Sofia

April 26, 2024

We flew into “happy” Bulgaria last night. Everywhere there are signs for happy Bulgaria.

We were upgraded to a suite because of Robin’s platinum elite status at IHG. Beautiful room and view!

There is a switch inside the hotel room door that turns on a red light to indicate that you don't need housekeeping services that day. Smart!

It will be hard enough learning another language now that I live in Portugal. But another alphabet? Impossible.

Breakfast was at the Rainbow Factory.

With our shared avocado scrambled eggs, we tried a side of mekitsa. It’s a traditional Bulgarian deep fried flatbread served with feta cheese and jam.

We walked past many casinos.

Apparently, Bulgarians don't like touching things. They will not touch your credit card. I believe that you wave your hand in front of the walk signal indicator to have it turn green. But I'm not sure it ever worked!

We had a great guide for our first walking tour.

At the time, this church had the worst terrorist attack in history. In April 1925, the Bulgarian Communist Party blew up the church's roof during the funeral service of a general, who had been killed in a previous assault two days before. 150 people, mainly from the country's political and military elite, were killed in the attack and around 500 bystanders were injured

Saint Sophia replaced the the statue of Lenin in the year 2000.

Roman ruins are everywhere.

Even though Bulgaria is 10% Muslim, this is the only mosque in Sofia. Most of the mosques are in different parts of Bulgaria.

The only Jewish Synagogue is just across the street from the Mosque. We saw a heavy police presence near the synagogue.

This beautiful yellow Byzantine building was a public bathhouse. Anyone could go. It’s used for various offices now and most of it sits empty. People want it to be used again as a public bathhouse because there are 40 mineral springs below. You’ll see occasional protests of people outside in bathrobes.

The water was warm and smelled of sulphur.

Our guide would ask us various questions and whoever answered correctly would get a little candy that can be translated to “little onion”. I won two and they were menthol candies. Not sure how it translated to onions. Another fun fact about our guide... She was the only person to have a Barbie doll in the 1990s. Times were tough and inflation was sky high. She was the popular girl in the neighborhood because she owned an original Barbie.

Seems like every large city has a local crazy guy with a microphone spouting conspiracy theories. This one was going on about 5G, Bill Gates, and other electronic conspiracy theories. But in the words of our guide, “at least we get to do this if we're a democracy”.

Many Roman ruins were discovered when they were building the metro. The metro was started in the early 70s and was supposed to be finished by the end of the decade. It was finally finished in 1998 because Bulgaria went bankrupt several times during the communist regime.

This whole area was once the center of the communist party. The building on the right was the headquarters. There was once a star where the flag is now.

You can also see the faint outline of stars where the sunflowers are.

The round church in the Roman Ruins is from the end of the third century and is still functioning as a church to this day.

The largest city park is where people gather all summer long. They actually have a term for park culture that can be translated into “bench party”. People will get here early to save a seat and sometimes be there until 5 am. Our guide has spent many birthdays here.

The most famous landmark is Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral.Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria and it is one of the 50 largest Christian church buildings by volume in the world.

Saints Cyril and Methodius were early saints of this church. They started an alphabet that eventually transformed through one of their disciples into the Cyrillic alphabet that is used today. It is used by 300 million people around the world and in 11 countries.

Lunch was at this blue house.

We split traditional Bulgarian meatballs. Great flavors... but they needed a sauce!

Old and newer street cars. This one looked very utilitarian.

After lunch, we went to see The Red Flat. For €9 each, we listened to audio tapes while exploring a typical apartment from the communist era. The flat has remained unchanged since the 1980’s. Literally every cabinet is still full of junk from that time period.

People didn’t go out much to socialize, so the living room was the main gathering place for family and friends.

On one side of the living room was someone's bed.

Western music was banned and you had to buy albums on the black market. The kid who lived here was listening to Led Zeppelin the same years I was!

There are yellow brick roads all over Sofia. They were supposedly given as a wedding gift to one of the monarchs in 1893. It was revealed later that the monarch actually bought them to give Sofia a "modern European look". He lied about it being a gift, and it almost bankrupted the city in the process.

Just another fabulous church. They are EVERYWHERE.

They also have fabulous parks every few blocks.

Always great to close out a city with cake!

PLovdiv

April 27, 2024

We got up very early this morning and went to the only open breakfast place down the street. We tried banistas for the first time. One was filled with mushrooms and potatoes, and the other was filled with eggs and feta.

The only reason that I booked this bus tour was because we needed to get to Plovdiv. It wasn't going to be easy and involved several bus changes. There was no train. So, sometimes the easiest ways to get from point A to point B is by booking one of the cheap tours and then just staying at the destination. This one was only €35 per person and included a narrated walking tour of the Old Town area. However, you get what you pay for! These larger bus tours are often pretty poor tours and it's definitely worth it to spend the extra money and do a private tour.

