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Veliko Turnovo is an beautiful little slice of central Bulgaria. It's a town of about 80,000, and relatively touristy, but it really doesn't feel that way. It's actually also the original capital of Bulgaria, from the first independence from the Ottomans to the relocation of the capital to Sofia in the 20th Century.
Wednesday, May 14th:
Up early to get out of Sofia this morning as I hoofed it to the train station for my ride to Veliko Turnovo, which was easy enough, if a bit long. I did sit across for the whole way from 2 little old Bulgarian ladies who kept trying to talk to me the whole time, despite all 3 of us knowing very well that I didn't understand a single damn word they said.
Made it into town, and got picked up by the woman from the hostel (which is a very nice touch), and checked in. Very cool hostel tucked away in the shadow of the fortress. So, looking up at the fortress, I decided to make my way up there first thing. Very old and medieval, but completely in ruins. Not surprising, though, considering that as soon as Bulgaria lost its independence to
Austria-Hungary, the capital was moved to the Sofia and the whole town was ignored. There are some parts, though, that are well maintained and you can see the real bones of the fortress. It, of course, provides a spectacular view of the city and the river directly below. At the very apex of the tower, though, is a little church that has been reconstructed and repainted with gorgeous frescoes. Only one problem: all my batteries for the camera died in the fortress, so I have some, but not all the pics I wanted.
Back at the hostel, there was good, free food, free internet and some really fun people to hang out with. You can also see the light show they put on the fortress from the terrace. An Aussie and I hung out all night with 3 Brits drinking beer and shooting the shit until 3 am. Good times. Unfortunately, everyone else in the hostel decided to watch a movie rather than being sociable.
Thursday, May 15th:
First, a quick breakfast at the hostel, and met some new Aussies who had just arrived. Walked around town all day. Very cool place. There is really just one road in
town, and except for one small street and the monument/museum to the founders of the Bulgarian Tsardom, everything is on that road. So I went off down the road and made my mandatory reservation for the train to Bucharest for tomorrow, and then decided to check the place out a bit. I stumbled onto a group of a few women in traditional dress singing some folk music - normally, I like that stuff, but it was awful.
After a bit more wandering and looking at my little map in the book (remarkably helpful everywhere I have been, btw), I decided to head down across one bend in the river to the monument to the founding brothers of the Bulgarian Tsardom and indpendence from the Ottomans. While clearly visible from much of town, this monument and the museum next to it are remarkable difficult to find. Very cool, it has dragons in front of it and shows the 2 brothers and the 2 sons of one of them on reared-up horses ready for battle. The museum was closed for a change of exhibition, which is a shame, really.
Above the museum is a path up and up and up a hill
into a park giving blocked views of the city. So, I decided to head back to the hostel, which required me going all the way back through town, and then relaxing there a bit with a book. I bumped into a group (actually 3 groups that were traveling together for a short time) of about 12 Aussies. Typically loud and boisterous, I didn't mind, as the place needed a bit of life. I also met a Canadian and a Croation who were traveling together and were off to Bucharest tomorrow, so we decided to split a cab in the morning.
All rested up, I decided to head off again, this time to the north of the fortress across another bend in the river. Here was a little village that was part of the town, but really felt kinda separate. Just a 10 min walk from the hostel, too. Down there was a really old church right along the river that was originally a Roman temple. It was really cool to see that, just kind of a litle roman ruin left there. It also had columns engraved by victorious rulers of Bulgaria. Right around the corner from it, completely unmarked but
stairs
I'm not sure I trust those stairs for a little plaque right on the gate, is the church where the kings of Bulgaria were crowned and the independent Bulgaian state was procaimed, starting the revolt from the Ottomans.
It was then back to the hostel, and after some screwing around with all the Aussies and some dinner (very thin pasta w/ meat sauce), practically the whole hostel decided to head up to the square in front of the fortress for the light show. Much more impressive there, as you can see the whole hill, not just the apex. A brief lull in the excitement was filled back the hostel with some drinking games and then about 6 of us went into town to find some fun. Nothing was doing until we stumbled upon a birthday party for some 19-year old. The funniest thing about him was that he kept grabbing one of the 2 girls there around the shoulders and shouting "My girlfriend!!" (in English), and she clearly wanted nothing to do with him. We were almost literally dragged into the fray of the party, and after a few tequila shots (they did them with cinnamon and orange instead of salt and lime - not a real
good call, if you ask me). We partied with them all night and found our way back home.
I got a very worried email from Bethany, and sensing that she needed me to chat for a bit, I called her up and we spoke for a while before I crashed.
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Kolev
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A few corrections
Nice and long description of Veliko Tarnovo but full of errors mostly connected with the history of the country and some of the churches in the town. Otherwise I am glad you liked it! Cheers ;0D