and chain on the outside doors- comforting to me, because let's face it I am just not that adventurous. I'd rather not have pieces of ceiling tiles falling onto my head or breathe in the toxic asbestos that surely insulates the walls. Anyways, the building itself isn't very interesting, except that it looks like a giant spaceship perched on top of a hill. There's even a tail section with the socialist red star painted on either side. All of the letters on the outside are falling away, the roof is leaking and birds inhabit the upper floors. There is some graffiti scattered around the sides, but it's mostly just poorly drawn scribbles, with a few exceptions.

This message (intriguingly written in English- begs the question of who actually put it there) proclaims one current attitude towards the recent past. Or maybe it's supposed to challenge the complacency with which many choose to forget painful, although important, memories. One thing is certain: this structure has been forgotten by those in charge of its maintenance. Even the attempts to bar access are laughable at best- besides the aforementioned door lock, the only other effort to prevent people from visiting the monument is a road block with a warning sign. Taking a closer look, however, one sees the tire tracks where many cars have simply gone around the road block, onto the grass and back on the road again.

Whatever the future may hold for Buzludja, it is definitely a distinctive landmark for Bulgaria in more ways than one. If it wasn't for its remote location, I'd say it would make an excellent extension of the Sofia Museum of Socialist Art. For now, it's just another roadside attraction, although quite far off the beaten track.

Hiking Mt. Vitosha- Kamen Del

This year on May 1st, the international worker's holiday, I decided to get out of the city and go for a hike on Mt. Vitosha with Kiril and Elana. The mountain is one of the first things you notice when approaching the city, either with a car or by plane. It looms over the city, snow-capped in winter and vibrant green in summer, and has an almost magnetic pull for Sofia's outdoor enthusiasts. There are hundreds of trails and paths all around the mountain and and endless array of activities there, including horseback riding, skiing and soaking in the mineral-rich hot springs.

For hiking, there are lots of options. We chose to drive up to the hija (lodge) closest to Kamen Del, one of the most visible peaks from the city below. It's also one of the lower peaks- Aleko and Cherni Vruh are much higher up the mountain- but we didn't start early enough to summit either of those. On the way to Kamen Del you pass a natural rock formation called Zlatni Mostove (Golden Bridges) made up of huge boulders leftover from an ancient river. There are also waterfalls and caves scattered around the outskirts of the mountain.

Admittedly, the path we chose wasn't the most strenuous of hikes- there is a longer way to go starting from the Golden Bridges area, but we didn't have that much time. It took us about an hour or so to get from the lodge to the peak, and it was mostly a gradual climb; we moved through muddy forest, grassy field and rocky outcropping as we approached the peak. We were rewarded with a gorgeous view of the city below, and met two mountaineers who were attempting to summit every peak in Bulgaria, carrying the same flag around with them on every hike. 

Now that the weather is getting hotter and the snow has mostly melted from the other peaks, I hope we can go back to the mountain soon and explore its other beautiful sites. There is a very famous trail in the Rila Mountains that traverses across seven mountain lakes- aptly named the Seven Rila Lakes. They're supposed to be breathtaking, although more difficult to reach, and weather is a huge factor there because the wind and rain can really ruin a hiking trip. Hopefully in the summer it will be warm and dry enough up there to go for a daytrip. There are almost too many places I still need to visit here in Bulgaria!

Earthquakes, Road Trips and Birthdays

The last several weeks have really flown by. One of my best friends from Seattle came to visit me here in Sofia, and we spent a few days traveling around the Bulgarian countryside in order to show her something more "authentic" than the busy atmosphere of the city. We also had a terrible shock when we were awakened one morning by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake and several smaller aftershocks. Growing up on the West Coast, we are both used to earthquakes happening every now and then. But usually when they happen at night, I sleep through the whole thing. This time it was a very shallow quake, and the epicenter was only 15 miles from Sofia. This made it nearly impossible to sleep through it (or fall asleep afterwards, for that matter).

More interesting than the earthquake was the road trip we took to the center of the country where villages and towns with architecture preserved from the 19th century sit nestled between the rolling green Stara Planina (Balkan) mountains. We stayed in Gabrovo, a town whose citizens are famous for their sense of humor and thriftiness and which is also conveniently located close to other interesting sites nearby. Only a few kilometers outside of town is the Etara museum complex, featuring an old mill, traditional shops, scarecrows, crafts and a very well-stocked sweet shop. We tried their specialty- kisses from Etara, two big white meringues filled with almond cream but decided against trying "Gabrovo chocolate," made out of prunes.

We also visited the monument at the Shipka pass- where a famous battle was fought during Bulgaria's war for independence from the Ottoman Empire. We drove up to the massive stone tower and climbed the steps, through the accompanying museum exhibits on the way up, to the top where we enjoyed an incredible view of the surrounding mountains. The clouds were gorgeous that day, and we could see all the way to our next destination, Bozludja- an abandoned communist party monument that sits on a hillside like a spacecraft waiting to return to the mothership (more about that in another post).

After the monument we visited a beautiful church in the town of Shipka before continuing along the mountain-hugging highway that connects the rose growing plain region with Sofia. Along the way we stopped in the town of Karlovo, one of two towns famous for its rose festival every June. I hope to go back there soon, if only to have lunch in the same place again. Prices are usually cheaper outside of Sofia (except for the Black Sea resorts) but not only was the food there cheap, it was also incredibly fresh and delicious. After stopping for lunch we continued on to Koprivshtitsa, another town famous for a battle fought (or at least started) there. Koprivshtitsa is also famous for its beautifully preserved old houses and idyllic setting in the mountains. We got there a bit later in the afternoon so there wasn't much going on, but we took some photos and began our return to Sofia through the windy mountain roads. I was ecstatic to see these horses grazing by the side of the highway, so we stopped there to take photos. I do love horses.

Side note- I turned 24 on May 23rd! I had a very relaxing day at the spa in Pancharevo (on a lake just outside of Sofia), hung out with some close friends and went to see a movie in the evening. It was extra nice because I had the whole week off school and didn't have to worry about work or deadlines or anything like that. Now we're in the final stretch of school, and while I'm sure it will just fly by as the last month has, June 29th seems too far away just now.