Bulgarian Road Tripping with Dad

As you may be aware, I recently had to cancel a trip to Seattle (where I had hoped to catch up with my family and friends after a year and a half away) because of a serious medical condition. Although I have been out of the hospital for several weeks now and I am feeling much better, it's still dangerous for me to travel for long periods of time. That's why I won't be visiting my family for a while. :(

Dad's first Bulgarian meal

Luckily, my Dad was able to come visit me and also see Bulgaria for the first time. It was so great having him here, and really brightened my mood. During his two weeks here we were mostly at home, as I find myself getting tired easily and needing more rest. But we were also able to take him on a short trip around the country, our final destination being the Black Sea. With Kiril driving and Dad in the front seat, I was able to stretch out across the back seat and keep my leg elevated while on the road.

The southern highway to the Black Sea (Sofia-Burgas, or Thrakia Highway) passes close to Plovdiv, one of Bulgaria's oldest and largest cities. We spend a little time walking up to the Roman amphitheater and then having lunch in a former Dervish monastery that was constructed atop one of the old city's Roman walls (visible downstairs and from the patio outside).

Me and Dad in the center of Plovdiv

Our next stop was a Thracian temple and royal tomb, recently discovered near the village of Starosel. The temple, which dates back to the 4th century B.C., is the largest one found so far on the Balkan peninsula. A tour guide explained that the temple was used for worshiping the three dimensions of sky, earth and underworld. Three natural colors were painted in a repeating pattern around the walls and are still visible today. After that we stopped in nearby Hisarya, a town famous for its mineral water and Roman history. There are many resorts there where you can try out the healing properties of the famous water for yourself. It took us longer to find the southern gate of the late Roman wall, nicknamed "The Camels" than we spent looking at it, but it was getting very hot so we kept driving to our next destination.

In front of "The Camels" southern fortress wall in Hisarya

We spent the night in Veliko Turnovo, but on the way passed through the Shipka Pass. This landmark is an important part of Bulgaria's independence period, and a fierce battle was fought there between Bulgarian rebels and Ottoman soldiers. Last year I visited the monument and museum on top of the peak, but this time we just drove through on our way to Bulgaria's medieval capital. Our hotel was located right next to the Tsarevets fortress in the old town, which would have been perfect for watching an evening light show on the fortress walls. However, after a long day of driving and waiting a long time to eat, we had dinner in the hotel restaurant and went to bed early before starting another day of sightseeing.

The Holy Forty Martyrs Church in Veliko Turnovo

The next morning, after exploring the ramparts of Veliko Turnovo's medieval fortress walls and church (I opted to wait on a shady bench while Kiril and Dad made the hike), we drove down to the Holy Forty Martyrs Church on the banks of the Maritsa River. This church has an interesting history, and has also borne witness to some of Bulgaria's historical milestones. Tsar Kaloyan, one of Bulgaria's most legendary rulers, is buried in the church. Under Ottoman rule, the church was refashioned into a mosque, and many of its paintings and murals were destroyed. In 1908, Tsar Ferdinand declared the independence of the whole territory of Bulgaria inside the church. There is one remaining section of the church with original foundations and the rest has been restored. The newer interior is bright with white painted walls, which is uncommon for Bulgarian churches but has a very airy and calming feel.

Foundations of a pagan temple and first Christian Basilica at Pliska

After leaving Veliko Turnovo, we headed east towards Shumen and eventually got to Pliska, the capital of the first Bulgarian Empire from the year 681. It was founded by Khan Asparuh, who established the first Bulgarian Empire. Not a lot is left of the original buildings in the complex, as many of them were made from wood, but the stone foundations of a pagan temple, two basilicas, the royal palace, a bath house and several outlying buildings remain. A small museum describes the site's history and provides reconstructions of all the original structures.

On the Black Sea in Sozopol

Finally, we reached our end destination and checked into our hotel in Sozopol, just a half hour south of Burgas. Incidentally, we stayed at the same hotel as the first time I visited the Black Sea almost three years ago. I love staying in the old town because it is so charming and peaceful. And Sozopol is easily my favorite town on the coast, as it boasts small, charming cobblestone streets, two beaches, ancient walls and ongoing archaeological investigations. A recent one was the reported discovery of some relics of St. John the Baptist, which were probably transferred to the island of St. Ivan (St. John in English), just a kilometer from Sozopol's public marina, by a Christian monk in the 5th or 6th century. The relics are on display in the restored Church of Saints Kiril and Metodi, and the waterproof container likely used to transport them is in the regional historical museum. That museum also currently houses one vampire skeleton, part of another exciting and fascinating recent find near the town.

Medieval ruins of a monastery on the island of St. John the Baptist

We were able to visit the island by boat, and the roundtrip only cost us 40 leva, or roughly $9 per person. Our captain Dimitar told us that he has worked with the archaeologists working on the island, and that his boat actually transported the relics to the mainland. The island is small, and today mostly a nature preserve. We saw lots of young seagulls getting ready to take their first flight. A lighthouse built in the late 19th century still stands there, and the ruins of two churches can be viewed easily by tourists. The older one is where the relics of St. John were found, buried under the altar, in the summer of 2010.

