Doug - a bit more about my experiences in Bulgaria. In November 2004 I was in Sofia for a 3 day meeting. Had some wandering-around time the day before (Monday) and the day after (Friday). Then on Saturday my host, his wife, and 10-year old son drove me out to the Rilla monastery to the west and south of Sofia. Pretty much a full day round trip. Great timing though, it had snowed the night before, rain at the lower elevations, so we had to contend with snow only the last couple of miles and were treated to snow-covered vistas once we arrived. Back again in June 2006 for a Monday-Wednesday mid-day meeting. Wednesday afternoon I walked further around Sofia, noticed a local travel-tour establishment advertising beach vacations in Spain. I had noticed a site north of Sofia that I wanted to go to (Iskur Gorge), but did not want to rent a car and drive myself, I thought the travel place might know a driver who would give me a day-rate. They made a counter offer - they would provide a car and driver and tourist guide and I could pick from any one of 8-10 destinations. At a rate of roughly $100 per day. So Thursday we did a round trip to Plovdiv, most of the time spent in the old town, some in/around the Roman ruins, plus a side trip to the Bachkovo Monestary. The next day we did a round trip to Veliko Tarnovo, again with most of our time in the older section plus time in the medieval fortress of Tsarevets. Saturday I spent in Sofia, with about half of my time in the very large open-air market with everything for sale from vegetables to (fake?) Soviet medals and uniform parts. The Cathedral is quite nice, has a good museum with many icons. Near the Cathedral, every day, there are street vendors selling (fake?) Soviet stuff, old Russian cameras, Parker pens, Rolex (?) watches, etc. I bought a hand-woven shawl for my sister-in-law who is a certified needlework and fabric Judge - she was extremely impressed and ready to put Sofia on her list of places to go. English is not that widely spoken but it is possible to get by.
Misc comments: 1. Most museums, churches, etc. do not allow indoor photography, and the monasteries try to prevent any photography indoors or out. 2. There is very little Roman-script signage. I found it quite disconcerting to look at a street name in the Anglicized map or guide book, then look at a street sign, and try to decide whether I was in the right place or not. 3. I like the food! In Sofia all meals start with a large salad plus a shot of Raikia - sorta like Grapa. A variant on the theme in other places around the country. 4. Most people very friendly. 5. They deny it, but definite ethnic tensions between the Slavs, the Turks, and the Romanies. The first being the majority and clearly in control, the second more prevalent from Veliko, Plovdiv, and to the southeast. And the Gypsies being the vegetable vendors in the market, the thieves to watch out for, etc. 6. The guide/driver were very good and, considering the all-day, personal service, 300-400km round trips, the price was exceedingly reasonable. The brochure I have says Tany Tours, the receipt says Alma Tour - www.almatour.net I don't think it matters whether you are in Plovdiv or Sofia or wherever - they would accommodate you. They also do more normal tours - my guide was going to be spending the following week guiding a bus tour with 40 German tourists. 7. Of the two monasteries, Rilla was much more scenic, isolated, interesting. 8. In Plovdiv, buy a coffee mug/cup from the potter who does business just to the left as you head into the old walled city. He is happy to have his photo taken and is very proud of his wares. 9. On one or both days of the tour, we went into a couple of "house museums", one I sorta recall was in a preserved village near Veliko with many buildings of the old style, preserved and furnished as in 16th-17th centuries. 10. As I mentioned, I had thought I would be back there in January or early February for a few days, hadn't really made any detailed plans pending a decision on whether I would be allowed to go, but did have the thought that I would head back over to Plovdiv and maybe then further east. 11. Like most countries, particularly the former Soviet vassals, the older authentic exotic aspects have been pretty well plowed under, but still many fascinating aspects in the midst of and surrounding the European-like smoggy industrial cities. 12. A tough place to get around without local help. I've pulled up the (relatively few) photos I have from the two trips - I'll post a selection in the not too distant future. stan On Dec 3, 2007, at 5:37 PM, Doug Franklin wrote: > Howdy, folks, > > It looks like I might have the chance to travel to Bulgaria in late > February or early March. I'd most likely be there about a week, > staying > in Plovdiv and using it as a base of operations. > > I'm also considering spending an overnight on the Black Sea coast > while > I'm there, but might let that wait for a trip in slightly warmer > months. > If I do it, I'd either rent a car or take the train from Plovdiv to > the coast and back. > > Does the collected PDML wisdom have anything I should know before > going? > Places not to miss? Places not to see? Food that even other food > won't eat (including scavengers)? :-) > > -- > Thanks, > DougF (KG4LMZ) > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above > and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
