OFF THE RAILS, PART 1- Slow Train Through Bulgaria

.....previous blog from Cheltenham and Cornwall in the UK......

 After a quite stressful time in Cambridge, we felt the need to get back out there and travel nearly as far as we could in Europe......to Bulgaria. It's not a country we knew anything about, apart from the facts that was previously Communist, the poorest country in the EU, and famous for wine and yogurt, so we booked a cheap flight and arrived ready for a mini adventure. The applause from the passengers on the plane landing in Sofia was hilarious, and the Bulgarian pilot sounded like Count Dracula. The shuttle bus into town from the small, hot and smoky budget airline terminal had finished for the evening, but we managed to find our way to our Air B and B through the dark city with only a few hurdles.

Our first step on arrival was to learn Cyrillic, as most signs are in the script, and we weren't sure about how many people spoke English (not many away from the coast, and mainly younger people). We were struck by the very stern and serious looking Bulgarians. Even when we tried to break them with large smiles like grinning idiots, we often just got blank looks back. We got used to it, and put it down to their turbulent history, and to them being no nonsense. Even without the smiles, they were usually very helpful and kind.

Funky signs, Sofia

No idea what it means, but looks great!

Our first stop was Koprivshtica. We were excited to find the train carriages "Soviet style", with separate compartments, a long corridor leading down the side, and stern, but helpful female conductors.The trip from Sofia into the countryside was at first industrial, then gave way to giant sunflower fields, and finally forested, hilly areas.

Corridor on Bulgarian train

Compartment on Bulgarian train

We were dropped on the outskirts of the small town by the railway shuttle bus, and after wandering around an apparently abandoned part of the town, we finally found our guesthouse. No one was around (as we later learnt was normal in Bulgaria), but after a phone call, the old Bulgarian grandma and her efficient English speaking grandson arrived to show us our cozy room, set in a lovely garden, complete with outdoor BBQ and shared kitchen.

Lovely guesthouse, Koprivshtica

 We spent our few days rambling up and down the hilly cobblestone lane ways, admiring the National Revival houses that were mostly built when the Bulgarians finally got rid of the Turks and could do their own thing (late 1800s). The uprisings began around this area, and many important revolutionary leaders came from Central Bulgaria, hence the many monuments, statues, memorials and paintings honoring them around. Even the new houses, and add ons to the old ones were in a traditional style, as the entire town is heritage protected. An interesting feature of Koprivshtica was the high wooden gates and stone walls which enclosed the houses and yards- a result of much ransacking over the years.

Stone walls with wood supports, typical of the National Revival style, Koprivshtica

Uniquely designed gates, Koprivshtica (note the giant man hole covers!!)

Lovely style, Koprivshtica

Many houses had benches out the front, Koprivshtica

Street leading down to the village center, Koprivshtica

A particularly grand gate, Koprivshtica

Love the ladder, Koprivshtica

The center of Koprivshtica was a casual square, with plenty of scruffy cafes and bars, as well as a few smart ones along with souvenir shops for the tourists. We tried our first Bulgarian beer, and discovered what a large range was on offer for just over AU$1 for a very large bottle. The Bulgarians seemed to like a drink, with the fridge at the train station full of only sandwiches and vodka, and many men drinking beer early in the morning at cafes. The shops were full of local fruit, such as pears, apples, nectarines, peaches and plums- all nice and irregular, sweet and ready to eat. We were surprised to see horse and carts in use by farmers- something we saw all over Bulgaria.
The weather was refreshingly cool, and we were glad of the piles of blankets to snug under at night. We slept so well, felt relaxed and were enjoying being in a new country.

Old boys in the village, Koprivshtica

Koprivshtica window

Inside Koprivshtica church

Communist viewpoint, Koprivshtica

Nearly hidden, Koprivshtica

Wrestling match, Koprivshtica

Wonky old truck, Koprivshtica

The next town on the line was Karlovo. The train trip was exciting with several VERY long tunnels through the mountains, and the scenery was farms in the huge valley growing walnuts, cherries, grapes and roses. Bulgaria is by far the biggest producer of rose products in the world and this was the beginning of the romantic sounding Valley of the Roses. Karlovo was a quick stop for us, and a chance to spend a couple of days in an ordinary town with no particular tourist attractions. Bulgarians come here to pay homage to a revolutionary hero, but we just wandered around and discovered cafes and food outlets!

