Blogs from Ruse, Rousse Province, Bulgaria, Europe

Advertisement

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse May 3rd 2019

Der erste Teil der Fahrt war noch ganz nett. Bergig, kurvig. Dann kam die Stadt Bello Tarnovo und damit der Zivilisationsschock. Was seit Tagen vergessen war nämlich McDonald, Praktiker, Bauhaus und Co erhob plötzlich seine schrecklichen Fratzen und alles war, wie daheim. Immerhin die alten Straßen und die an den Fels geklebten Häuser waren sehr pittoresk. Und die Touristen, die pflichtgemäß diese Schönheiten abwanderten, staunten über ein deutsches Motorrad das diese Gässlein entlang schlich. Am Praktiker Parkplatz, ich brauchte Kleber, sprach mich ein Mann an. Zuerst das Übliche, woher, wohin, allein, Frau, Alter... und das alles ohne gemeinsame Sprache. Aber dann kam er schnell zur Sache und wollte mir unbedingt eine brandneue Stihl Kettensäge verkaufen, die er dezent in einem schwarzen Plastikbeutel herumschleppte. Er wollte einfach nicht verstehen, dass ich keinen Bedarf... read more
20190503_100646
20190503_135707
20190503_135703

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse July 6th 2012

Wednesday 4th July 2012 We tried to use a taxi today, for the first time, to get us to the Metro in Pipera but to no avail. The first company didn't answer their phone, the second had an engaged tone whenever we rang. No worry, it wasn't hot yet so we walked to the corner for the bus, which arrived with only 2 others aboard so no problems with our bags. The train to Rousse, our first stop in Bulgaria, left right on 1300 as timetabled. The trip was stated to take 2.5 hours but actually took 3.5. This was no real problem for us except the carriages were very hot, especially when the train stopped. This it did for what seemed like ages in the town of Giurgiu, right on the Romanian border. Here, the ... read more
Fields of sunflowers
Friendship Bridge
Wow - great room at Riga Hotel

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse June 7th 2011

Perhaps I should explain a little about this trip. Val and I had decided that as we aged 'gracefully' we might have to look into a different mode of travel. We LOVE to travel on our own to lesser known destinations but the reality is that it gets harder as one gets older. So this trip was what we referrd to as ' Plan B'. We were going to join a river boat tour on the Danube, see 7 or more countries without a lot of the usual trains, planes, buses, and automobiles. We chose Grand Circle Travel as we have both done several trips with them and their sister company Overseas Adventure Travel ( Peru, Thailand, Chile, Egypt for me and Val has done Morroco and China a well as Chile, Egypt, and Thailand). For ... read more

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse May 27th 2011

Here is an update on my final week in Ruse... I had a lovely final day at Church last Sunday, saying our goodbye's to the congregarion and thanking them for being so welcoming to us. We stood up in the service, did a short speech nd gave gifts, thanking especially Elijah, Emilia, Daniel and Daniella for their hospitality and the amazing memories they have shared with them. It all got very emotional, which we were not expecting, but it was so hard to think we will be leaving soon. We went into town afterwards to meet Petar, one of our other Bulgarian friends and got a taxi to St. Basarbovsky Monastry, just of the outskirts of Ruse, in the counrty side. This quaint little town was lovely, with a monestary which was build in a rock ... read more
The rock monestry!
In the rock monestry!
Butterfly :)

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse May 15th 2011

The sun has finally found it's way from the UK to Bulgaria! Weather has been fantastic this week, starting in Varna last Sunday when we visited the Karin Dom Children's Centre. I was so impressed with the service they provide at the centre. It is very UK based with a formal structure and qualified professionals working almost 1:1 to support the children (teachers, physiotherapists, speach and language therapists). There were no Occupational Therapists emplyed by Karin Dom centre however their approach is very Occupatioanl Therapy based, allowing the children to learn through play and to then transfer those skills to functional tasks. It appeared that the other professionals took on the Occupational Therapy role and their roles in the centre merged. There was a lot of potential for an occupational therapy role to be established there. ... read more
Go UK
Team UK
Boooo to Azerbaijan

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse April 24th 2011

The weeks appear to be going by quicker and quicker now... too quick for my liking. Half way through already. With regards to the children's home, our role was to set goals for each of the individual children and work alongside them to achieve thier goals by our final week of placement. With us being half way through, I reviewed the goals I set and feel on target for the children to reach their goals by the end, if not before. They are achieveing above and beyond our expectations, using Supernanny's naugthy step technique for the behavioural issues, giving the children the choice and freedom to play, allowing them to explore a variety of environments to stimulate all their senses, and ensuring the more disabled ones sit in a variety of positions through the day to ... read more
Enjoying Paella on the balcony!
Fun with the other students.
My sword!

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse April 10th 2011

I've had another fantasic week here - Can't believe I'm 1/3rd of the way through my time already. It's going way too quick and I don't think I want it to end. Got a routine going now so this weeks structure was pretty similar to last weeks in that we went to the childrens home, went to the centre for mental health and went to our Bulgarain language lesson. It's been a very productive week in that we have met with directors and managers regarding some of the issues we have faced in previous weeks and are now in the process off arranging and providing training for some of the staff we work closely with regarding posture and manual handling...so basically, not only are we working at a qualified OT level, we are working at a ... read more
Tradition for welcoming Spring
On a stroll
Gypsy garden

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse April 2nd 2011

Sunday - Last sunday, although I said it would be spent going to church, was infact my day to recover from what can only be described as a fun-filled, crazy night out in Ruse's finest club, Oppium! We went out with the international students and met a few Bulgarian students out also. It was a brilliant night and was extreamly cheap. Buy one get one free BOTTLES of vodka sums the night up really, costing the group of us just 12 lev between us (£6). We spent the day with Elijah as he had invited us to his house for lunch with his grandma. She cooked the nicest Mussaka I have ever tasted and (to continue the alcohol flow...) we had a small shot of trditional Raki (50%!!!). (I'd like to point out at this point ... read more
Traditional Bulgarian ritual
Our lunch at Elijah's.
The view from Elijah's flat.

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse March 26th 2011

What a week! For those of you on Skype, you’ll have an idea what I’ve been through but here goes the summary! Saturday – We got our washing machine so can now start to smell nice again. Everywhere is very smoky, dirty and dusty and there is not a ‘no smoking’ policy in the restaurants so you can’t even go out for a meal and smell nice so it’s nice to finally be able to wash our clothes! We met with Elijah and Petia (the Bulgarian couple we have become friends with) and went for a walk in the park and to a nice coffee shop. We have been trying to teach Elijah sarcasm as he is planning on coming to the UK in September to study so we felt he needed to fully understand the ... read more
Enjoying a hot chocolate with Elijah.
The Frontline volunteers!
The equipment brought over by Frontline.

Europe » Bulgaria » Rousse Province » Ruse October 1st 2010

i left nesebar for Ruse, bulgaria and it was a grand trip. i chatted up my seat mate, a young coed who tried to help me navigate the streets of ruse. sadly, she was a little off but the cute factor may have made me forget that i was toting my 12kg knapsack. anyhow, after walking around town a bit at night, and it was lovely, i found a nice hotel. i had already stopped here but there was no english and i couldn't get the price down so i had continued on for a while. upon my return i was trying to ask simply to see a different room, away from the stairs as these tend to be noisy. and a new gentleman said he understood i wanted a lower price. so they gave it ... read more




Tot: 0.148s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 8; qc: 80; dbt: 0.0783s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb