Bulgaria - a perfect vacation destination
It was common for us to hear “Why Bulgaria?” when we told people we would be going there in August. We would answer that we were extremely interested in history and enjoyed visiting different cultures. But after spending 10 days in this largely unknown jewel of the Balkans, our response should have been “because Bulgaria has everything anyone would expect of a perfect vacation”.
Our trip was planned by Balkan Travel and Tours in New York City (212-594-7800 or www.balkan-travel.com) and cost $1115.00 per person with additional airfare from Lot Airlines of about $740.00. Due to our interest in history, I requested a guide that would be knowledgable about the fascinating 7000 year history of the Balkans. Also, since I had read a book about the Bulgarian Jews saved during the Holocaust by King Boris, I asked for a guide who would be familiar with Jewish history. We could not have been more pleased with the choice of Dimiter Kostov. He is a university graduate with a degree in history and specializes in taking around the m any Israelis who have a heritage in Bulgaria. We were fortunate enough to be the only 2 people that signed up for that week so we had a private tour which Dimiter customized for us, allowing us to see sites not included on the itinerary like Pliska, the first capital during the 7th-9th centuries until being devastated by the Byzantines which is currently being excavated as well as the huge “Madara Rider” which is the oldest man-made rock relief in Europe and appears on every Bulgarian coin.
You can look up the itinerary yourself on www.balkan-travel.com, so I will not go thru it day-by-day but will describe the highlights of the trip and why we consider Bulgaria to be one of our favorite countries out of the more than 70 that we have visited.
All of our accommodations were superior to what I had expected. In Sofia, we stayed at a 5 star Radison SAS and the last night had a very lovely room overlooking a large square with Alexander Nevski Memorial Church in the distance, considered by many to be the finest piece of architecture in the Balkans. On our walking tour of this interesting capital city, we enjoyed the ancient 4th century St. George Rotunda enclosed by the Sheraton Hotel, the largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe, St. Sofia Church, as well as the ruins of the Roman Baths, the changing of the guard at the presidential palace, and the flea market. As with all the towns we visited, it was safe to walk around, even at night and everything was exceptionally clean. We noticed women out early every morning sweeping streets and sidewalks. We have been pick-pocketed in Barcelona and (almost) in Paris, but there was no time in Bulgaria that we felt threatened by questionable people “staking us out”.
We had heard that Bulgaria was known for excellent winter skiing as well as summer hiking and thoroughly enjoyed the long drive through the mountains where we saw fertile farms growing everything from berries to vegetables to cotton to grapes. The tomatoes were even better than those in Turkey and the strawberries, blackberries and blueberries we bought at roadside stands were absolutely delicious! And everywhere we looked, there were wildflowers of white, purple, pink, yellow and red. However, one of the more unusual sightings as we drove along the road was the occasional young “working” woman that waved or even did a little dance for us. Unfortunately, this is a sign of an economy still struggling almost 20 years after the demise of Communism.
Before arriving at our charming chalet in Bansko, we stopped to visit the 10th century Rila Monastery. It is said to be one of the most impressive on the continent in size, setting, architecture, plethora of frescoes and museum treasures. We were lucky to arrive during a service. If you have never been to a Christian Orthodox service, it is beautiful in its music, tradition and pageantry. At one time, there were hundreds of monks living here and there are now only about a dozen. Although the rooms are all preserved, we were not allowed to enter them.
For lunch, we stopped for delicious fresh trout in Velingrad and watched as happy families peddled boats around the lake. As during the entire time we were there, the weather could not have been better with clear skies and temperatures that did not get much over the low 80’s until the last 2 days.
Plovdiv was our favorite place. We stayed at the very elegant Hotel Trimontium and had a room on a high floor with large terrace overlooking the wide pedestrian walkway and quiet flowered park. We knew that Italians have their “passigiatas” in the evenings after dinner, but the Bulgarians seem to stroll on large, wide boulevards and café-lined streets all the time. My husband never tired of watching from one of the many cheerful outdoor cafes as the thin young girls with their very stylish wardrobes passed by. We were impressed with how young the population appeared to be. There are parks all over with rides and activities for children. And we learned not to be surprised when a ruin from Roman times appeared right in the middle of a street or pedestrian path. Plovdiv is not only the second largest city in Bulgaria, it is one of the most ancient settlements on the planet with over 8,500 years of documented history.
And I thought that Rome or Athens or Carthage was old – not even close!!! Plovdiv is built upon layers of towns and a culture developed upon layers of older cultures. On our walking tour of the old city, we learned that at one time, Plovdiv was made up of 7 hills like Rome. Now there are just 3 hills left of the ancient Trimontium (old name of Plovdiv). Along the cobblestone streets, we also saw the lovely National Revival homes of the 19th century built after the 500 year long “Turkish Bondage” that began in the 14th century.
