Blogs from Bulgaria, Europe - page 8

Monuments - from supersized to ordinary size When we travelled in Bulgaria we noticed that they have many monuments. Actually some of their monuments are pretty difficult to avoid to notice simply because they are so darned large. Here in our last blog entry from Bulgaria we are going to write about the Bulgarian monuments. Buzludzha Monument - This monument is built on a peak in the Balkan Mountains, a place far away from any populated place at all. Although it takes a long time to drive there, don't even think about getting there using public transport, it is still worth the drive because this construction is something special. In the middle of nowhere, high up on a mountain top, there is a big round building, looking very much like a UFO, with a high concrete ... read more

Lennon, Lenin, Lion and Lloyd During our last week in Bulgaria we spent much time hiking in the mountains. We have decided to write about the hikes in a separate blog entry. The hiking blog w will start writing as soon as this one is finished. But in between the hikes we also had time to see and do some other things. Rila Monastery - In the first of our blog entries from Bulgaria we mentioned that if you make a list of the Top 100 Places You Must Visit in Europe it is quite possible that not a single one of them is in Bulgaria. But if you expand that list to Top 200... it is quite possible that Rila Monastery makes it into the list. If you travel in Bulgaria this is a place ... read more

From dancing cows to singing Bryan Adams via umbrellas hanging in a park This summer we spent three weeks in Bulgaria. When you hear that you might ask yourself: "Three weeks in Bulgaria? How fun can that be?" The answer is: "More fun than you can possibly imagine." Other than the black Sea coast Bulgaria is not travelled much. That is a pity because we really enjoyed it there and we believe many others would enjoy it too. In this and the four following blogs we will tell you about what we did and where we went. If you decide to read them all we hope you will realise that Bulgaria is worth visiting and that there are plenty of things to see and do there. But before we begin we would like to point out ... read more

Wednesday 14thJune The campsite is just outside the town of Veliko Tarnovo. It is lovely, overlooking a gentle valley with fields of wheat and sunflowers. It has a swimming pool, bar and restaurant. On the first couple of days here, we have done a morning walk through the fields to a neighbouring village and a cycle ride taking in five different villages in this valley and the next. Along with farmland, the area is full of fruit orchards. Cherries are in abundance at the moment. We have spent the afternoons in the shade and by the pool. I have actually been swimming in this one!! Saturday and Sunday were a respite from the sweltering heat – it rained. Whilst we listened to the radio telling us of record temperatures in the UK, we put on our ... read more

3rd to 7thJune Kromodovo near Melnik, Bulgaria Before we left Greece we stocked up with food (mainly Kalamata olives) and filled up with petrol and headed north towards the Bulgarian border. It’s the first time we have had to stop at a border and show passports. We then had to find somewhere that sold a vignette allowing us to drive on Bulgarian roads. The road is the main artery connecting Romania, Bulgaria and Greece so is used by huge freight lorries which seemed to have parked up haphazardly just past border control. We pulled up behind one lorry at a wooden hut type building that looked like it sold vignettes but on discovering it didn’t, the lorry pulled away catching the roof and edge of the cabin with its trailed and shaking the whole thing with ... read more