Things we learned:

Currency: Leva (1.5 Leva=$1 USD)

Places Visited: Sofia, Belogradchik, Plovdiv, Gabrovo, Veliko Tarnovo

Crime rate in this country is pretty low.

Bulgarians nod for no and shake their heads for yes.  It may help to remember that da means yes.

You will know when people in this country speak English because they are not shy about speaking with you any chance they get.

Although Bulgaria sided with the Germany during WWII, Boris III, Tsar of Bulgaria, refused to surrender the Jews.

During communism, foods such as bananas, oranges, and chocolate were only available for Christmas.

Bulgarian girl’s names end in “ava” and boy’s names end in “avo”.

The gaida is a giant, white, traditional bagpipe made from sheep hide and you will see it in traditional festivities.

In Sofia, locals get all their drinking water from taps that gush out natural spring water in the city center.  Do not be surprised to see people loading their vans with gallons and gallons of this water.

Watch out for train station employees who demand tips for helping you. (Sofia)

During spring, red and white braids are seen tied around people’s wrists and on tree branches.  Supposedly this has to do with a holiday in celebration of spring and the fact that people pass them out to their friends and family.  The more you have, the better.

Do not miss the sound and light show at the fortress in Veliko Tarnovo.

In Sofia, there are small convenience stores in the basement of buildings that have fast-food-like windows facing out into the street.  It is not unusual to see people kneeling down to purchase their pack of cigarettes from ladies in these puppet theater entryways.

Also in Sofia, do not miss The Ale House, a basement pub with taps that dispense cheap beer at each table.

There must be something special about Bulgarian yeast because the bread and beer is pretty tasty.  Even if you’re not usually a beer drinker, you’ll find that you are one in Bulgaria.

Deenaree´s list…

• Food: Bread
• Experience: Seeing the traditional way of life at the ethnographic open air museum in Gabrovo
• Something to remember: The horse carts

Ben´s list…

• Food: Pizza at the sidewalk stand in Sofia
• Experience: Watching the sound and light show at the fortress in Veliko Tarnovo
• Something to remember: Getting a decent grasp on the Cyrillic letters and their sounds.

Upon arrival, we were hoping to get into the Lonely-Planet-promised bus that meets the train to take us to Belogradchik.  Seeing a minivan, which looked much like minibuses we have seen in other countries, we approached and were able to make out БЕЛОГРАДЧИК (Belogradchik) on the windshield.  Turns out, whether he was full, not interested in taking foreigners or just not going there, we were able to work out that the only way we were getting to our destination was to pay a few extra dollars to take a taxi.  As we walked over, the car was at least 20 years old and I quickly realized it was the infamous Russian brand, Lada.  The ride was short, but we were fascinated to be reading Cyrillic (sort of) and riding in a Russian car.

After departing the taxi, we had to take a walk through town to find a hostel.  At first, things did not seem very good.   A long walk down the main road and we did not see a single hotel or hostel.  But just as we were running out of steam, a municipal map appeared on the corner, which not only showed the city, but also the hostels!  A quick check and we were on our way.  After stops at a couple of locally-owned hostels, we picked the first one, with a nice older woman running the place.  The room was quite comfortable and was decorated with carpeting and furniture that looked to come from the 1970’s.

We came to Belogradchik to see the amazing rock formations and they didn’t disappoint.  Huge, red rocks seemed to be balancing on the top of the surrounding mountains.  They made for fascinating scenery and we had much fun walking across the hills and through the forests, marveling at their beauty.

Perhaps the most awe inspiring site at Belogradchik is the town’s hilltop fortress.  By itself, it is not very different than many other fortresses that we have seen on our trip.  Just a ruin of rocks that were stacked up a few hundred years ago providing excellent looks at the city below.  But the Belogradchik fortress was built into the rocks, which seemed to be used for intimidation or maybe as viewing points.  The postcard perfect views of the front of the fortress will not leave us for some time.

Belogradchik provided us with the most wonderful blend of true Eastern block culture, mixed with amazing scenery.  It is a town where the attraction has not taken over the city and most people just live their normal lives.  We were lucky to see this firsthand.

As we approached the bus station to make our way back to Sofia, we found our trusting Lada cabman, ready and waiting.  We deposited our bags in the trunk, hopped in and traveled back in time as our 30 year old chariot transported us back across the mountains to Oreshek.