Me and Kiril, on the boat ride back to Sozopol

We didn't make any more stops on our return trip to Sofia, so it was much faster, and Dad had just enough time to get his bags packed up before heading home to Seattle the next day. He was very happy at the end of our trip that he got to see so many parts of Bulgaria. But still, there are many more to see so I hope that he will come back again soon!

May Day Weekend: Varna and Balchik

This week was shorter because of the four day vacation that extended through Tuesday, May 1st. May Day, or International Workers' Day, is officially celebrated in many countries around the world- but not the United States. From what I remember, this had something to do with a general fear of the popularity of socialism in the early 20th century. Americans celebrate Labor Day in early September.

But to get back to Bulgaria, we had a nice long weekend and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous summery weather and visit my friend L in Varna, on the Black Sea.

It was a much-needed break. I am feeling a little overwhelmed by deadlines and the end of the school year quickly approaching with too many things to finish, so it was great to go to the beach and relax. I was joined by our friend A, who is also living in Sofia, which made the whole trip felt like one big extended sleepover party (fun!). We dipped our legs in the still-freezing water, worked on our tans/sunburns, enjoyed lots of delicious food (Varna has an amazing Thai restaurant and a sushi place, not to mention great seafood) and took a day trip to the botanical gardens in Balchik.

Here are L and A enjoying a beachfront meal of mussels, fried fish, calimari and beer.

The botanical gardens in Balchik are on the grounds of what used to be Romanian Queen Marie's residential palace. It was built during the interwar period when Southern Dobruja was under Romanian control. It is now part of Bulgaria, and the gardens are maintained by Sofia University. Fun fact: the queen's heart was buried in a special part of the gardens, but were transplanted to Bucharest after the region was returned to Bulgaria in 1940. 

One of the most distinguishing landmarks of the palace is this minaret, which looks like what you would find attached to a mosque. This building, however, was neither designed as a mosque, nor has it ever been used as one. Apparently Queen Marie had it built as a symbolic gesture to the architecture of the region. She also professed her belief in Baha'ism, which explains the coexistence of Islamic and Christian symbols in this part of the complex.

I returned to Sofia on Tuesday night feeling well-rested, but the rest of the week was a blur. I guess that happens when the working week is only three days long: you feel much more exhausted afterwards than you would normally! 

Late Summer at the Black Sea Coast

Last weekend I was lucky enough to have a four-day weekend (in celebration of Bulgaria's independence day) and decided to take the train out to Varna and visit another Fulbrighter there. Another Fulbright friend came along, too, and we met about ten of the new Fulbrighters this year who were in town, which was a pleasant surprise. This year the number of English Teaching Assistants has doubled from 10 to 20, so there are a lot more people to get acquainted with. One of the things I loved most about last year was the network of ETAs with whom I could discuss problems and minor annoyances along with positive developments and overall impressions of teaching English as a Second Language in Bulgaria. So it will be great to have an even larger network and hear some new perspectives from the different placements. I'll meet everyone officially this Friday at orientation here in Sofia.

But, getting back to the weekend, Varna was gorgeous. The weather was perfect, nice and warm with the fresh sea breeze. I got a little sunburned on the beach one day but it was worth it. I felt very relaxed just walking through the Sea Gardens and chatting over coffee with new friends. We also visited the Archaeological Museum, which was very interesting and included many of the famous golden treasures found in the ancient ruins along the sea coast. There were lots of wide, tree-lined streets, plenty of shops and cafes to keep tourists entertained, and lovely parks to take a stroll in. Varna is a beautiful city, and I definitely plan to return soon.

Summertime break at the Black Sea

School has been out for the past two weeks and I’ve been very, very busy! The weekend after the summer break started I took a bus to Bourgas, on the Black Sea coast, with a friend and her daughter. We stayed in a small town called Pomorie and had a wonderful, relaxing few days there. Because the towns along the coast are so well-connected with public transport, we were also able to visit the UNESCO World Heritage town of Nessebar and the tourist-ridden resort at Sunny Beach (Slunchen Bryag in Bulgarian). The old town of Nessebar is full of historical sites, beautiful beaches and many more tourist-oriented restaurants and shops than I’ve seen in most of the country. The resort towns are full of foreigners this time of year- I met a couple from Israel in line at an ATM, and was frequently assumed to be a Russian tourist, something I found puzzling. Sunny Beach was a little too much to handle for us. It was really overcrowded, not very clean and it felt like it could have been any beach anywhere in the world because of how mass-oriented the place was. If you’re into enormous hotel complexes, overpriced beach bars and sharing close quarters with your fellow sunbathers, then Sunny Beach is where it’s at. I preferred the smaller towns like Pomorie where you could at least feel a little isolated from other people. 

I hate to report that the food on the coast was overwhelmingly disappointing. Seafood restaurants served shrimp and calamari that were either undercooked or very strangely prepared. We did have some nice fried fish and mussels on the last day, so that redeemed most of the rest. One thing that didn’t disappoint was the drinking selection: we drank beer shandies on the beach, sipped local white wine and very much enjoyed the happy hour cocktails at a bar close to our hotel. 

