Hikers Hostel Veliko Turnovo

For some reason or other, I always happen to have the most odd entries into a new city. Before in Sofia it was the deal with the trams. In Plovdiv, it was still interesting, but at least there weren't eveil people involved.I decided to walk this time. Perhaps a reflection of my events in Sofia, perhaps not. But anyway I was walking along the pedestrian ways and I was having a great time seeing some new places and seeing the local areas and not just what the tourism boards want us to see. I en...

Veliko Tarnovo is a nice little place. It mixes classic ancient cobble road streets with a nice relaxed mood. It's the place that tourists often forget to go to because they didn't bother to hear about it. It's a tourist trap in the making. It made me feel like Antigua, Guatemala. Both are classic ancient cities that were former capitals. They both have charm and are nice for a relaxing stop. But the difference is that Antigua is well-developed. Veliko Tarnovo still needs to get its act toget...

... is exactly how I wouldn't describe my time in Plovdiv :) Despite the lack of hot water one morning (really getting quite cold here - stop me if I'm going on about it too much), Plovdiv was fantastic. I travelled up with a few people I met in Sofia, which has been really good fun so far, and stayed in a wonderfully cosy place, the Hikers Hostel, in the old town area. Unlike Sofia, Plovdiv is a lovely place to just walk around and explore with no real purpose. The old town is all winding co...

The last stop in Bulgaria, and guess what? It's cold! Probably to do with the fact that Veliko Tarnovo is actually quite high up in the Balkan mountains. What is there to say about this place? It's really quite beautiful, there's a fantastic restaurant in town (I ate there every night :) and the Hiker's hostel is ideally located in the old town, overlooking the gorge and fortress ruins in the distance. My last few days in Bulgaria have been spent exploring the town and surrounding villages, t...

Veliko Tarnovo has been wonderful. I've been looking forward to mountains and rivers and forests for a while now and VT has certainly delivered. After three months in the Middle East I thought it would be a refreshing change. I was right. Two nights in a row I've said that I'm going to move on the next morning only to meet new interesting people or get invited on a new hike or mountain bike trip. If Romania turns out to be half this good I'll end up having a very good time in Eastern Europe. ...

Bulgaria doesn't make the headlines much. All I knew about the place, mainly from childhood, was learned from TV news ("Bulgarian weightlifting team caught using steroids at the Olympics - again") and radio comedy spots featuring colourful characters such as Bogdan the Turnip Boy - a country lad so poor that he lived in a turnip. Whilst there is a Mt Bogdan in central Bulgaria and the country in general is pretty poor, it was obvious that I shouldn't rely too heavily on these dubious sources ...

After a couple of restful days in Veliko Tarnovo, lovely Mila of the Hiker's Hostel at which I was staying organised a day trip out of Sofia to the hard-to-reach Rila Monastery, then put me on a bus late in the afternoon so I'd make my date the next day. With a forlorn look in her eye she waved me goodbye. What a gal - thanks for all your help mate! The French comedy subtitled in Bulgarian on the box looked funny but all I could do was admire more sweeping forest vistas out of the bus window ...