A month and a half ago I bought tickets to Sofia and was sure that I had enough time to plan our Bulgarian trip. But I was wrong…
Three days before the trip I found myself without any plans. I nothing but the tickets…
Why? Because first there were Passover holidays, then Independence Day, million things to do at work, and then my baby Maya got a stomach flu for two weeks…
A week before the flight, it looked that I’d have to cancel, because of her condition.
But on that weekend, three days before the flight, she got better. She could already go back to the nursery, but was still too weak to fly with us.
Where do we go from here?
As I usually do, I simply take the first step and the following step appears.
The first things to do were to book accommodation for 2- 3 nights, rent a car, and make a general plan.
When we reach Sofia I’ll plan the rest…
Within a couple of hours my trip to Bulgaria with Shira started taking shape:
I booked us two nights with a local family through airbnb, hoping I’d meet good people who’ll be happy to help and direct us further.
The local families I’ve stayed with in the past have always turned out to be great guys. I was lucky to meet new friends that sometimes even became our personal local guides and sometimes even traveled with us.
I looked through an ebook about Bulgaria and decided on a direction.
Finally I booked a car through my favorite car rental website, completing the first step that will allow me to travel. The rest I will sort out later.
I’m writing this post from Sofia. We got here yesterday.
Today I wanted to go to the Vitosha mountains, but the rainy weather wouldn’t allow it.
But, our new friends, Ivo and Gerry, the hosts, already made this into a charming holiday!
Yesterday we spent the day together, shared fascinating stories and cooked toether a delicious Bulgarian meal.
At night, after Shira went to bed, we sat in the living room with some Bulgarian beer and didn’t stop laughing. 🙂
Today Gerry suggested we join her on a tour of her home town – Plovdiv (hour and a quarter drive south). Although it wasn’t in my plans, such offers always make me happy. Gerry said that the sun was shining in Plovdiv and she was excited towards our outing.
We went downstairs and… Oops… Good morning Bulgaria, the car wheel was clamped!
Parking arrangements in the center of Sofia are not so clear. I parked near the building, and couldn't see any sign suggesting I wasn’t meant to park there. To our relief the officers came fast to release the car. I payed a 15€ fine and we were on our way.
We came here to have fun and I forgot the incident right away. It’s an experience, too. 😉
Plovdiv is one of the most ancient cities in Europe, and second largest in Bulgaria. We had a private tour with Gerry and her friend Maria, who joined us today.
What could be better than a private tour from two local guides who know every corner of town! 🙂
And again – good morning Bulgaria…! What’s going on? Where’s my car today? Yesterday the officers explained the parking arrangements. I parked in a proper parking lot and payed in advance.
But as we already said – it’s all part of the adventure!
The good news were – that I won't need to pay for parking anymore and that I won’t forget this trip.
The facts are – today they towed my car, after yesterday’s ordeal.
Why? It turned out that even though I payed for parking, I didn’t notice that the three left spots were reserved for registered members only.
I found out where they took the car and decided to leave it there till evening, because we were going to walk around Sofia today anyway. So why bother with parking? 😉
Let's just go!
Gerry joined us on our walk through Sofia. Her love for the city got to me. I admit that I fell in love too.
As you can see, this day, that started with the car being towed, was moving to fresh and exciting places. 🙂
After our tour of Sofia the car returned to us and we went to the next stop on our trip – Vratsa.
We reached Vratsa and stayed in a small hotel in the Balkan Mountains – Ledenika Lodge, which lies near the largest Stalactite cave in Bulgaria – Ledenika Cave.
It a very big and impressive cave. One of its passages is very narrow, called Passage of Sinners. Legend has it that only the pure of heart can pass through it. So probably you’ll be happy to hear that we made it through. 🙂
After the cave we went for a walk in the forest and got to see its thick vegetation, fairy-tale like mushrooms and beautiful butterflies. Shira and I played the whole time – the memory game, helped us find the way back. “I spy” allowed me to get a glimpse of Shira’s world.
I was very proud of my girl climbing nearly all the way to the top of the mountain. 🙂
We went east from the Balkan Mountains towards the city of Pleven. The scenery changed – there were wide expanses dotted with red poppies…
We reached the village of Kements in the Pleven area. We are staying here for two days at a farm owned by Natasha and Tosha.
Luckily, we received have loving and caring Bulgarian couple. Grandpa Tosha took Shira fishing, and they returned an hour later with fat fish for lunch. Dessert was strawberries picked from the garden by Grandma Natasha and Shira.
After the meal Shira went to meet the animals – the cows and sheep.
In the evening we made a beautiful bonfire and BBQ. 🙂
In the morning we said goodbye to Tosha and Natasha and continued to our next stop – Ruse.
On the way we stopped at the magnificent Krushunski Vodopadi waterfall. The place isn’t listed on TripAdvisor, and I wouldn’t reach it without Tosha’s directions.
The waterfall is part of a nature reserve and there are several walking paths through breathtaking vistas.
Again I saluted Shira for her adventurous spirit. The little one didn’t give up and claimed all the way to the top of the waterfall with me.
We reached Ruse, the city on the Danube. Our hotel is right on the banks of the river with a view to… Romania. 😉
That’s right, the border is only a hundred steps from where we are.
We walked all over town. Ruse is definitely one of the more elegant cities in Bulgaria. And the vibe here is wonderful!
