Halstatt House Guest House Varna

... being asked to leave the seat that had become his home for the last day and a half... Some passengers though gave us a hand to load the coach and we were soon on our way.

Then it was back to the warehouse to load the big van for Botevgrad and Skravena Roma communities. With both vehicles now fully loaded we convoyed back Botevgrad in the pooring rain for a rendezvous at HoJ with the girls and a quick turn around to get to our first ...

... soon full and we waved Tsvetan and his truck goodbye.

Then it was back to the town of Botevgrad to vist the Roma community and give out vouchers for the box distribution tomorrow. It was really good to see some old friends again. Having spent some time working in this community Rich, Mimi and Valya are quite familiar with the people there but it is still a shock to see just how poor this community is- 200 people, 2 outside taps, no toilets, pirated electricity and real ...

... Soviet influence still exacts a heavy price on those at the margins of Bulgarian life; so many young people sent to institutions because of disability or economic hardship. A Christmas present may not change the world but it does bring a little joy into theirs.

Anyways, Sophia, Lizzie and Rich are excited by all that is to come (although Rich tries to hide this) and are really looking forward to getting stuck in tomorrow...

... your enjoyment. But more than that, I came to the conclusion that snow hides a multitude of decrepit sins. You may have parks covered with little but dirt, broken glass, garbage and a few homeless people, but come the snows all is glossed over and it looks ready for the Queen to take a frosty stroll. The second factor is that the sun came out, which made everything look that much more shiny and new. Truly cultured visitors should see ...

... the tourists we are. A stroll in the Sofia City Gardens follows (some playing on swings is involved) and we pop into a Russian church on our way to Sofia's crowning glory, the Alexander Nevski Cathedral. Consistent with the day's theme, the interior is dark and gloomy, but outside....it is clear the cathedral's architects had entered a competition for most-domed building the world has ever seen. They're popping up everywhere. I shudder to think of drawing such an edifice on AutoCAD. I ...

... train for İstanbul. As the minutes til our departure ticked by - and still no platform decision got shared with us lowly passengers - we made an executive decision to just go platform to platform and ask each carriage attendant who we found. With some good fortune we found the Balkan Express about 10 minutes before departure. Many, many didn't... and we had much of the carriage to ourselves. At least they'll have a very stylish ...

... happy to help us and very soon we were merrily bunny hopping down the road (I should add that I was too chicken to drive myself, although I blamed the fact that my license had been stolen when I was in Edinburgh). We firstly drove about 20 ks north to a Monastery, where we were met by a monk who happily chatted to us in Bulgarian for about 5 minutes, of course none of us could understand him, but at least he was friendly. Behind the monastery was a track that followed a ...

... You buy 100 grams of Bulgarian cheese and two tomatoes for dinner (to make a pseudo-salad or whatnot), and it costs you a total of 30 eurocents. 9) The ministry of silly walks rules at the changing of the guards at the President Building. The soldiers shout "huss" and then high kick their way a couple feet forward while slapping their boots back down on the pavement. I have pictures - no joke! 10) You go see Pirates of the Caribbean (finally!!) and there is an ...

... the hotel room until 2:00 or 3:00. And that ruins the day for sightseeing, and cannot be done if I have to catch a morning train or plane. (It also means I don't get any housekeeping. Ack!) Lastly, it just seems wrong to me - 6:00 p.m. is Happy Hour, not the time to be having your breakfast coffee at a cafe, and I find it hard to make myself wait to start the evening. Hence, my conclusion that the 2:00 a.m. cutoff is good.

... a church, beside which the filming of something was going on. G was quite intrigued, so we hung around for a while, but nothing much happened; people with electronic equipment hanging from their belts walked to and fro, a prop helicopter was wheeled around, that was about it. The central part of Sofia is a pleasant place, with lots of shops, stately buildings and things to see. After we got settled into our room, we ...