Things just get better and better…
Well, now that you’ve all heard about my random, crazy day…I should say that things have calmed down.
I made it to Veliko Tarnovo in one piece…
Pretty little Veliko Tarnovo, the gorge that runs through town.
Davina and I caught the train the next morning, while Cameron and Sarah headed to Varna. We waved goodbye across the platform and boarded seperate trains.
It was a simple ride to Veliko Tarnovo, the ticket guy really had taken care of us. The ticket collectors looked at the writing on the back of our ticket and went along their merry way.
We even caught our transfer with out a problem…after just a tad of confusion with the Cyrillic.
I have to say, I’m amazed, but I basically know the Cyrillic alphabet already. My name looks like this: Елиэаьет Гилс…more or less. (There’s no ‘th’ sound and 3 z sounds to choose from…so that’s my interprutation.)
I can read town names and brand names and I’m pretty amazed. I thought I would NEVER learn it, but it was pretty easy. I copied out the alphabet once and basically have it…except sometimes letters sounds different, like H is actually N, P is R and Ш is Sh…but it works. Sometimes though…I go through the word phonetically and realize when I’m done it’s still in Bulgarian, lol.
So we get to Veliko T…and a tout gets me as I come off the train. I had already decided on a private room because it was only about 15Euro and I felt like it. Davina succumb to the tout but found her home stay was quite nice. she had a big room with a balcony and a shared bath for 10Euro.
We went seperate ways and decided to meet for dinner. I was so tired! I did some laundry and took a nap. When I woke up I realized I’d gotten a bit of a cough…not unlike the one the guy in my hostel in Brasov had…which kept everyone up. Otherwise I felt fine though…so no big deal.
Davina and I got dinner at the restaurant in front of my hotel. It was amazing! They did brick oven pizza, traditional Bulgarian food and had 75 salads on the menu! When our Bulgarian hot pots came they were lit aflame at the table, bubbling and oozing…everything has cheese in it in Bulgaria. The food was delicious.
The center of town, climbing up the hillside
After the meal we took a walk up the hill towards the fortress, trying to see the nighttime light and laser show…but we couldn’t see it. They only do the show when 30 tourists have paid for it…so I guess they hadn’t that night. We hit a local bar instead where we had a wonderful time confusing the bartender. He looked exasperated everytime we ordered a drink…but he still had a smile on his face. The Bulgarians really are some of the most cheerful people!
We called it a night, but not before deciding to do a tour with the tout that got Davina the room, the next day. He, Yordan Yordanov (not kidding) picked us up at 3pm at the tourist info center and we were off.
The monestary
First we visited a monestary set under mountains and along a river. It was really beautiful…but there was a prayer service going on and I didn’t feel like I should be in there. We lit candles and headed out to walk along the river. This is where I say I really wish I could post pictures…but I’ll refrain from saying such things…(edit: problem solved)
Next we headed to Etara, an open air museum…which translates to period buildings and shops.
Your first Cyrillic lesson…see, it’s not so hard!
It was a little hookey…but I’ve seen this sort of thing before. The setting was really pretty though and I got a ton of great shots…including one of two tiny kitty-cats that were playing on a roof top. So cute! (See: Unabashedly Cute Post)
Here’s a cute, fancy Horse-y instead!
The River at the Etara Village
Houses just outside the museum/village…cooler and more picturesque (yes, I realize that’s becoming my favorite word!)
From there we headed back towards Veliko Tarnovo to go to a town that sits on a hill looking down on V.T. It was just about sunset and the view was…well…for some reason not that great. The air was misty or something and the pictures didn’t do it justice…but it was pretty.
Yordan even took us about the town to look at the ‘exotic animals’ that the tourists seem to love. It was a peacock, some bunnies, a deer and a bunch of chicken…and I was officially ready to call it a day.
The bored looking peacock
We went back to the same restaurant we ate at the day before, it was that good. Out front Davina ran into some people she had met in Bucharest and we all had dinner together at 3 tables. We sat with Damien from Ireland and Daniel from Switzerland and had a great time.
Davina and Daniel
After dinner it was off for drinks…and Daniel wanted to go to the Bacardi Club…where we confounded the bartender the night before. Now with at least 7 people who didn’t speak Bulgarian it became a comedy of errors. Poor guy…but he still just smiled and smiled.
Finally towards the night’s end he dragged me over to the other bartender who spoke some English to ask where we were from. I told him we were from all over and that we all really liked him despite the language barrier….because he ALWAYS smiled. He was very happy with this 🙂 Before the night was over Nikolay, the bartender, decided I should have his email address….but I have no idea what I would write to him. I gave him mine too…I’d love to get a random Cyrillic note from him! (Davina’s got a picture of him I will post as soon as she sends it to me.)
The next day I woke up and my cough had become a bit of a cold. I was planning to leave that day but booked my room for one more night, took some medicine and went back to sleep. I drank my OJ and rested up and I’m just on the border of a cold….it’s hanging there waiting to get me or run away, like it hasn’t made up it’s mind yet.
So…tonight is going to be an early night, as last night was. I’m now in Sofia ( София ) and it’s Saturday night…but I don’t want to get full blown sick. I want to pick up some cold medicine but a) I haven’t found a pharmacy yet and b) I have no idea how I’d decipher the lables. (Remarkably few people in Bulgaria speak ANY English. I’m fine with that…it’s just surprising.)
So…off for a bite to eat and early bed.
Hope this finds you all well…wherever you are…
Tags: Bulgaria
LizG