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Published: April 22nd 2020
I headed to the main bus station in Sofia to take the bus to Plovdiv. I had done a bit of research online and found that buses leave fairly regularly and there were a few different companies to choose from. I had hoped to make it to the bus station for the bus at nine, but I was too lazy to get out of bed, which was a blessing in this case as when I got to the bus station that bus had sold out earlier as had a few others. You can book tickets online for some buses in Bulgaria, but you have to print out your conformation and then exchange it at the station for a paper ticket for the driver. Seems like a total waste of time and doesn't exactly minimise human interaction. The bus station's wifi wasn't working which I was a bit gutted about as it had been last time I was there. I did have a rather tasty slice of pizza for breakfast as I waited for my bus to depart. The bus left on time and I was surprised at how busy it was. We drove through the countryside for just over two hours
to reach Plovdiv.
It was quite a walk from the train station (that's where the bus dropped me) to where I was staying. I'm glad I didn't have a heavy bag. The first part of the walk was through the normal city before cutting through a nice park. There were quite a few people in the park enjoying the beautiful, sunny day. I came out of the park at the end of the main pedestrian street and walked up that and through some of the old town to reach my hostel. I could instantly see why Plovdiv is so popular, it is gorgeous. I felt like I'd stepped back in time. Also, the hostel I was staying in was beautiful. The owners have lovingly restored an traditional old house, and immediately I wished I could have stayed there longer. I loved the big rooms and high ceilings. I took some time to relax before heading out to explore the city. I had a bit of a walk around the streets close to my hostel before making my way to the meeting place for the free walking tour.
While the walking tour wasn't as popular as the one in
Sofia, it was still rather busy. We met in front of the municipality building and headed off to the edge of the park I'd walked through earlier. Here, we saw the ruins of the Roman forum. I liked the contrast between these ancient ruins and the Communist era buildings at street level. We headed back to the Town Hall and our guide explain a bit about the local flag, before we headed off to the other side of the main street to look at some more Roman ruins. I really like that they are all being excavated and are on show. This site was the Odeon of Philippopolis, which isn't open to the public yet. From here, we headed up the main street and our guide told us that Plovdiv is a city built on hills. Not all the hills still exist, I don't know what happened to them, but you can still see several in the city centre and I decided that I would explore them the next day. One of the reasons that Plovdiv is so popular is that it was one of the European Capitals of Culture in 2019. We came to the ‘Together' sign, which was
the motto of that year's capitals. Next to it was the 'Milo' statue that reminded me of 'Cumil', the Peeping Tom statue I'd seen in Bratislava, as it was similar in style. The guide told us about the man behind the statue. He was a bit of a local eccentric, who tried to make people happy by talking and joking with them. Some people made fun of him due to his mental disabilities, while others really liked him. The statue was commissioned, I think, by a returnee to Bulgaria, who had known him and wanted to honour him. I thought it was a really nice gesture. It is also local legend that if you whisper in his ear, you wish will come true.
We headed up the pedestrian shopping street, I'd been down it earlier when doing my own walk around, but hadn't made it to the far end. I was surprised to a Roman Theatre exposed under the main street. It reminded me of Sofia and I like how Bulgaria uncovers these ancient sites and lets them sit alongside modernity. Just across the way was a former mosque that had been turned into a cafe/restaurant. I liked that
the street here was lined with busy cafes, the feel was different to the main street. It kind of felt like I was in a different country. From here, we continued on through the Kapana District. Kapana means trap in Bulgarian and it is easy to see how people get lost in the small streets. This area was filled with cafes, bars, and restaurants and once again the vibe had changed. This place felt much more hipstery. The guide explained that this had been a bustling shopping district with small businesses but during the Communist era all these private businesses suffered and the area became neglected and fallen into disrepair. Later, after the fall of Communist, the area rejuvenated itself and is once again flourishing. As we walked the streets we came across a few great examples of street art. I really wished that the Plovdiv Street Art Tour ran in the winter season, but it does give a reason to return as I would love to see more of the city's street art and the stories behind them.
From here, we headed back across to the Old Town and to the Regional Ethnographic Museum, we stopped briefly in
front of the Hisar Kapia Gate, which dates back to the 11th century. It is one of the three entrances into the old city. The museum was absolutely stunning, it was just a shame that it was too big for me to get a decent photo of it. The museum is housed in the Kuyumdzhioglu House, which was a former merchant's house built in 1847. The garden surrounding the house was really beautiful too, and it was the perfect place for us to take a break. I decided that I would be back to see the interior of the house later. From the museum, it was a quick walk to St. Konstantin and St. Elena's Church. The church was hidden behind a high wall as during the reign of the Ottomans churches needed to be kept away from sight. It is one of the oldest churches Plovdiv. The courtyard around the church was really peaceful and the interior of the church was beautiful. I also liked the pictures on the outer wall of the church and it reminded me of one of the churches I had visited in Bucharest. From there, we continued on and came to a viewpoint where
we got to see the more modern parts of Plovdiv with its Communist era blocks of flats. We came to the back of what I think was a university or music school where there was a statue of a man known as Sasho the Sweetheart. He was a well known violinist during the 1940s, however he fell foul of the Communist Party due to his outspoken views on them and was sent to a labour camp in 1961. The statue not only commemorates him, but also other intellectuals that lost their lives during the Communist regime. Our last stop was just across the street at the Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis. The theatre is pretty huge and since you have to pay to enter, we observed it from the outside. I had been impressed with the theatre in Bitola and this one was even more impressive. The theatre was built during the 1st century AD. I loved the columns that framed the city in the background. It was a great place to end the tour and I kind of wished that I'd been there in summer to see a concert or performance in the theatre.
When I did the food
tour in Sofia, one of the places that we went to was Skapto Burger, and I had vowed to return. However, since I probably wouldn't be returning to Sofia on this trip, I was happy to find that there was a branch in Plovdiv. The bar/restaurant was in the Kapana neighbourhood that we had visited earlier on the walking tour. I had hoped not to get lost as I made my way back to this neighbourhood, but the narrow, meandering streets meant that I did, several times. However, I managed to find the place without too much difficulty and enjoyed the extra walk around this cute neighbourhood. It was pretty empty when I arrived and I had a quick look over the menu, but since I'd already perused it online, I pretty much knew what I wanted. There are quite a few different burgers to choose from, and each month there is a different special, since this month's included onion rings and barbecue sauce, I had to have it. I also ordered some cheese and nacho fries on the side and a pint of their own beer. It was buy one get one free, but my lingering headache meant that
I could only indulge in a small one. The beer was quite nice, but not something I could drink a lot of. I really enjoyed the burger. It was juicy and tasty. However, the fries were a bit of a disappointment. I normally love things that are carcinogenically well cooked, but these were too crispy even for me and the cheese and jalapenos couldn't hide it. After my dinner, I took a walk around the neighbourhood a little more photographing the street art. I needed some dessert, so I headed to one of the ice cream places on the main street and ended up with a nice cone of cheesecake flavoured ice cream, before making my way back to my hostel.
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Good Memories!!
Your blog brings back great memories of our own trip to Plovdiv last May. We also took a free walking tour with a fabulous guide and enjoyed the city thoroughly. Nice photos!!