I had originally planned to spend two nights in Pomorie but quickly decided to bump my flight back a few days- a good thing, since it rained the first week I was in Warsaw. The trip went amazingly well- as things often do when spending time in good company. I returned to Poland (for the third time this year) with great memories, a little bit of a tan and feeling very relaxed. I then spent ten days in Warsaw and traveling around Poland with my great-aunts and second cousin before my long-awaited return back to the States. 

Sozopol

I arrived in Sozopol (on the southern Black Sea Coast) on Sunday morning with two fellow ETAs. We have been having a great time here. The town has a very typically Mediterranean feel, with windy cobblestone streets, red-tile roofs and a stone wall fortress surrounding the Old Town. It also has a small harbor with colorfully painted fishing boats and small restaurants serving up fresh-caught fish, plenty of bars and cafes, several craft markets and more than a few kebab stands.

Our hotel is on the north side of Old Town, above steep cliffs overlooking the central beach and another peninsula where the "new town" is. We walked over there yesterday to go to South Beach, which is the other public beach within city limits. South Beach is where most of the night clubs in town are, most of them right on the beach and pumping techno music all day long. We spent about four hours lounging there and wading in the warm water. Today we checked out the central beach but it was much hotter so we didn't stay nearly as long. I've been good about sunscreen (yay!) so haven't been burned much and I'm slowly acquiring a freckly tan.

Sozopol was originally a Greek settlement called Appolonia, after which its summer arts festival is named. The festival starts next week so we're going to miss it, but there are already some booths set up and the amphitheater's been roped off. This town definitely has an "artsy" feel, with lots of craft vendors lining the streets (selling more than just the typical touristy souvenirs, though they have all of that too) and a couple of little pop-up shops filled with homemade jewelry, clothes and paintings that are oddly reminiscent of Anthropologie in the States. Tonight we're planning on getting dinner at a Greek place on the water. I'm so excited to eat something other than "traditional Bulgarian food." Not that I don't love Bulgarian food, because I do. It's just that after two weeks of the same repeating menu at the hotel it's nice to change it up a bit. After that we're hopefully going to check out some of the beach clubs or something like that. Tomorrow Ellen and I are going back to Sofia and Hillary is going to Haskovo, the town where she will be teaching. It's sad to say goodbye to everyone I've been living with for the past two weeks but we're all going to meet up on trips and visit each others' towns. At the end of September we have a four day weekend when a bunch of us are planning to go to Istanbul, which isn't very far away. It's exciting being here in Bulgaria because it's not really far from a lot of places I want to go. That being said I am very much looking forward to go to Pleven this weekend and finally getting settled at home. That's all for now and I'll definitely post something from Sofia later on this week!

Goodbye, Bansko... Hello, Sozopol!

The famous Bulgarian roses!

 Okay, so it's been a while since my last post... the conference ended up being a pretty busy couple of weeks, surprisingly enough. It was mostly full of social stuff but hey, that's why I went. I got to know a lot of the other Americans here in Bulgaria for the year pretty well and made some Bulgarian friends as well, all of whom I hope to meet up with throughout the year. We even met the US Ambassador to Bulgaria at our farewell dinner. Right now I am at a hotel in Sozopol on the Black Sea coast, which is FABULOUS.

But back to Bansko, I really enjoyed the conference, only actually took one course the last week (Bulgarian Culture, Art and Music) and had a great time. The second weekend we were there everyone went on a daytrip to Blagoevgrad, a nearby town where the American University is, and a smaller village to hear some traditional folk music and participate in a mock-wedding ceremony. That part was really hilarious because our two volunteers had to dress up in folk costumes, dance around with the singing babas (literally: old grannies) and drink homemade rakiya. 

The setting for the folk singing/ wedding ceremony was in a beautiful rose garden at a medieval church, which was covered in restored frescoes of Bulgarian Orthodox saints. The church, located in Dobarsko in the Pirin region of Bulgaria, is famous for a few of its icons which have irregular angular shapes depicting heavenly light. One of the strange shapes around the figure of Jesus has been likened to a rocket ship.

The next day our group took a bus into the Pirin Mountains just behind the town of Bansko and hiked to a few glacial lakes nearby. And while the program described a 'walk' to one of these lakes, whichever path our group ended up taking was definitely not the easiest hike. But it was well worth it and the views were amazing. Going up there definitely made me want to try skiing and I imagine it would be relatively inexpensive to try it here. Two of the girls (also ETAs) and I decided to take a mini-vacation to the Black Sea resort town of Sozopol following the conference, and that's where we arrived this morning after taking a night bus from Sofia. We didn't realize that the night bus would only take 6 hours, however, so we ended up waiting near our hotel for a couple of hours before it opened at 8AM. But Sozopol is absolutely stunning, with cliffs and sandy beaches on either side of the peninsula and an extremely walkable and enjoyable old town center. We walked around a fair amount today and plan on staying here for two more nights. Then I'm headed back to Sofia to spend the weekend with Ellen (who is teaching English at a high school there) and off to Pleven on Sunday!