Best Western Hotel Royal Plovdiv

... antique stores everywhere with a big emphasis on all things Russian. The Arts and Crafts were quality, quality, quality which was a relief after seeing so many 'bad' souveneirs. I will say that Bronwyn did get to add to her snowglobe collection but I will let you judge the quality of that yourself.

Plovdiv is a hilly place so tremendous views were all around. In the evening we happened across a concert in the Roman Ampitheatre which was a real treat ...

... to explore the old town by 1900. After that I went back to the train station and looked for a place to eat. I found it but its menu was in Bulgarian only. Luckily Maria on the next table helped me to order some salad, soup and fish and a bottle of wine, so we had a nice conversation while sharing the wine. She is a drummer from Plovdiv but living in Vienna now. We talked about politics ...

May 28th - Belgrade to Plovdiv (Bulgaria)
After checking out of the hostel we spent all the Serbian money we had left at the supermarket on breakfast. Walking down to the train station we took a few snaps of the bombed out buildings, the locals must have thought we were crazy. The train had definately seen better days, on the compartment wall we sat in someone had written 'condemned by ministry of health Nov 2008'. Even so we made friends with an old Serbian man who came to sit with us ...

... speaking Tour Leader who will assist with visa technicalities, as well as guiding · Two nights accommodation in 3 star hotels · Two breakfasts · Assistance with renewing your visa without any effort. Things to do in Plovdiv: · Ancient Roman Amphitheatre · Bachkovo ...

... together and I listened to the two of them talking about their tales of hiking in the Middle East. They were really interesting guys, the Dutch guy was especially fascinating. We went to a nearby restaurant for dinner and it was all a bit 'drunken Brits abroad' at one point, I did feel a bit sorry for the poor woman serving our rowdy table. I did make a point of ordering in Bulgarian though to try and show that we weren't total savages but I'm not sure how much it ...

Southeastern Europe continues to astound me with its beauty, fully making up for the monotonous flatness of the beginning of my trip. The bus ride from Veliko Tarnovo to Plovdiv was stunning, travelling from flat plains, up into snow-clad mountains, and back again. Walking to my hostel, I was urgently gestured to the side of the road by a policeman. About ten people were standing there, waiting. For what I wondered? Was there a bomb scare? A drug bust in action ...

... we needed a visa, which meant everyone had to get off the train. Anyone who needed a visa had to wait in line outside one building to get the visa and then wait in line inside another one to get our passports stamped. We had checked (and double and triple checked) ahead of time what the fee was for everyone, what currencies were accepted and if coins would be accepted. I had a pile full of Euro coins, and no bills in Euros ...

... had been sitting on a bus since seven Monday morning when he left London (it was two on Wednesday afternoon). In fact he is now a naturalised Englishman but he was from Plovdiv. He was coming back for the for first time in five years. It wasn't a question for him of the bust costing less than a plane. He's English - one of those lucky blokes who has Ryan Air and Easy Jet at his fingers - he can fly to Europe for the weekend for a day's wages, not two weeks' salary like for me. He ...

... word and then start back down the hill - their quarry gone so further ascent pointless. That was the last I saw of them fortunately, ducking into a bomb shelter restaurant I'd been thinking of having dinner at later on. I don't exactly know whether they would have mugged me in the end but they looked pretty shady so I'm glad I didn't stick around to find ...

... entry visa stamps. He didnŽt compare the passport photos with the faces of the travelers that carried them. He didnŽt even bother to look at the fronts of the passports to see in what countries they were issued. If the drug carrying kid Billy Hayes from Midnight Express had been on this train heŽd have gotten through with no difficulty. Hell, we all could have gone through; bags filled with drugs, guns or anything else weŽd chosen to smuggle out. The fast stamping ...