Varna - The Blog is back.

The last few days, since I left Plovdiv, have swung wildly from the most fun I have had in years to some of the most annoying incidents I have ever encountered. So, as a result, I will just quickly apologise for not writing anything for a few days and also for forgetting which day of the trip I am on...

So let's go back in time to where I left you in Plovdiv and my plans to go to Varna. Not long after finishing my last blog, I decided impulsively to go to Varna that day rather than on an overnight train or bus. I really did like Plovdiv but the thought of spending another day walking around, not really doing anything made me want to go and sit on the beach. I had a couple of obstacles to overcome in order to carry out my plan to catch the 1:20pm train - firstly, my laundry hadn't come back from being done and I didn't want to go to Varna with only half my stuff, and secondly, when I got to the train station (at 1pm) the woman wouldn't sell me a ticket so, on the advice of the hostel guy, I ran all over the station (with pack on) looking for platform 3... phew made it just in time (sweating like a pig).

The train ride to Varna, while long and hot (6 1/2 hours with windows that only stayed open when they wanted to), was very beautiful - fields of wheat waiting to be harvested, sunflowers in full flower, falling down villages with terracotta tiled roofs. The ride was made entertaining by the general insistence of the Bulgarians, in my cabin, to try and have a conversation with me... even though I spoke no Bulgarian and they spoke no English. I think I was asked how much it was to fly from London to Sofia, whether I was married and how old I was (apparently I look 18 - well that was the interpretation I came up with); just a snippet of the excellent chat.

Varna is the big beach resort in Bulgaria, right on the Black Sea coast - I was expecting an Ibiza-esque vibe but it was nothing like it and the four nights I have spent here (and the days!) have been such fun. When I finally arrived in Varna, I met Dave (the crazy, British hostel owner), outside the old hostel building - he was having trouble with the mafia, who owned the building, and so had had to find a new premise very quickly but all the information in the Lonely Planet, hostelworld, etc all state the old location. The Flag Hostel is right in the center of Varna, where there is a lot of shops and restaurants, as well as a great pedestrianised area - in a lot of ways it does exude resort town. Dave is a complete nutter - many people spent long periods of their stay trying to avoid being given a hug. He never listens to what you say so his answers to various questions can be very random. He is ultra disorganised (to the point where it is hard to believe he actually runs a business) and he often has very little understanding of 'social graces' - having said this, he has a great hostel, with amazing staff who often 'take one for the team' and escort hostel guests to the best bars and dance clubs.

On my first night in Varna, most of the hostel went down to the beach for a drink in a bar, which has been set up under a giant permanent marque - it is one of the best things to sit on a deck chair (or lie on a giant bean bag), on the sand and just relax. The hostel group included 3 of the most unfortunate Irish men (one was mugged twice in one night and another was beaten up by some women), several Aussies, English uni students, a Scottish/Irish couple, some Americans who worked at the hostel and me - a recipe for some hilarious dancing and interesting conversation.

Day one proper, in Varna, consisted of an abortive attempt at finding somewhere to watch the Ashes. Turns out that, even if you have Sky sport in Bulgaria, it's near impossible to find any cricket - the whole situation wasn't helped, however, by the fact that James (the Aussie) had forgotten the directions to the pub! We ended up just cutting our losses, having a beer and heading to the beach.

As many of you know, I don't really like the beach (owing to the abundance of sand and salt) but I have really enjoyed just lying on the sand and dipping in and out of the amazingly warm Black Sea. (Being able to say I swam in the Black Sea is pretty neat - all I can think of is Jason and Argonauts sailing through it and Greek trading ships stopping to load up with Thracian silver.)

As I am now well over a week into my trip, I feel that this a good point to have a little vegan update. I knew before I went away that it was going to be hard and, while it hasn't been impossible, I do feel like these 33 days in Eastern Europe may put me off tomato and cucumber for life. (I have been eating a lot of 'Shopska' salad - essentially tomato, cucumber and onion.) I have had a number of funny looks when asking for no cheese - apparently it is taken as a personal insult. You may think the tomato/cucumber diet would a be a recipe for me coming back as an ultra skinny bitch but unfortunately this doesn't seem to be the case. Last night, I did manage to find a place that had ratatouille on the menu - that was possibly the best meal I've had all trip.

