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Published: December 26th 2012
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I left off on Christmas eve at the hostel. So, I will pick up from there. Unfortunately, Chirstmas eve was not quite as active as was Sunday in Bucharest. So, I went out with my new friends and we popped around to a few different bars. One of the coolest places we went to was called "Deja Vu Russian Cocktail Bar." Apparently, it's the place where Ceauseceu (not sure about the spelling here), who was the Communist dictator, and his men used to come and drink. So, that was pretty cool. I ended the night with a McChicken which, I know, is quite disgusting. I rarely even eat Mcdonalds in the states, but it was the only thing open and I hadn't had dinner.
Woke up the nest morning, the 25th, and rushed to the train station to catch my 12:30 to Veliko Tarnovo, a little town in Bulgaria. It was a very odd experience. I made it onto the train and the first thing that happened was, the ticket taker asked me "why in the world are you going there??" Needless to say, I began to question my decision. The entire train car I was in was empty, which
was really surreal. I was totally alone in my cabin, which had sleeper beds, so I napped on and off throughout the ride. Luckily, I got the ticket taker to agree to help me out by telling me when we got to my stop, since there's never any specific announcement, and the train stops pretty often. Aside from the oddly desolate feeling, the ride itself was quite beautiful. Snow is always nice, and the Romanian and Bulgarian snow-covered countrysides were a very interesting thing to see passing by.
I got to the tiny town and the tiny train station to realize there was no ATM, I had no Bulgarian money, 1 Romanian Lei (.33 cents) and 3000 Hungarian forint (13 bucks). On top of this, I had no map and right off the train, some random guy attached himself to me saying he knew where I was staying, he would take me there all alone with him and it's totally safe don't worry. I tried to shake him off, and wanted nothing more than to be at the hostel already. He ended up being helpful because the taxi driver spoke no english and the guy had to
convince him to take me to an ATM, which. The ride was about 5 or 10 minutes, too long to walk in the dark in an unknown city, but I got there safe and sound for about 3 bucks. Hostel Mostel was a welcome sight. There is only one other woman staying here, so it's a very relaxed feeling.
I arrived to a big plate of pasta and a great beer, although, I can't pronounce the name (picture included). It was so nice to relax and take it easy. So, I had a couple beers, caught up with the internet, and called family to wish dad a happy birthday. A very chill Christmas indeed. I watched some tv and had an early night.
In the morning, I woke up, ate some free breakfast, and took off to see the town. I had really underestimated the beauty of this place. There is a huge fortress on the Hill where the Tsars used to live. It is very epic and imposing, looking over the little town between the rivers. The snow was quite treacherous and I had to climb some scary ice-covered stairs that would have made my
mom very uncomfortable. But, exploring this fortress was so goergeous. The church had some odd paintings inside, which can be seen in the pictures. After the fortress, I crossed the river and walked around little streets and checked out some other churches, but unfortunately, they were all closed.
I decided to check out the newer area of town, but it was a bit less picturesque and I wasn't feeling the vibe quite so much. But, I walked around and saw a lot of little shopes and people bustling around being busy. I stopped into a store to pick up food for my busride at 8:30 to Istanbul, and then I stopped into a little restaurant to get some typical Bulgarian food. I ordered Kebapce, a meat stick, and a Bulgarian meatball with some potatoes. The meatball was a little undercooked in the middle, so I picked at the edges, but the Kebapche was fantastic. It reminded me of cevapcece in Sarajevo, which is all I ate when I was there.
So, anyhow, I wandered around a bit, and ended up back at the hostel to relax for a little while before I catch my bus to
Istanbul. The ride should be about 9 hours, but I already have a hostel booked and everything, so I think I have everything under control, although it'll be awkward getting there at 5:30 am.
To sum up my experience here, Veliko Tarnovo was a great idea. The people at the hostel are great and very helpful. The town itself has a lot of natural beauty, and the epic fortress itself is worth the visit. Now, I can't wait to get to Istanbul, where it's warmer, and where I meet my friend, Julius, and end the solo traveling portion of this semester.
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