Hey!Don't these kids look good? We grabbed this family shot up on the Belmeken pass after a day long hike above the treeline in the Rila mountains.
What follows are a lot of pictures taken in the order of our trip through Bulgaria. We spent seven nights travelling the country, putting 1450 km on our little rental car in the process. Beaches, rain, forest, tourist frenzy, fog, Roman ruins, fishing boats, graffiti, wild dogs, shopska salad, fog, wild rivers, mountains, insane traffic, bad seafood, good pork stew, snow, caves, puke, horses, Nationalist pride, gypsies, sheep herders, AK-47 bayonets, lots of 1200 year old churches, one flat tire and just two kinds of cheese. All of it over roads made of dirt, pavement and potholes. If you click on a picture it will blow up to a bigger size, right click to download if ya' like. Most of the shots are taken by my dad or sister, on their digital cameras. I busied myself with slide film on the old school Nikon I still haven't managed to lose to a thief. Knowing me, you'll probably have to wait a year and half to see the shots.
Nevski Cathedral, the first of many churches and monasteries we dragged ourselves through. Despite the grandness they all start to look the same after the ninth one. High ceilings, yellow candles, and cranky monks with long beards.Rain put us out of commission to tackle the mighty Vitosha mountain so we decided to wander Sofia instead on their first full day in country. Good idea, considering the ahh, discomfort caused by the jet lag and my dad's first REAL hangover since Joe Kelly's 60th birthday. After letting them nap after debarking from the plane I dragged them to a campus BBQ, which inevitably led to late night drunken bowling afterwards. We had to keep feeding my Dad whiskey to keep him from kicking our asses.
I have a feeling that that the only thing more prominent than churches in this country might be the war memorials. This is one side of a four sided tower in downtown Sofia. It's either WWI or WWII. The Bulgarians sided with the Germans in both of them although in WWII they turned on the Germans in 44'
The changing of the guard ceremony in front of the presidential palace.
A shot down the rainy Vitosha Blvd.
We passed this town on the road out to the coastline. This is a typical example of a Bulgarian village, lots of red-tiled roofs clustered together. Each town is separated by open expanses of pasture, fields, and forest.
Church of St. Nikolai. Part of the Shipka monastrary built in 1902 as a dedication to those that died in at the Shipka Pass during the Russian-Turkish war. Is was yet another reminder of Bulgaria's violent history.
Panorama of the sleepy town of Shipka.
We arrived in Nessebar, on the Black Sea, later that day. We stayed in this ancient town for two days. Roman ruins in the form of churches and defensive walls still stood throughout the town, recalling its history as a Thracian port before the Romans captured it.
Sunset over the new part of Nessebar. We stayed out in the old town, located along the middle of a peninsula that jutted away from the shore.
Remnants of one of the several churches that still stood out on the peninsula.
Fishing boats along the harbor.
The girls with the old town in the background.
Much of the Black Sea coast is undergoing rampant development. This beach, just to north of Nessebar, is a typical example. The whole coast has become a cheap travel destination for all of Europe.
Thankfully we got there right before the tourist season was due to hit with full force.
Shopska salad, the regular Bulgarian starter. Pretty easy to make too. Tomatoes, cucumbers, green onion, peppers topped with sirene (a light feta-like goat cheese.) Basic oil and vinegar make up the dressing.
Black Sea shrimp.
Nearly all the traffic signs were new and translated into English. I think that it was part of the many stipulations to be accepted into the European Union. All of the major road construction we saw had signs listing how much the EU has paid for.
View from the road into Bulgaria's southern mountain range, the Rodopes.
Now you can see where I get my good looks from...
We stayed for one night in the town of Smoylan. The western end is visible here nestled in its narrow valley. Smoylan has the label of being Bulgaria's longest and skinniest town.
Judy on a short hike along the ridgeline above the town.
With Smoylan left behind we ventured deeper into the Rodopes to check out one of Bulgaria's longest caves. We found it just in time to take the tour and spent nearly an hour viewing stalactites and limestone formations. Sorry, no pictures.
A washout along the road to the Yagodintsa cave.
Not a bad place to change a tire...
The view of the Rodope mountains from the opposite angle.
Many of the villages along the southern border still portray the Turkish influence in their minarets and small mosques set apart from the typical red-roofed buildings.
Pursing the craft wares in Bansko. We arrived at this charming mountain town late, after a long drive out of the Rodope mountains. We were able to secure lodging easily in one of the many hotels that service the ski crowd that flock to the slopes during the winter. Bansko lies at the base of the Pirin range. This was my second time coming here.
Inside the Rila monastery. I visited earlier, when I first arrived to Bulgaria. I have more pictures of Bansko and the monastery in my earlier posts.
The Rila monastery is famous for the richness and variety of its murals.
Apparently hell sucks.
It's also one of Bulgaria's main tourist attractions.
After visiting the monastery we drove further up the road for a short hike. It started pouring rain right after we saddled up.
Although rain has never been a thing to discourage the Schmidt family.
We'll just find a cave to wait it out in... that, or a mine shaft.
And given enough time, the sun will probably come out.
Looking up into the Pirin range from our hotel balcony in Bansko.
Bulgarian rototiller.
My dad hopes that you are impressed by these wooden chairs.
We left Bansko and tore up high into the Rila range. We planned to stay at a high mountain hut, or hijha, for the next two nights.
Definitely had to get out and take lots of pictures along the way.
Old Bulgarian homestead. Probably one of the first buildings we saw without a red tile roof.
This was a local sheep herder that we ran into the following day during our hike.
We ended up finding lodging at the massive high altitude training camp for Bulgaria's Olympic team.
Setting off on a long hike above the trees.
Given the choice my mom would rather cross raging alpine creeks than city streets.
Most of these shots are off my dad's new Canon digital. He brought a monopod along to use both as camera support and a hiking staff.
I shot up a number of slide film rolls on the trip, most of it on this hike. As of yet I still haven't got the film processed... soon though.
We walked up on this small herd of horses up in the mountains. One of them, the mother of the foal, was wearing a cowbell to make them easy for their owner to find them. They didn't mind our presence too much.
Some of them were even rather photogenic.
Looks kinda like Middle Earth.
Another chance for a pose inside the Olympic facility.
Mechanized equipment in the river!!! My dad was shocked. Them poor fishies...
A view into one of the gorges we passed by coming down out of the Rila mountains.
Another curious local we spotted on our way back to the city.It was awesome to finally get out and see the Bulgarian countryside. Anyone that knows me has heard my feelings on big city life. Seeing the Bulgarian countryside changed a lot of my impressions, not to mention making me regret not getting out more than I did. My family spent another full day in Sofia before flying out early the next morning. We walked the city some more, splitting up to let the girls go shopping while my Dad and I checked out the Bulgarian military museum. They bought more stuff while we checked out Russian tanks, jets, and rifles. I was sad to see them go and I have to tell you all how much they helped in taking home a ton of my crap for me. Overall they were greatly impressed by Bulgaria and its people. I will miss this place and even though I am ready to leave, I'm glad that I saw as much as I could while I was here. Travel might not be for everybody, for sure, but once you start you might find it hard to stop.