That night Sam, Sian and Ed, who I met and had an awesome time with in Sofia, got to Varna so I spent an eventful (not in a completely good way) with them. After a drink at another cool beach-side bar, we decided to stop and have a bite to eat. I had taken my camera out for the evening, as I really had been a bit hit and miss in terms of the quantity (and quality) of my photos. The camera was on the table, I went to the toilet and, when I came back, we decided to leave. It was literally a case of 5 seconds and the camera was gone - the other 3 couldn't remember seeing it on the table when we left, however, so it may already have been quickly whipped away before we left. The staff insisted that there had been no camera and even my bribe of 200 leva (100 pounds) couldn't entice them to hand over the camera (or memory stick). Needless to say I was so annoyed at myself but, in the world of the new and improved Rose, you just need to get over it - this is why you have travel insurance and also (although painful) how you learn to never do something again. We did end up having a good night dancing to cheesy 90s Euro-dance and then joining the other hostel people on the beach later so all was not lost. BUT I now have no photos from my first week and will have to do a real scrape around to get photos off all the people I have shared those memories with - gutted.

So day two in Varna was spent walking, (not in a good tourist way but in a 'why doesn't anybody in this country understand what I am asking them for (loss report form) and why isn't there a central (easy to find) police station' way). I told crazy Dave what had happened and, rather than saying 'Oh they don't so those here. Ring your insurance and tell them I will confirm the theft', he just said 'Good luck with that' - the fact that he said the former AFTER I had spent from 10am to 5pm trying to get one of the non-existent forms made the whole experience even worse. So there was much backwards and forwards (trying to FIND the police station), a couple of interrogation type situations, a little bit of heat stroke, a conversation about the Bulgarian prosecution authority deciding not to proceed with a criminal case (EH!!??!!) and finally a few tears - but in the end I did get a letter (in Cyrillic) stating that I had reported the loss to the police. And then of course I had the annoyance of - 'Oh I could have just emailed for you'. GRRRRR!!!

So then, after all that carry on, I had to go out and buy another camera...and there is no Tesco so (even though I will get some of it back) I ended up spending an unplanned for 200 pounds on the new version of my old camera. Again, new and improved Rose didn't let the annoyance keep her down - there is nothing that a good dance to some Ace of Base can't fix. Haha!

(I know this is a very long entry but remember it is to cover 4 days - don't give up just yet... the geeky bit is yet to come but I'll make it short-ish.)

And finally on to my last whole day in Varna - a really good day, mixing the best of touristy/sightseeing with beach laziness.

Varna has been inhabited, like Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo, since about 5000BC - it is not only right beside the sea but also close to some inland lakes and within ease reach of the Thracian silver deposits (and so a desirable location). The Greek city of Odessos was founded by colonists from Miletos, in Asia Minor, in about the 7th century BC, on the site of much earlier habitation. The city flourished because it was right on a trade route and later because of its tactical location between the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire - even today Varna has a busy port.

So why all these geeky facts relevant? - well because yesterday Ed and I went to the Varna Archaeological Museum (home to over 100,000 artifacts, don't you know)! YAY MUSEUMS!!! I got to have a good look at some very exciting stone tools, Thracian burial goods, Greek pots, Roman armour and coins, and (although I was pretty museumed out by then) a huge collection of religious icons. Before that we had also been to look inside the cathedral (The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin) - although, I refused to pay 5 leva for the pleasure of taking photos - there was a christening going on so we had the pleasure of screaming child whilst we admired scenes from the Old Testament and the Life of Christ. (Yes there were relics - but they were labeled in Bulgarian and the light was too poor to make any of them out well.) The Orthodox churches in Bulgarian have been so beautiful (even if some were really dark) - beautiful, detailed frescoes, gilt icons and (often) a chandelier or two! The rest of the day was spent literally lying on the beach, in temperatures close to 30, moving every now and again so as to stay in the shade - ah this is the life!

So where to next? Well, later today I will be getting on a train to Sofia, with a couple I met here in Varna, and from there we will be training (overnight) to Belgrade. I'm planning to spend 4 or 5 days there, exploring the city and going on a few day trip (and possibly down to Kosovo, the world's newest country). Will update you soon.