Wall art, Karlovo

Funky Communist-era art, Karlovo

Karlovo train station

A real old beauty, Karlovo

Couldn't get enough of these old Russian cars! Karlovo

When we left, there was some confusion about our train ticket, and we finally found someone who explained that we must change trains half way, but as our first train was an hour late arriving, we didn't have much hope of a connection. Much to our surprise, we were bustled off the first train by the conductor and fellow passengers, and onto a waiting second train with no problem at all. This happened a few times during our Bulgarian travels, and we were very impressed with the organization with connecting trains. The scenery changed to birch and beech forests and was beautiful.

A local hero, sign on the train station, Bulgaria

Typical old abandoned train station, Bulgaria

We arrived in Tryavna, and found our amazing spacious room with a local musician in the center of the quaint town, filled with atmospheric streets and old buildings. Another reason we had come to Tryavna was see the Dryanovo Monastery (Bulgarians traditionally follow the Orthodox Christian church). We had a great time getting there and back on the train, being dropped at a tiny station literally in the middle of no where without even a station, and finding our way through the wild blackberries, then the forest and along a picturesque river. However, we were severely disappointed with the tiny church with modern looking murals that passed for the monastery. We have extremely high monastery standards after traveling in Armenia and Georgia, and this place really didn't cut it. To be honest, most of the religious buildings we saw in Bulgaria were a bit average, by our standards, and the high fees charged for entrance and taking photos didn't help.

Beautiful river near Dryanovo Monastery

The station in the middle of nowhere!

Back in Tryavna, we enjoyed the long narrow streets with pretty timber framed buildings- some had been transformed into small hotels and cafes, and others were still atmospherically in various states of disrepair. People here loved their grape vines in their gardens, to eat, presumably, but also to keep the garden cool in the heat. Apples, hazelnuts were also prevalent, as were conkers.

Exterior of very old church, Tryavna

Sneaky pic inside the same church

Typical Tryavna garden with grapevine

Curious custom we saw everywhere in Bulgaria, especially on doors- remembering the dead

Cats for sale! Tryavna

Lovely cobblestone street, Tryavna

Traditional building, Tryavna

Run down old house, Tryavna

View of Tryavna

Example of National Revival architecture, Tryavna

Picturesque old windows, Tryavna

Another train trip through the forest brought us to Veliko Tarnovo. We decided to head up to Arbanasi, a small village on the top of a hill outside the town, and tackle the bigger, historic Veliko Tarnovo after a few days. Arbanasi was a bit of a disappointment. Yes, it had a lot of National Revival style houses and wobbly old streets, but it was also filled with wealthy Bulgarians and Russians and every second heritage house had been turned into a flash hotel, spa or restaurant. We found the only "locals" shop in the village, where we wiled away some time drinking beers out the front and watching all the rich tourists. Although it lacked the charm of Koprivshtica or Tryavna, we enjoyed the lovely friendly guesthouse and garden where we stayed, and met a few Brits who had bought up cheap old houses in the area to fix up and spend holidays (3,000 euros cheap!). We were surprised how few of them spoke Bulgarian, and didn't envy them negotiating with solicitors, builders, electricians etc with no language skills!

First time Sal's seen rose hip, Arbanasi

Old ladies sold lace outside the churches in Bulgaria

Love this crooked tree, Arbanasi

Lane way, Arbanasi

Lovely wall, Arbanasi

The absolute highlight of our stay in Arbanasi was the Nativity church, a wonderful domed shaped building which was on the inside filled in every square centimeter with intensely colorful murals. It was well worth the 6 lev/AU$4.50 entrance fee.

Looking down on us, Nativity church, Arbanasi

Lifesized figures, Nativity church, Arbanasi

Beautiful shapes in the Nativity church, Arbanasi

....continued with Off The Rails Part 2........