For this particular narrated tour, our guide was awful. He was about as animated as a rock and mumbled. In fact, sometimes he was almost just whispering. He wouldn't even face the group and hardly anyone was listening. He also did not make it one bit interesting and would say over and over again... "This is (name of building). It is very beautiful and interesting for you to visit in your free time."

That's what he said about EVERY house and so we learned nothing about it.

Consequently, I took a lot of photos of beautiful homes and I don't really know much about them.

Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Europe - dating back to 4000 BC.

Just like Sofia, there are many beautiful churches.

This particular church had outdoor frescos that were quite beautiful.

Because I was going into the church, I put on my best Sunday dress. Maybe I should ask them to pray for me because I do appear to have three hands.

Some churches are very dark and dingy inside, but this one was quite bright with all the gold.

The ancient theater of Philippopolis is among the best preserved ancient theaters in the world and among the main tourist attractions of Plovdiv. It was built during the time of the Roman emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajan (98 – 117 AD). In the 1950's, a land owner was digging in the yard when he came across a column. The site was uncovered during archaeological excavations from 1968 to 1979 by the Plovdiv Archaeological Museum.

As we were strolling through old town ignoring our guide, we came across our beautiful hotel. We decided to split from the tour to check into our hotel.

The front door is actually in the back and it's down just the cutest alleyway.

The hotel is a boutique hotel and they called themselves a gallery.

We still had to go back to the bus to get our luggage. Notice the Roman stones just lying on the ground.

GPS said it was a nine minute walk to our hotel. It was a nine minute walk from hell.

It was impossible to PULL the suitcase over the uneven rocks.

A little flat resting spot for the moment.

Robin has the larger backpack so she's having a little easier time than I am.

Later, we decided to go down to the area that boasts the longest pedestrian walkway in Europe.

The weather could not be more perfect and everyone is out.

Once again, we randomly came across more Roman ruins. This was part of a large colosseum.

This monument is in memory of the victims of communism. You can read more about it in the next photo.

This modernist, socialist building was built in 1977. It now houses the Central Post Office.

Another random Roman ruins.

Now we are at the Kapana District of Plovdiv, in the very center of the city. Created as a center of craftsmen around the Kurshum Khan, the neighborhood is a peculiar tangle of small streets bearing appropriate names - Zhelezarska, Kozhuharska, Abadjiyska, Zlatarska etc. All the houses are representatives of the Viennese architectural fashion. Today, all the ground floors have been converted into shops.The northern part of Kapana has become Plovdiv's Soho - numerous bars and nightclubs have been concentrated here.

The amphitheater at sunset. Although they have concerts and other entertainment at this venue, tonight is quiet.

buzludzha and veliko tarnovo

April 28, 2024

Breakfast was included at our wonderful little hotel and it was a perfect start to the day. Our private tour guide picked us up out front promptly at 9 AM. Thank God I din't have to deal with the suitcase again!

Our guide was a nice guy, but seemed obsessed with cleaning the car. First, we stopped at a gas station and he cleaned all the windows with a squeegee.

About 45 minutes later, we stopped at another gas station so he could wash the car in the bay. We stood outside and waited while he dried the car.

We saw many communist era mass housing complexes. I couldn't even get this whole building in one shot. It had to have housed a couple thousand people.

Our first stop was the Russian Church in Shipka. The church, which is now Bulgarian Orthodox, was built between 1885 and 1902. The building is dedicated to those soldiers—Russian, Ukrainian, and Bulgarian—who lost their lives fighting to free Bulgaria in the Russo-Turkish War from 1877-78.

The inside was fairly crowded and there was a baptism going on.

The bell is 12 tons and it was made from melting down the bullets of the Ottoman war.

Apparently, today is a religious holiday. They were handing out branches of willow inside the church as well as on street corners. Everyone was carrying them or wearing them in a crown on their head.

Consequently, we now have a willow branch drying out on our dashboard since our guide picked up one too. About 90% of our drive today was through the countryside and the roads all looked like this. Our guide drove extremely fast and was swerving back-and-forth to avoid potholes. Robin was sitting in the front seat because she gets carsick, but I felt carsick a few times in the backseat. It was like being on a roller coaster ride.

I had no interest in seeing the Thracian tomb. However, our guide was so excited about it and once he explained it, I can see why it was worth the stop.

First off, it's an original tomb and not a replica. It's from the fifth century BC, long before the Egyptians. This particular tomb wasn't discovered until 2007.

The tomb had not been looted so they found many artifacts that are now housed in a museum in Sofia. However, there weren't any human remains discovered. I didn't take any other photos because it was just this one small room. Hard to believe that you can stand in something built 6000 years ago!

Once our guide told us we were passing the statue of the father of Bulgarian communism, we knew we were close to our destination.