Rose x

Day Five and Six - a day late

After the bad weather and slightly ramshackle nature of VT, Plovdiv has been a welcome change. As Bulgaria's 'second largest' city, it really has all the good bits of being a larger center without all the added hassle of being the major commercial and tourism hub - in fact for such a beautiful and historical city I have been surprised by the lack of tourists.

I left VT on Sunday with the weather clearing and not being sure if I should stay for an extra day, go to Varna straight away or go to Plovdiv. I am pleased to say the choice to go to Plovdiv was the right one and so far this city has been my favourite place in Bulgaria. Plovdiv is Bulgaria's oldest city and as a result has some amazing ruins, which (owing to the previously mentioned lack of health and safety) you can climb all over and really explore.

The bus from VT was less of a bus and more a van - I was a bit dubious about it to begin with but once I had seen/experienced the roads of the Shipska Pass I was quite glad to be in a van. Essentially there is a spine of mountains which run east to west through the middle of Bulgaria and these, combined with the poor quality of the roads here, made the trip from VT to Plovdiv slow, beautiful and hair-raising. (At one point, three large haulage trucks drove past us in the opposite direction - I wondered how a) they were fitting on the road, b) they were managing to get round the tight corners and c) who would be crazy enough to drive a truck like that on these roads.) At the top of the pass, continuing in the great Bulgarian tradition of large, austere, communist themed statues, was a massive statue of two fists holding a flame torch each (a bit like the one the statue of liberty holds) AND, as if this in the middle of nowhere wasn't enough, higher up on the hill was some type of flying-saucer design look-out, complete with star emblazoned tower - all a little weird. The view of the Thracian Plain was amazing from the top and once back down on the flat the bus drove past field after field of sunflowers and the odd donkey drawn cart.

So Plovdiv (after the agony of walking from the bus to the hostel with my bag) is great. I said before it is Bulgaria's second largest city but, due to the fact that there isn't really a census and there are about four ways that the data is collected, nobody really knows which city is the second largest - typical! Being such a old city there are a number of different layers of history, from the Roman stadium and theatre to the 17th and 18th century houses to the Thracian fortress ruins near the hostel. Added to this history is the much more relaxed and dare I say fashion conscious attitude of the people here - the main shopping area is pedestrianised and lined with outdoor cafes and designer shops (something that you don't really see in Sofia).

I spent my first evening in the city having a little wander and having salad (again) for dinner - am still trying to find a place that does the world famous Bulgarian bean soup... it seems beans are generally out of season? Later I just sat and chatted with the people in the hostel - I am staying (until I check out in a few minutes) in the most relaxed hostel right in the heart of the old town... it is excellent except for the worst shower set up I have ever seen in my life... Two toilet cubicles and one just has a tap adaptor and a shower head one the wall - you just stand in the toilet cubicle and shower!!!!! Bizarre! Anyway the views are amazing and it is so close to everything I don't think it is really worth dwelling on this one thing too long.

Yesterday was really the start of my 'tourist' activity - Plovdiv is known as a museum city not only because it is so old but also because of all the museums. I had a look in the Ethnographic museum, which is housed in a beautiful 18th century painted house - lots of ethnic costumes and pre-industrialised machinery. (All the information was in Bulgarian so I can regale you with all the great facts I picked up!) The rest of the day was spent wandering the old town (lots of steps!!), climbing over the ruins and writing postcards (watch this space - I sent them non-priority which may mean they will never get to you. Sorry!)

Just to reassure that I am keeping my promise regarding running - I just got back from not just 'climbing' the Hill of the Liberators (a whole hill given over to Russian love - it commemorates the liberating of the city by the Russians in the 1870s) but running up the hill and then running back down (after I had recovered from feeling like I was about to die). I got some funny looks from the staff at the hostel when I said I was going to do it - I think they were quite impressed when I got back.

Tonight I am going to catch the overnight bus/train to Varna for a bit of reflectivity on the beach - the bad weather has meant any chance of any colour (I know - don't laugh) has gone. Will write soon with details of lying on the beach and dancing into the wee small hours!

