BULGARIA, THE LAND OF THE BULGARS

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Bulgaria:
- A land of just over 7 million people. It has been strange moving from London which has the same population.
- Still a couple of steps, well maybe quite a few behind that of Western European countries.
- Vesso (who I work with) said to me; ‘so is this your first trip to Bulgaria?’ and on replying yes he said ‘well you will be surprised’ -about what I said? “everything” This has proved to be true on more than one occasion.


Bulgarians
- Probably the most proud people I have ever met. Especially old Vesso. He is such a character. He keeps going on about how those “fucken Greeks” they stole Feta from us and then patented it even though it is a Bulgarian creation! He is always trying to educate Stu and I on Bulgarian culture which is great but it is even more fun riling him up about it. He starts almost every sentence by saying “In Bulgaria…” Whenever he claims something is BULGARIAN!! We always say, oh no that’s Serbian for sure, or most likely the Turkish invented that. And he just can’t take it. He gets so pissed off it is hilarious. For instance he loves this terrible drink called Boza that is supposed to make womens breasts larger without them putting on weight anywhere else (sounds good) And Stu and I did some research into it and it turns out that it originated in the Ottoman Empire around 800AD. And of course he hates the Turks (as well as the serbs, the greeks, the Romanians(dirty gypsies he says), the Macedonians (poor mans Bulgarian) and don’t even get him started on the Jews!! Nah, he is not as bad as he sounds. Just very Bulgarian. Love the guy.

Bulgarian Women
- Supposedly the most beautiful women in the world. I beg to differ. I have been here close to 2 months and I can count the number of gorgeous women I have seen on one hand.


Bulgarian Food
- One of the best things about Bulgaria. I love the food here and I have made Shopska salad and Bop Soupa (bean soup) my staple lunch. The food is simple and heavy with lots of flavor. Katino Meze (chicken, onions, mushrooms and spices in a hot pot) is great. Pork or chicken Kavarma is fantastic too. I have been cooking quite a bit lately which has been fun. Every meal I make incorporates white cheese (sirene) It is very similar to feta but a little less crumbly and more salty. I LOVE IT. I literally buy it by the kilo in the markets. And the old ladies let me try all the different kinds before I buy. It is really cheap as well as opposed to feta in the UK or states. We eat at Mehanas (traditional Bulgarian taverns) all the time and the food is always good.


Bulgarian Booze
- Adam and I were very impressed by the 2 liter bottles of beer we came across in Serbia but those wily Bulgarians have outdone them with their 2.5 liter bottles. Phenomenal! People drink a lot here. A lot and you see old and young drinking it around the clock. Hey its 7am, beer time! And the vodka is so cheap, ridiculous in fact. I had some the other day with a couple of mates from the UK called Russkei Standard. Oh my, best vodka I have ever had and I have had all those Ciroc, Elite, Skyy, Grey goose, Chopin etc but nothing compares to this. It s funny because I basically live in a construction site over here, and all the workers booze all day round. I see them drinking a beer on the way to their respective project, then at lunch etc. and of course these guys are scaling 10 story high buildings, not harnessed in and I am still to see a hard hat here in Bulgaria. OH, I almost forgot about the Rakia. The traditional brandy usually made from plums that the people devour over here. It’s similar to Slivonitza in Croatia

There is so much more I could write but I fear that will only bore you more.
Until next time.
Divishdene

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Photos

A very typical Bulgarian car
Straight out of 1956.

BOZA on the streets
Vesso buying his favourite.

Pictures of the Dead
A bit bizzarre to say the least.

The Slopes
ahhhh, love it.

Snow time
I love being up

More dead people
These pics are everywhere from random doors to trees to shopping centres.

Remember him??
Some graffiti in the town square.

Sudoku anyone?
Old man in Blagoevgrad smoking a cigarette, drinking an espresso and playing sudoku.

Chestita Baba Marta
My left wrist, i can only take these bad boys off when i see a stork flying and then i must tie them to a tree or throw them in a river.

Property Exhibition
Lion Hotel with Vesso

Comments

[Chods]

Borat!
Old cars and sweet mountain slopes. Plenty to talk about. I admire your crazy lifestyle Looyd.

[Reinanke]

Too long
too long story.. sorry! ;-)

[Dean]

Muerte
I'm just glad you didn't end up on one of those "pictures of the dead."

[Minttu]

and..
..couple of drop dead gorgeous Finnish girls :D

[Reinanke]

Supposedly the most beautiful women in the world. I beg to differ. I have been here close to 2 months and I can count the number of gorgeous women I have seen on one hand. --> pff arrogant ventje ;-)

[simone]

blah blah blah
sweet car!

[anonymous]

ste ia otkradna taia snimka s tvoe pozvolenie :)

[Mitko]

Women
Hey, I am Bulgarian but for the last 8 years I've been living in the US...sadly. I love what you had to say about the motherland but one thing I have to disagree with you on are the women. It sounds like you spent a lot of your time in the small towns and not so developed areas. I dont know if you are still living there but if you are not, go on vacation to Varna, the biggest coastal city, during the summer. The women are gorgeous, the fact that every beach is essentially a nude beach helps a little too. ;) Keep traveling man, good luck!