Today I planned to visit the Rusenki Lom Natural Park (about an hour’s drive south of Ruse), but we woke up feeling we wanted more of the city. Yesterday we were out till night and enjoyed every moment of it.
Shira was the first to say what we both felt – “Mommy, I don’t feel like a new place today, I want where we were yesterday…”
Good thing our plans are flexible!
We went back to another fun day in Ruse.
I offered Shira to choose an activity. She asked to buy water colors, paper and to go to the park.
When traveling time moves differently. Each day we experience a lot of new things. There is no routine. Everything is exciting and interesting. After a week on the road it felt like at least a month went by.
I realized that my girl had to let some of her experiences out through the paper. It’s a great way to make room for new ones!
In the park Shira met local friends Meliana and Johanna who happily joined her drawing workshop. 🙂
Only yesterday it seemed that we got a bit tired and had enough… But this morning the energy came back when we arrived at the Blue House of Mike and Jerry in the village of Srebarna (12km from Silistra).
We got to meet a wonderful couple with a fascinating life story: Mike and Jerry came to Bulgaria as tourists from England a decade ago and fell in love with the quiet country life. After going back home they decided to live their dream. They sold their house, left their jobs (Jerry was a bank manager, Mike was a social worker) and bought this house in Srebarna.
Since then they gave their hobbies full attention and made them into a successful business.
Near the village lies the Srebarna Nature Reserve, which draws bird spotters from Bulgaria and the world. It turns out that you can see here half the birds of Bulgaria!
Mike who was a bird enthusiast, immediately recognized the opportunity and set up a place for bird watchers to stay while in the area.
Yeah, apparently there are quite a few! Jerry helps Mike with the business and also came up with one of her own – she teaches English all over the world through the internet. This morning she had a lesson in China, and at the afternoon in Russia. Tomorrow she’ll teach Greeks and Turks.
In winter the birds migrate south. Mike and Jerry, too. Every year, between November and March, they lock up the house and go traveling the globe.
Jerry told me that tonight we’ll be joined by two tourists at the guest house.
I understood from her that they are real bird spotters, unlike us. As we got here by chance along our improvised trip. 😉
I imagined two bespectacled nerds… And then, into the garden came Mike followed by a young woman and a small girl that seemed to be the same age as Shira.
“Ladies, say hello to Marian and Rebeca…”
Wonderful! We earned new friends, soul mates, a mother and daughter (from Scotland) traveling alone… And yes, they too have a fascinating story! 🙂
After the delicious dinner Mike prepared (he is now our chef too) we put Shira and Rebeca to bed together. When traveling life works in a different way – friendships happen in minutes and it feels like we’ve known for years. That’s how our girls felt, too. 🙂
Marian and I took some wine and sat talking in the moonlit garden.
Marian was born in Scotland. Her parents owned a small guesthouse. So she used to meet many travelers everyday while growing up. She was awestruck by their stories and wanted to visit other countries too, but her family couldn’t afford it…
At the age of 19 Marian sold her fur coat for 40£ and bought a bus ride to Greece for 16£. She left her home to see the world having only 24£ in her pocket…
Since then she managed to visit all six continents. She worked at odd jobs along the way. After a few years she went back home to study education and completed her masters. Since then she’s been traveling while working as a teacher, mainly as an English teacher at international schools where diplomats’ children go.
For the past two years she’s been teaching in Sofia (together with her husband). Next year they will move to Namibia.
In the morning we joined Mike and Marian for a tour of bird watching. Their passion to birds made me curious.
We watched different kinds of birds: their courtship dance, hunting for fish, nesting birds and also birds flying above.
On the way back we met Vasko, a shepherd from the village, a very nice and funny guy. We spoke long and he also wanted to have a picture together.
He said that he can’t afford to travel, but he sees the world through Mike’s guests.
Marian smiled at him with understanding…
And here we crossed Bulgaria and got to Varna! 🙂
We stayed at a 4-star hotel for a ridiculous price of 30€ per night for a couple including breakfast.
The list of surprises isn't over yet – we met here, completely by chance, my Australian friends, Erin and Josh Bender, who have been traveling the world for the past three years together with their two children Mia and Caius.
Our paths have crossed in Bulgaria after we missed each other when they came to visit Israel last year, while I was in Romania.
We met at Aqua Paradise Nessebar water park. Erin dragged me to a high slide I’d never dream of going on! The adrenaline was rushing in my body as I was taking the turns and shooting out into the pool. 🙂
“It’s not that bad here. If you were with us in Dubai… That's really scary… Come on Zoe!” Erin said, daring me go with them. 😉
“Erin, luckily for me they don’t allow Israeli passports into Dubai, so we’ll never meet in that water park there!” 🙂
To calm my heartbeat after the curves on the slides we went the following day to the Black Sea and to watch a show at the delphinium.
We will soon start our way back to Sofia, stopping at the first Bulgarian capital – Veliko Tarnovo.
This is the route we came up with along our trip:
The visit to Veliko Tarnovo, the first capital of Bulgaria, was a beautiful ending to our trip. It is one of the most ancient cities in the country and it’s history took us back hundreds of years to the Second Bulgarian Empire.
We returned to Sofia, tomorrow is our flight back home…
We had a fascinating and diverse trip… Will miss Bulgaria and sure come back someday! 🙂
Marian and Rebeca, who we met earlier, invited us to stay at their house on the night before our flight.
A big thank you to all of our new friends. You made this Bulgarian adventure an unforgettable experience! 🙂
