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

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.......

OFF THE RAILS, PART 2- Slow Train Through Bulgaria

.....here is the first part of Bulgaria training through some picturesque villages.......

After a few days, we moved down to the dramatic setting of river side Veliko Tarnovo. We decided to stay at our first and only hostel in Bulgaria, and found it good value (especially with the enormous breakfast AND dinner that were included!), with lots of lovely sunny places to sit and chill, but rather noisier than we'd become used to. It was full of young people travelling around Europe, although many of them seemed to be on the same trail.

Universal drink, Bulgaria

Decorated electric box, Veliko Tarnovo

More cats than dogs in Bulgaria :)

We immediately liked the rough around the edges town, and spent a lot of time walking and exploring in the old quarter. First to the huge Communist style monument with wonderful views over the town, then to the Byzantine buildings in the Asenova area down by the river, with wonderful views up to the fortress, various churches, view points, squares and back streets, and finally, to the fortress itself presiding over the city. We are self professed Indian/Rajastani fort fanatics, and to be honest, they are pretty awesome and hard to beat. However, the fortress in Veliko Tarnovo was pleasant, and we even found some forest paths around the bottom away from the hoards of tourists.

Simple back streets of Veliko Tarnovo

View of Veliko Tarnovo

Church dome, Veliko Tarnovo

Gorgeous Byzantine architecture, Veliko Tarnovo

Asenova area, Veliko Tarnovo

Veliko Tarnovo fortress with moody sky

The church inside the fort, Veliko Tarnovo

Inside the church, inside the fort, Veliko Tarnovo

A town of views, Veliko Tarnovo

Fortress gate, Veliko Tarnovo

Close up of Byzantine window detail, Veliko Tarnovo

Forest path away from the crowds, Veliko Tarnovo

After a few weeks of traveling, we decided to head to what we knew in advance was the most touristy place in Bulgaria and home to many package tourists- Slanchev Bryag, or the horribly English named Sunny Beach. Sal had never been to an European beach resort before, and we thought it might be fun to embrace the tackiness and relax in the sun for a week or so. The quite swish apartment we found for a bargain price on Air B and B was also a good incentive. Well, it was tacky and built up; developed just for tourists; full of overpriced restaurants offering full English breakfasts and fish and chips; gaudy shops full of crap; overweight Russians and Brits; sex shops and nightclubs. Needless to say, it was not our scene at all, but we still had a good relax on the surprisingly lovely and warm beaches, enjoyed our comfortable room, people watched from our balcony, ate good Bulgarian food from a cheap cafe we found, and cooked for ourselves in our own kitchen. Our apartment complex was quite deserted, as were many of the hotels in town, and we were glad we hadn't come in July and August when the thousands of hotel rooms are full and the crowds must be horrendous. After a not very "Bulgarian" experience at the beach, we were ready to head back to the capital, Sofia, for our last few days. We won't be rushing back to Sunny Beach!

Sofia was not the most inspiring capital city we have visited, much of it having been destroyed in WW2, when Bulgaria chose the wrong team, sided with Nazi Germany, and were extensively bombed as a result. There were bits and pieces that interested us, such as the magnificent St Alexander Nevsky cathedral with it's multicoloured murals of icons and black and white tiles, and the small but fascinating market out the front filled with lace items, old photography equipment, paintings, Soviet and Nazi memorabilia, including old uniforms, pins, daggers, watches and medals. It was charming to discover the three gorgeous buildings of the old synagogue, the Ottoman style mosque and the Russian style Church of St Nicholas the Miracle-Maker all within a block of each other. The people were friendly enough, apart from the mean priests in the churches who shouted at Rich for taking photos. Most of the churches we saw in Bulgaria were topped with round domes, which from the inside had a mural of Jesus looking down, lots of sweet smelling incense and bearded black-robed priests.

Church of St George, oldest building in Sofia

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, a real beauty

Detail above the door, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia

Solemn looking mosaic, Alexandra Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia

Russian style Church of St Nicholas the Miracle-Maker, Sofia

Moorish revival synagogue, Sofia

Colourful former Turkish baths, Sofia

Millions of icons, market, Sofia

Monument to the Bulgarian Army, Sofia

Public transport in Bulgaria was generally wonderful. We tried to take the train everywhere we could, although locals told us the bus was faster. We loved the close up views of the countryside, the rocking rhythm of the train, and the interaction with people. They were incredibly cheap, and apart from one occasion, usually on time.

Excited before our first Bulgarian train trip!

Lovely scenery, Bulgarian train ride

There is an excellent train website, that we often pored over finding the best and most scenic routes to places. An strange sight was the elderly women employed to keep the tracks clean of rubbish and weeds- definitely successful, as we have never seen such spic and span tracks! Buses we took we also fine and the tram system in Sofia was very free and easy (as in no one pays!)

Typical railway station kiosk, Bulgaria

Funky Bulgarian ticket office

Ticket in Bulgarian- had to learn quickly!

Incredibly clean train tracks, Bulgaria

Station master waving the train off, Bulgaria

Bulgarian food has a lot in common with Greek, with the national salad shopska being the same ingredients as a Greek salad, just cut up differently. They eat a lot of pizza, kebabche (spicy sausage), and kofta, (rissoles) as well as doner kebab in fast food joints. Other national dishes we tried were bob, a kind of bean casserole, and tarator, a cold yogurt based soup, both liberally sprinkled with the national herb, dill. Most places we stayed didn't include breakfast, but in Arbanasi, we took advantage of our host's good cooking and tried the continental style breaky one morning, and the far more exotic banitsa- a filling and delicious cheese pie with Bulgarian yogurt the next day. They love their cheese here- it's either sirene, a white feta cheese, or kashkaval a mild yellow cheese. The famous Bulgarian yogurt lived up to its name, and many mornings we enjoyed it with fruit and muesli. A meal in a cheap cafe or restaurant for two with beers was about 10-15 lev/AU$7.50-AU$11, and a slice of pizza roughly 1.50 lev/AU$1.10. Local beers were very cheap (less than 2 lev/AU$1.50 even at a more upmarket cafes), as were bottles of Bulgarian wine (less than 3 lev/AU$2.20 a bottle), and there were coffee machines absolutely everywhere in the streets (0.50 lev/ AU0.40 cents a cup).

Enjoying a Bulgarian beer in Koprivshtica

Bulgarian shopska salad- same same but different to Greek salad

Kebabche dinner, Bulgaria

Unidentified berries, Bulgaria

Tarator, a cold yogurt soup, Bulgaria

Mmmmmmm, we loved bob, Bulgaria

Breakfast, Arbanasi

Banitsa for breaky, Bulgaria

Our selection of Bulgarian wines, Slanchev Bryag (Sunny Beach)

Hazelnuts there for the taking! Tryavna

All the rooms we stayed in were immaculate, and cozy, sometimes with attached bathroom, sometimes shared, always hot water, TV (Bulgarian TV leaves much to be desired!), WIFI, and very comfortable and friendly. The cost was on average 35 leva/AU$25/£15, which, of course isn't cheap by our usual Asian standards, but certainly is in Europe.

Cute little kitchen area at guesthouse in Koprivshtica

Great room in Tryavna

Guesthouse garden, Arbanasi

Outside guesthouse, Arbanasi

Our "apartment" in Sunny Beach

Even though Bulgaria is in the EU (but has it's own currency, the lev), there is a certain mentality that separates it from Western Europe. It seems much more laid back in it's interpretation of "the rules", with things like smoking in public areas very prevalent. Although we don't like the smell of cigarette smoke, it was refreshing to see people being sensibly considerate with their fags, but still able to smoke outside cafes, train platforms and on room balconies.
The extremely Indian look of the local gypsy people was unexpected- nothing like the appearance of the "gypsies" in the UK. Most of them were ragged and poor looking, and there were a few beggars in Sofia, but mostly they stayed to themselves. We were very shocked to see a shanty town from the train, full of gypsies, rubble, falling down shacks and rubbish that would not have looked out of place in India.

Bulgarians have an extremely confusing tradition of shaking their head from side to side for "Yes", and nodding their head up and down for "No". Nothing like the Indian head wobble, which can mean various things, this was a definite unmistakable opposite gesture to what we know. You can imagine the puzzlement this caused in conversations. For example, on the train we asked a man "Is this stop Karlovo?", he shakes his head, we sit down, then have to jump up again when we pull into Karlovo. He meant yes. Another time, we asked a lady on the street if she spoke English, and she nodded. We were confused when we asked her a question in English and she had no idea what we were talking about!

Overall our month in Bulgaria was an enjoyable, easy and relaxing  time, and a great way to spend our last weeks in Europe.
We've been so lucky for the last eight months to be able to see so many of our lovely friends and family in the UK/Europe, and we are so sorry for those we were forced to miss, due to an unexpected lengthened stay in the UK due to Rich's health problems. The biggest thank you of all is to our sister and brother in law in Cambridge for their generosity and putting up with us for long!
Now, it was time to leave this part of the world, and head back to Asia and see what has been happening since we left eight months ago!

The man in seat 66!

.....next, a lovely pictorial of knobs, knockers and doorways of our Europe trip......