SLOW TRAIN HEAVEN - Troyan and final thoughts, Bulgaria

.......previously, our terrific time in Shumen and Samovodene, with giant monuments and rock monasteries......

A series of three trains took us to Troyan, a town we knew had a famous monastery nearby, but apart from that we didn't have a clue what to expect. The first two rides were quite short with waits at random stations, and miraculously, all of the trains linked up perfectly. The third one was a new, AC comfortable change from every other train we had taken in Bulgaria. It was a joy to experience the gorgeous changing countryside along the way. The train trundled slowly and slightly uphill, as the scenery became more rural and the wooden housed villages became prettier and more rustic. As we pulled into the large town of Troyan, there were decrepit remains of factories and an industrial past, now surrounded by greenery and old style apartment blocks. 

Beautiful Troyan, Bulgaria

So many cute cats in Bulgaria!

Relying on buses from now on in this part of Bulgaria, and knowing the schedules to be less than frequent, we double checked local timetables as soon as we arrived and booked our ticket back to Sofia. having sorted that out, we then had a very leisurely stroll to our accommodation through the lovely town centre, via a cafe under a shady tree to enjoy a beer and a wine. A helpful fellow drinker helped us with the bus timetable, and we came to find out he was a fitness guru to some famous athletes, earning huge money (or so he said!). We somehow found our Air B and B apartment, despite being given no directions, instructions for entry or room number. The drinks hadn't helped with this process!

Kamenitsa beer and a smile, Troyan, Bulgaria

Buses from Troyan to the various small villages in the surrounding area were few and far between, and because of the timetables, we had to break our favoured routine of rising early, and getting out and about before the sun became too hot. 

Instead, we spent our first early morning wandering around the town centre, a lovely mix of back streets full of wonky old houses, traditional stone buildings with slate roofs and wooden supports, arty-farty statues placed along the riverside, Socialist-era central square and parks, and of course some newer additions including apartment blocks. It was all centered around a delightful river with plenty of shade from willows and other mature trees, and everything merged together in a most pleasing manner. It was probably the prettiest town we visited in Bulgaria this trip. 

Kiosk in Troyan town square

Rich, river and artwork, Troyan

Arty-farty finds around every corner, Troyan, Bulgaria

Old foot bridge, Troyan, Bulgaria

The bus to Oreshak village left at 10am, and on arrival we got off and pondered our choices. The massive Troyan Monastery gates were right there, but we decided to walk up the hill to a lesser monastery first before the heat blew us away. After a charming village stroll past many old style houses with wooden beams, neat wood piles and enchanting gardens, it was a bloody hard slog up a steep, thickly forested hill- the captivating scenery somewhat taking our minds off our sweaty huffing and puffing. Upon arrival, we found the absolutely tiny Saint Nicolas church to be completely deserted (and locked up, as usual). We sat and enjoyed a rest in the peaceful surroundings, and briefly considered continuing on to a longer hike we had seen on the sign posts. Quickly realizing this was mad talk, we climbed back down the stone path with wobbly legs to the Troyan Monastery entrance area. 

Lovely wooden village house, walk to Saint Nicolas church, Troyan

Typically relaxed Bulgarian cat, walk to Saint Nicolas church, Troyan

Sweet little cottage, walk to Saint Nicolas church, Troyan

Grape and flowered covered home, walk to Saint Nicolas church, Troyan

Finding the beginning of the track

Deep into the dark woods, walk to St Nicolas church, Troyan

Gorgeous light, walk to Saint Nicolas church, Troyan

Special little niche in church grounds, Saint Nicolas church, Troyan

Probably the most touristy place we had seen on this Bulgarian trip, and obviously set up for Bulgarian tourists, the 16th century Troyan Monastery's entrance was full of markets and shops selling the usual tourist tat- rakia, toys and religious paraphernalia. We almost didn't enter the place because of the tacky atmosphere. But we were glad we did, as once inside, the feeling changed to a more sombre tone, even with tourists taking pictures and wandering around, and the buildings were quite impressively beautiful. It reminded us of the rundown Prejmer Church in Romania in its style (we preferred the Romanian version!). We were free to pretty much roam where we liked, and no one asked us to purchase a ticket which was a bonus! The church had some quite strange paintings- we have no idea what they were about, but found them fascinating.

Framing a shot, Troyan Monastery, Bulgaria

Serene interior scenes, Troyan Monastery

All sorts going on in the church paintings, Troyan Monastery

Concerned white beards, Troyan Monastery, Bulgaria

Stunning exterior of Troyan Monastery, Bulgaria

Colour and pictures on every surface, Troyan Monastery, Bulgaria

A beer in the sun waiting for the bus back to Troyan just about finished us off for the day. What a great country!

