Our Big Adventure

BULGARIA

Bulgaria lies in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula in South Eastern Europe with Turkey to it’s South East and Greece to the South, Romania to the North and Serbia and Macedonia to it’s West.

Settled in the 6th century by the Slavs, and then the Ottomans where it flourished until the early 1900’s when it became a Republic. Invaded by the Russians in the 1944 and came under Communist rule until 1989. Most towns still have visible reminders of the Soviet occupation, factories and buildings sit empty, once munitions, steel works, clothing and other manufacturing, now mostly abandoned and in ruins. Massive stone statues to the people are everywhere, and another reminder of it’s Communist past. Only recently admitted into the EU, money is now being used to build and repair the roads and to put other long over due infrastructure into place.

Bulgaria has a contrasting geography from large plains to high mountains with steep valleys and gorges, to it’s sunny beaches along the Black Sea coast and small villages, many now abandoned except for the sheep and goats now grazing on the lush green fields.

The alphabet in Bulgaria is Cyrillic and we see words such as-Чјожуњюсп and just don’t have a clue what they mean. Another interesting thing they do here is to nod their head for No, and shake for Yes, talk about us being confused! WILF AND EDDY

We have come to Bulgaria for a month, to pet/house sit for Val and Terry and to look after Wilf and Eddy, their two large, but very lovable dogs.

Val and Terry have moved here from the UK, and just recently finished renovating their farmhouse in the quiet and peaceful village of Stoyanoutzi. There are only about a dozen houses here and most of the residents don’t have cars. We hear the sounds of the birds signing, and the bleating of the sheep and goats when Maria our next-door neighbour takes them out of her yard and up the road to the grassy paddock. At night the howl of the jackals in the surrounding forests, have our ‘boys’, as well as the many other dogs around unsettled and barking. There are still deer, wild goats and even bears living in the hills and national parks across Bulgaria

It’s nice to be able to sit and relax on the sunny balcony off our bedroom, read and watch the boys, Wilf and Eddy chase each other around the yard.

Tryavna or in Cyrillic, Трявңа our closest town and where we go to the supermarket, bread shop etc. It also has a few nice cafes and restaurants, several museums and a section of the ‘old town’, with a fabulous clock tower, and where revival era homes have been renovated, and are now gift shops, art gallery’s and B & B’s. It is well known for it’s craftsmen, especially the wood carvers, and many fine examples of their work can be seen throughout the town.

Before Val and Terry left for the UK, they kindly introduced us to many of their friends, so we have been regularly invited to meet for coffee and dinner with them. We have met some lovely people here, and with any luck, will be able to keep in contact once we leave Bulgaria.

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We take a day trip to Veliko Tarnovo on an ancient old train (the highlight of the day) to see the mammoth Tsarevets Fortress, a walled citadel, once occupied by the Thracians, Romans and Byzantines, when Veliko was the medieval capital of Bulgaria. It also has older section of town where the tourist shops are and we ran into a large group of Aussies, also here on a day trip from their cruise ship, waiting for them on the Danube. It has been a while since we’ve heard an Australian accent, and it was nice to chat with them.

Once Val and Terry arrive back in Bulgaria we spend one more day in Tryavna, then hit the road and head for the border town of Vidin, situated on the River Danube, but not a place you would want to spend any time. This will be the last we see of Bulgaria, our next stop is Belgrade, Serbia.

posted by Brian and Julie @ 5:47:00 AM