A special treat was the functioning synagogue “Zion”. We were shown around by Albert Behar whose grandfather was the last rabbi in Plovdiv. He told us that there used to be 4 synagogues in Plovdiv and there were about 6000 Jews living in Plovdiv until 1948 when many Bulgarian Jews immigrated to Israel. Now there are about 500 Jews left and they still have services every Friday night. Although we encountered extremely few tour groups, there were 60 Israelis staying in our hotel many being either originally from the area or descendents of those who were.
After grudgingly leaving Plovdiv, we drove about 4 hours to reach the Black Sea Coast. The last time we had been to the Black Sea was during our trip to Eastern Turkey when we found the beaches dirty and empty and the sea itself dark and uninviting. However, as we approached the Roman town of Nessebur that was actually built on an earlier Thracian site, there were thousands of people strolling along the coast. Here we found the remains of at least 10 of the one-time 40 existing churches and a plethora of shops, restaurants and tourists!! Again, we enjoyed fresh fish overlooking the beautiful Black Sea. Our only complaint was the hordes of people and dozens of souvenir shops. This was not the peaceful Bulgaria we had grown to cherish!!
Fortunately, our accommodations were not in touristy Nessebur but further along the coast in Varna. Upon entering Varna, its communist-style condominiums did not give a great first impression. But when Dimiter parked the car in the rear of the Hotel Odessos and we went up to our room and stepped out onto our terrace, the view that greeted us immediately dispelled any concerns. Again, we were looking down on lively outdoor cafes and a clean, wide pedestrian walkway that wandered down to a thriving beach area on one end and to the town center on the other. Again, we watched as people strolled or sat at these cafes until all hours of the day and night. However, noise was never a problem since all hotels (except Hotel Bansko which is high in the mountains) had air-conditioning and it worked much better than in Western Europe (how often has a hotel in Paris told you they indeed do have air-conditioning but it is just not working at the moment?). There was also always cable TV with many stations and always some in English so we could keep up with the Olympics and other world events.
Although the highlight of Varna was going to the Archaeology Museum with the incredible 7000 year old gold collection, we were also amazed by the hundreds of crowded restaurants and clubs that were behind the miles long beach. As we reluctantly walked back to our hotel near midnight, throngs of young people were just on their way down! And it was even impossible to find a seat at a single café lining the pedestrian area from our hotel to the town square lit up by Varna Cathedral. Bulgarians really know how to party!
The next day, Dimiter showed us the Roman baths and the synagogue that is in ruins. Then, we spent the rest of the beautiful day on the beach along with thousands of vacationers including many topless women.
Our last stop was Veliko Turnovo, a university town with a glorious historical past, a symbol of Bulgarian statehood and a source of pride for every Bulgarian. It is located on three hills, the Trapezitsa Hill having traces of civilizations dating back to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC! Remnants on Tsarevets Hill date back to the end of the Bronze Era (11th century BC) while the oldest settlements were inhabited by Thracians (6th century BC to 1st century AD). The next layer is early Byzantine (5th to 7th centuries) when there was a fortified town on Tsarevets Hill. By the end of the 10th century, the hill was already densely populated and by the 12th century, it was already a fortified town with a significant economic center. In 1187, Byzantine rule was thrown off and Turnovgrad became the third capital in the history of Bulgaria. The following two centuries were known as “Golden” in the history of the town. The Bulgarian State reached the heights of its development during this period. Along with Byzantium, it was one of the great powers in Eurasia. Magnificent palaces, monasteries, churches, fortifications, bridges and big houses were built here. However, this all came to an end in 1393 when after a 3 month siege, Veliko Turnovo and gradually the whole of Bulgaria succumbed to Ottoman Rule. Centuries were to pass before the town was able to recuperate. On July 7, 1877, Veliko Turnovo was free again. Although Sofia became the capital after the Liberation, Veliko Turnovo continued to be a bastion of Bulgarian national spirit and self-awareness.
We stayed near the famous tower and citadel at the charming small Hotel Gurko on the picturesque street it takes its name from. Again, we had a terrace and looked out on a large memorial and up the hill where there were rows of houses piled on top of each other reminiscent of the Italian Hill Towns. Dimiter took us on a walking tour to see the 13th-14th century fortifications, ancient tower, cathedral, palace and finally into the main part of town overlooking the Yantra River with its well-preserved craft shops and National Revival houses. We finally had a chance to sample a pizza, which turned out to be one of the best we have had.
It might be helpful to learn about the Cyrillic alphabet since very few signs are in our Latin alphabet. We kept seeing signs looking like “Pectopaht” and later found out it meant Restaurant (Cyrillic ‘p’ is ‘r’ and ‘h’ is ‘n’! )
Of course we visited other towns including the open-air museum town of Etara, charming Arbanassi with its impressive architecture and elaborately decorated “Christmas” church and well-preserved museum houses.
After our wonder-filled 10 days, what I will now say in answer to those who ask me “Why Bulgaria?” is because it has fascinating history, magnificent scenery, wonderful food (you can even drink tap water), beautiful beaches, excellent accommodations, good roads, colorful wildflowers, outdoor cafes, good roads, is safe and clean and will never cease to surprise you with its limitless treasures.
Helene Schechter
Livingston NJ