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We absolutely loved travelling on Bulgarian trains. Regardless of the ubiquitous graffiti on the outside, and often less than clean interiors, they were always comfortable, if a little hot in the middle of the day, without having AC. An amazing achievement- of all the trains we took during our Bulgarian journey, only one was late, and that was only by five minutes! The rest left and arrived on the dot. We were perplexed by terrible state of some of the stations, one after another with broken windows and overgrown gardens- similarly, many of the adjacent villages seemed near to abandoned. The trains stopped at these places and sometimes people alighted, indicating there is a population living in these small communities, but maybe times were tough, and the residents had mostly left for some reason. Communist-era factories and manufacturing plants also lay unused by the stations, a reminder of more prosperous times in the past. All very sad.

That one time we snuck into first class, Bulgaria

Shumen railway station, Bulgaria

A faded beauty, taken from Bulgarian train

Transport was also more expensive than we were expecting. We remembered the trains being slow but dirt cheap on our 2016 visit. Now, the trains don't seemed to have changed, but the prices have risen considerably.

Extravagant, but aging station interior, Sofia, Bulgaria

Typically graffitied train, Bulgaria

Accommodation was obviously the largest chunk out of out travel budget in Bulgaria, with double rooms, usually with bathroom attached, sometimes a wee kitchen, being more expensive than other Balkan countries we have travelled in. Having said that, it was high tourist season in July, and many of the cheaper options seemed to get snapped up quickly. It was fortuitous in this way that we had chosen random smaller towns in which to stay, because of some quirky site or other on the outskirts, and costs were slightly lower than they might have been in Sofia or on the Black Sea coast.

Lovely room in Vratsa, Bulgaria

 

Rich flaked out in Sofia, Bulgaria

Restaurants being very expensive in Bulgaria, we frequented the fantastic small supermarkets full of local goods, and marvelled at the cheap prices- hard to believe this was in Europe! We were spoiled for choice with different breads, preserved meats, yogurts, dips, cheeses and pickled everything. Stone fruit was in season, and we loved the juicy peaches in particular. All shops had a wide range of cheap beers, wines and spirits- we'd forgotten how much they love a drink here! We didn't come cross many fresh markets, but there was enough in the small magazins to keep us supplied. 

Improvised picnic from a Bulgarian supermarket

Bulgarians also love a pastry. Number one is banistsa, a extremely inferior version of the Serbia burek. Especially in the morning, it is so common to see people walking around holding a stack of these soggy, oily horrors recently purchased for their breakfast. Our opinion.

Coffee machines are EVERYWHERE in Bulgarian towns- every few steps. A lot cheaper than a cafe (0.60 lev/£0.25 versus 3 lev/£1.30 or more), we often stopped in a park on a bench to partake in a pick me up. 

Of course, we enjoyed one of the biggest perks of travelling in the Balkans, good quality, but cheap alcohol. Sick to death of crappy South East Asian beers, Sal was delighted to discover a huge range of decent local wines and spirits, inexpensive enough to have in a cafe, but most often enjoyed bought from a local shop and sipped on our balcony . Rich discovered his favourite Bulgaria beer, out of dozens of varieties, was Kamenitza.

Almost the cheapest brand of wine in Bulgaria at under 5 lev/£2 a bottle (and delicious!)

Having walked through the back streets of many small towns and villages in Bulgaria, we appreciated the practicality of people's garden's. Most residents had some kind of produce growing, most often a grape vine, but also tomatoes, beans or fruit trees (commonly apricots and pears) to supplement the household with fresh home grown items, and perhaps a bit left over. It doesn't take up much room, and everyone should all be doing it. Woodpiles were another feature in practically every house, and some apartment buildings. Winter in Bulgaria must be seriously cold, and people are very prepared, even in July.

A typical wonderful Bulgarian village home and productive garden

Plenty of wood for winter, village near Troyan, Bulgaria

For us, the absolute highlight of our travels in Bulgaria was the abundance of nature. The country is so heavily forested, it was very accessible to get out into the countryside almost everywhere we visited. We coped with walking in the summer temperatures by rising very early, but we would love to revisit at a slightly cooler time of year. 

Secondary was the fantastic array of  "old Socialist stuff". Bulgaria doesn't seem to worry about erasing it's recent past, as many other nearby countries have done. There are fragments of the former Communist influence everywhere- in town squares, apartment blocks, monuments on hills, and many abandoned factories and public buildings. It must be an urban explorer's dream. We loved seeing parts of Bulgaria's history from the 1940s to the 1980s still standing.

Retro post office and telegraph office, Troyan

Solemn carving in the brutalist style, Shumen

Geometric patterns on post office, Sofia

Glorious fountain splashing in the sun, Sofia

A complete map of our Bulgaria 2024 travels

Bye bye Bulgaria!

It was goodbye, as we headed for Serbia, but certainly not forgotten. We loved our time in Bulgaria, and look forward to returning in the off season to more enjoy what the country has to offer. 

........next up, more adventures, as we take the slow train through southern Serbia to some new destinations.......