We stopped to get our first photo of Buzludzha from a distance. It looks like it's from another world.

This place is larger than you can imagine! It was the Congress Hall for the Bulgarian Communist Party and was opened in 1981. The reason they chose this remote location was because it held special significance since the party was formed here.

The place has been abandoned for years and has fallen into complete disrepair. However, there is a push now to have it restored.

Unfortunately, there is no way to see the inside. At one time people could sneak inside, but they have sealed off all those secret entrances.

I did not take this photo, but it is a photo that I found on the Internet of what it looks like inside now. Supposedly, they have started to restore the murals on the wall. Our guide told us that the Bulgarians don't understand the fascination with this building and communism in general. He also said that the majority of people he schleps out here to see it are from the US.

This photo is what it looked like when it was the pride and joy of the communist party in Bulgaria.

You can see in this photo there isn't much left of the roof because of the light shining through.

The flames signify the brotherhood between Bulgaria and Russia because they defeated the Ottomans in 1878. It doesn't have anything to do with the communist era, but a lot of people take this photo with both monuments in sight.

We stopped at a very traditional Bulgarian restaurant that probably no tourists ever step foot in.

Thankfully, our guide ordered for us because there is no way that we would have been able to figure out this menu.

We had cucumber-dill yogurt soup, zucchini with yogurt, minced-meat stuffed cabbage, and roasted vegetables. It was delicious! In the background, you can see the Battle of Shipka Pass monument honoring the soldiers liberated the Bulgarians from the Ottoman empire.

All throughout the countryside, you see these random communist era monuments. You can see that the date on this one was 1977.

Our guide thought this one might have something to do with education. But to me they look like they are on Star Trek.

After two hours of winding curves at 60 miles an hour, we finally arrived at our hotel. It's called the Gurko hotel in Veliko Tarnovo.

The lobby is…rather interesting.

The room also looks like it could have come out of the communist era.

However, it's spacious with great light.

I don't think I've ever used a hairdryer like this one. Definitely straight out of the 1970s.

But the views are fantastic and the restaurant that is attached to the hotel is very popular.

We opted instead for dinner at a restaurant called Ethno.

Because the whole city is on a hillside, most places have an awesome view.

We sat outside on the balcony. The weather could not be more perfect.

Later, we just walked around taking more pictures of communist era buildings.

Tonight's entertainment - A traditional Bulgarian dance ensemble at an outdoor stadium in a nearby park. However, not really our thing.

April 29, 2024

Breakfast is included at our hotel. Unfortunately, it was too cold to sit outside.

WAY too much food! They also brought fruit and yoghurt. Tomorrow we will ask for only one serving.

Some of the buildings in our neighborhood are barely standing.

Residents put up memorials to people they've lost. We see them all over; some people died in 1992.

If SHE can make it up this hill, then I can make it up this hill! I smiled at her and she smiled back. Overall, the people have not been very friendly.

Tsarevets Fortress is a medieval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo. Tsarevets is 206 meters above sea level.

At one time, it had 430 residences and 23 churches.

The church in the fortress was refurbished during the communist era. But since the communists were against anything religious (even an icon in your house could be a death sentence), they only allowed the murals to show how religion is oppressive. So they depict torture, death, and destruction.

Love the red paint!

FROM AN ARTICLE: "The Interhotel Veliko Tarnovo is located near the city center. Standing out amongst the more traditional buildings, this could be described as an outstanding example of 1980s communist architecture, or otherwise as an eyesore that should be demolished. Construction on the hotel began in 1967, but the project was not completed until 1981. The hotel was rather extravagant back in its heyday, housing a swimming pool and riverside nightclub. Unfortunately, it appears that these have been closed and decaying for a number of years now. In 2017, the hotel business went bankrupt and after concerns that the building may be left derelict, a new owner took over." Parts of it are now open, but the TripAdvisor reviews are all terrible.

The women's clothes are all flowery, while the men get... Metallica?

Robin keeps airdropping me more photos of communist era buildings...

... as well as numerous pictures of plants she used to sell.

We ended up going on a 5pm walking tour. Only one other person was there. This is our guide explaining the memorials on walls and doorways. As long as someone was still around to honor you, that person would put up a memorial on the anniversary of your death.

She also clarified that most of the home styles were from the Ottoman Empire years. Now we know about the houses in Plovdiv.

There are numerous buildings with art from the Ottoman War (1877-1898). The Communist Party commissioned these murals. They went through a phase in the 1980's where they tried to promote tourism (but only from other Eastern Bloc countries) and this was a way to entice people to visit.

This is the number one rated restaurant in all of Veliko Tarnovo. It was SO good that we had lunch...

... and a fantastic dinner.

Our hotel at night. Cuter on the outside than the inside. On to Romania!