Checking out Eastern Europe…in Bulgaria

I will admit that, when Rick started talking about including BULGARIA in this segment of our travels, I was skeptical.  Not high on my list of ‘go to’ places, I followed his lead, did my usual trip planning, and here we are in Sofia.

The capital of Bulgaria and a city of over 1 million people, Sofia has many impressive buildings like the well-restored public baths (no longer used for this purpose…)

and the beautiful Alexander Nevski cathedral

alongside evidence of deferred maintenance (buildings where stucco is in poor repair, and many very uneven and broken sidewalks) probably left over from the Soviet era.

But , slowly, buildings are being reclaimed and restored.  This contrast is evident throughout the city.

We began with the excellent Free Sofia Walking Tour to acquaint us with the city, and to learn something about the history and culture. Bulgaria’s ancient history saw the presence of Thracians, ancient Greeks, and Romans among others. Many ruins have been uncovered including this 4th century church built by Emperor Constantine, which was discovered almost fully preserved.

A day trip to Rila Monastery is a must when you visit Sofia. Founded in the 10th century by St John of Rila, this large monastery complex was rebuilt in the mid-nineteenth century after it was destroyed by fire.

Impressive because of its size and beautifully preserved frescoes,

the church in its center is a great example of Orthodox Christian establishments that we have seen throughout the country. Interestingly, the frescoes outside were much prettier than those inside, which suffer from the many candles lit by the faithful who visit here.  Our trip there by bus passed through some lovely countryside with snowcapped mountains in the distance.

On a Food Tour of Sofia, we tasted  lyutenitsa – roasted red peppers and tomatoes in a chunky spread, which we thought was reminiscent of Spanish Romesco sauce, and banitsa – phyllo dough filled with cheese, pumpkin or almost anything! Both were delicious.

Speaking of food reminds me to note that reading menus, or almost anything that involves written language, is a challenge here. Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic alphabet so you really can’t even guess what the words mean!

From Sofia, we took the train to Plovdiv for our second week. This city is smaller, built on 6 hills, and contains some of the best examples of Ottoman architecture

and Roman ruins that we’ve seen. The wide central pedestrian street is built over a Roman stadium that is 240 meters long, and some sections are easily visible from above.

Plovdiv proudly advertises the fact that the city has been named the “European Capital of Culture” for 2019! It is a lively and interesting place.

One of our favorite discoveries has been a local wine bar – Vino Culture – where the young bartenders pride themselves on finding and serving small production, and excellent, Bulgarian wines.

We’ve found some lovely Pinot Noirs, but of the Bulgarian grapes, Mavrud (red), and Misket Cherven (white) are favorites. But look at how many choices there are! We may have to stay longer…

One of our days in Plovdiv, we hired a private guide to take us on a VERY long day trip to Veliko Tarnovo, the ancient capitol of Bulgaria.

Stops along the way included the Shipka Memorial Church, a Russian Orthodox church, whose gleaming gold domes could be seen for miles as we approached.  The building is dedicated to the soldiers – Russian, Ukranian & Bulgarian – who died in the fight to free Bulgaria in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). Note the unusual crosses (typical of Russian Orthodoxy), especially the ‘cross over crescent’ in the center, which some say represents the victory of Christianity over the Ottomans.

Next stop was the village of Arbanasi, once a mountain retreat for aristocrats, where we saw a typical house and a low slung church (the Ottomans decreed that churches could not be any higher than a man on a horse…)

that was completely painted inside with scenes from bible stories.  As you can see from the buttresses in the picture above that have been added for stability, the structure is somewhat fragile.  As cracks appear in the frescoes, small paper tapes are applied so that any widening can be easily detected.

The major difference between the Orthodox churches and those of other Christian sects is that the interior is decorated with painted ‘icons’ and frescoes, but contains no statues.

Our visit to Veliko Tarnovo involved A LOT of uphill walking. The oldest part of the city is situated on three hills, one of which holds the ruins of hundreds of houses and more than 18 churches from the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396), a partially restored palace, and a fully reconstructed (1980s) cathedral.

The cathedral frescoes are quite modern and it contains one of the most unique altarpieces I’ve ever seen.

Our guide, Stoyan (that’s him in the picture below) also took us to a typical Bulgarian restaurant,

where we tried Kavarma (a delicious pork stew) and Sach (a sizzling plate with meat, cheese and vegetables). We also discovered a unique Bulgarian salty spice mixture called Chubritsa (the Bulgarian version of Old Bay…), which is traditionally sprinkled on warm bread…Yum!

Bulgaria is known for producing high quality rose oil, which is the basis for most expensive perfumes. In our drives out of the cities, we have seen huge fields of rose bushes, not yet in bloom. But I did find one lovely specimen outside a home in Plovdiv.

I’m glad we decided to come to Bulgaria!