Rose x

Day three and four

After two late nights in a row, I've left Sofia for the more sedate pace of Veliko Tarnovo, which not only has a good university but was also the capital during the Second Bulgarian Empire.

(I felt like you all got off rather lightly in terms of historical geekiness in my first post! It hasn't reached the obsessive level of interest that I had about the former Yugoslavia and I'm not that fussed about the whole communist thing but prior to that is fascinating - Thracians and Romans and rebellions against Byzantium and the Turks... Oh my!!)

Anyway...

Yesterday morning I visited the cathedral in Sofia with Ed and Sian from the hostel. The churches here are really beautiful but they are so dark!! The Sveta Nedelya Cathedral is all domes and gold from the outside but is like going into a tomb... you can only see patches of what must be amazing frescoes and icons. (Yay - more icons and relics!!)

The weather in Sofia (and Bulgaria in general) has been wet and humid so, as well as being rained on on the way home from the cathedral, the view from the bus up to Veliko Tarnovo (while still beautiful) was a bit bleak at times. (I keep taking photos and wishing that it was sunny!) The bus trip went through some beautiful gorges and sunflower fields - apparently Bulgaria is Europe's largest sunflower producer.

VT, like Sofia, is a bit of a mix (and they do love a bronze communist statue here!) - the outer town is really bleak and run down with a huge motorway running through it, whereas the area by the fortress (while not beautiful) has a quaint, slightly ramshackle feel about it, with winding streets and little churches tucked away. I got here at about five and so really just spent the evening hanging out in the hostel - having a nana night in as a change from 'party animal' ways! It was so good to wake up after a decent amount of sleep. (And I still had a nap this afternoon!!) I'm staying in a hostel run by the same people as the one in Sofia and so have been continuing to enjoy free breakfasts and dinners... and this one comes with a New Zealander on staff - He's from Danevirke, which explains why he has chosen to live in the middle of Bulgaria.

Now for a bit of History geek. VT has been inhabited since about 5000BC (good old Neolithic people) and has been used as an important strategic position (almost) ever since. The most impressive example of the towns importance as a fortress in on the Tsarevets Hill (home of the first Thracians to settle the area) - the massive fortress was started by the Romans and has been built on by sucessive invaders. Across the river from the Tsarevets, you can see where there is on going archaeological excavation of the old royal residences - it is possible to climb up this hill but as it was raining, muddy and I hate getting wet, unless I'm swimming or showering, I just admired it from afar. To get to the fortress there is a narrow causeway and huge gate and then there are just ruins - I'm sure you can imagine my excitement!! As well as walking past the ruins of a myriad of churches and a monastery (they love them here too), I got saw the spot where they used to throw traitors to there deaths - nice. The most impressive thing about the whole sight is the reconstructed (in a very sympathetic way) patriarch complex - it's a church now and the inside has been decorated with the most amazing modern wall paintings, showing events from Bulgaria's past. Above the altar was the most beautiful painting of the virgin and child (one part renaissance, two parts modernist and just stunning).

After a stroll down to the river I also had a look inside the church of St Peter and Paul, which has frescoes dating from the 11th, 14th and 17th centuries - and was staffed by the most enthusiastic Bulgarian woman. (She almost cried with excitement when I said 'thank you' in Bulgarian!!) Oh and they had a chest full of bones!!! (I have no idea whose but that one currently sit top of the relics chart!)

I haven't managed to get into a museum yet (expect at Rila) - please no one fall over with shock - but I have got a number lined up for the next few days... so you can look forward to updates on both the museums of Velike Tarnovo and Plovdiv (my next stop) in my next entry. I've got one more night in VT and then it's off to see some Roman ruins in Plovdiv!!! I'm also hoping for a bit of folk-dance action in the near future - fingers crossed!

Will write again soon!

Rose xx

SPECIAL - PETER HARDIE EXTRA!!

I think you would really like it here - there is such a contrast between the Bulgarian pride in there history and the countries ability to improve itself. The country's history is full of uprising and invasion - both military and religious - and as a result all aspects of life here are, on some level, in conflict.

If you do plan a trip make sure you don't just stay in Sofia - although it is nice enough, it's the countryside (both the landscape and the quaint way of life) that are most appealing. I haven't had a chance to eat any of the local food yet, but have been told there is a particularly good bean soup on offer at the hostel for dinner tonight! After I leave VT, I won't have the luxury of free food so will be going out and trying out some more local stuff - it will all be veggie so will have to ask for feedback from who ever I'm eating with, regarding more meat-based food.

Day One and Two

Well, I managed to arrive safely in Sofia and, despite Tam's best efforts to make me think ill of the place, I think this is a city that I could spend a bit of time in.

My big adventure started at half eleven on Wednesday when, in order to avoid the problems associated with last trains, I headed to Gatwick super early and slept on the floor of the airport with a number of Faro and Malaga bound people. As you can imagine I was pretty shattered after only getting an hour's sleep total and spend most of the way to Sofia thinking about a nice afternoon nap. There's nothing much to say about the flight, except how old I felt talking to the lovely young man who had just finished his first year of uni and was off to teach English to the Bulgarians... ah bless.

Having been to India, Italy and more recently Bosnia I feel I am pretty resilient when it comes to being shocked by bad driving... I was picked up from the airport and driven through the back streets of Sofia by a slightly odd man from the Hostel - it was slightly nerve raking but did give me a chance to size up the city. (But nothing compared to the drive to Rila today!!)

Sofia is an odd mix... it has a little bit of the Athens-es about it, with a pinch of Ottoman Turk and a slight hint of Austo-Hungarian thrown in. It isn't the biggest captial (1.1 million) and as a result there isn't really the feeling of pace and hussle that get in other capitals. I'm definately looking forward to exploring it more when I come back at the end of the month with Jade. (Woot! Woot! Walking tour!)

In terms of the hostel, I need to state that I have never found such a great deal nor met more enthusiastic staff. Free internet, breakfast, dinner and evening beer - all served up inside a 19th century inn. (Anyone coming here needs to stay at Mostel hostel.) After my afternoon nap I spent the later afternoon chatting with some of the other guests. This is what I love the most about travelling alone and staying hostels - you are forced to talk to other people and step out of your comfort zone. In return you meet amazing people who, simply because of a shared situation/outlook on life/etc, you develop an instant friendship with.

After a meal of spag and sauce, my first evening away was spent playing cards and later dancing... having found a bar called 'mojito' we were all expecting a minimalist bar, playing house music. What we got was hip hop and rap (V - Both old skool and new stuff) - usually one might feel a bit out of place but in this bar even the guys with afros were white. So we ended busting moves left, right and centre into the wee small hours of Friday with the only dissapointment being that there wasn't a place to buy some chips on our way home!!

I had decided that, as I had been so good going to the gym of late, that I would continue my fitness regime in Europe - as I found out this morning, it turns out that the eastern europeans don't really go in for exercising outside and I was the only person in the whole of Sofia who was out for a run... meh, I'm leaving tomorrow so who cares!! I am thinking of using the blog not only as an every-two-days update but also as a means to amking sure I keep up the running - feel free to bug me via Facebook.

I spent today at the Rila monastry - Bulgarian's largest and most revered. Rila is two hours south of Sofia so I was treated to another display of horrific driving. Luckily I was still tired from a) that Gatwick experience and b) dancing at 'mojitos' so I may not have been conscious for the worst of it. The monastry is located above a winding gorge - one fo the most peacful and beautiful I have seen. It was started by St Ivan, who for a time lived in cave above where the monastry is now located... yes I did go to the cave and even had to squeeze through a tiny hole to get out of the place!!! From the outside the monastry looks like a fortress but after going through a frescoed gate you enter a beautiful, balconied courtyard - all dark wood, white wash and pretty leaf frescoes. The place could hold up to 450 monks but only 8 live there at the moment - all orthodox and black wearing. I got to have an upclose look at some great doom paintings (lots of fire and monsters eating doomed souls) and, much to my delight, got to indulge in some religious icon shopping and relic admiring. (Inside the church was a case with 30 odd individual parts - each with bone fragments from a different monk/saint - excellent!)

I'm off to Veliko Tarnovo tomorrow (home of Bulgaria's most prestigious university) - will write again soon!!

Rose xx