Hotel Downtown Ski & Spa Bansko

... hauptsaechlich Bulgaren.

Das Kloster wurde 927 gegruendet und durch seine Lage tief in den Bergen half es die bulgarische Kultur in den 500 Jahren in denen Bulgarien zum ottomanischen Reich gehoert zu erhalten.

In den bulgarischen Kirchen, die wie alle orthodoxen Kirchen reich verziert sind, darf man leider nicht fotografieren.

Gruss
Ralf

A lot of Americans celebrated and had fun on this day but not me. I went to the central bus station on time to catch an early bus but somehow the cashier sold me a wrong ticket so I missed the bus, and then she refused to give me the refund. The first really unpleasant experience for this trip. And the day didn't get much better after this. I ended up catching a later bus to Bansko, but because of that I ...

... with some rooms always available for travellers. The Church is stunning with 1200 magnificent murals, inside and out, and also holds Tsar Boris III's tomb; it's believed he was poisoned by the Nazis. We spent the afternoon around the Monastery, and then walked to the nearby village restaurant/pub for dinner. Looking forward to a lovely peaceful evening.

... gorgoeus. In another shop as a reward for saying thankyou to the shopkeeper in Bulgarian she gave us half an apple each! The trip back to Sofia was colder than the trip out as the sun had set so we were all bundled up with our beanies, glove and ski jackets in full use - even the locals were rugged up so I didn't feel too touristy! When we got in a cab in Sofia it was -3'C outside so no wonder the bus was so cold as the ...

... is www.hotel-magi.hit.bg and you can email them at hotel.magi.velingrad@abv.bg The rooms are quaint, separate bathroom and heated. Still find it strange to just stand inside the bathroom and turn on the shower without having to stand in either a bath or shower bay. Will give an update on the food soon as we have eaten. Went to a nice restaurant for our dinner, it even had a live gypsy band playing. Had a great selection of ...

... a wide range of diseases. 9000 litres of water per minute spring from the five thermal and mineral deposits in Ladzhene, Kamenitsa, Chepino, Rakitovo and Kostandovo. We decide to make Velingrad our next stop in our tour of Bulgaria. The quaint little township has its streets lined with birch, poplar and linden trees, each adding to the colour of the streets with their gold, brown and red leaves. Old woman constantly work along the streets to try and keep the leaf litter to a ...

Another relaxing morning in preparation for tomorrows ridiculously early start. Headed out with 2 others for an early lunch and to check out the sights of Bansko, a Bulgarian ski resort town. A cucumber, tomato and cheese salad hit the spot. After lunch we wandered around the small town and got to know all the little side streets before stopping for a coffee outside a cafe for some people watching ...

Had a lazy morning since we weren't leaving Sophia until 2. Got moving just before noon and then went in search of food. Quick piece of pizza, of course covered in Ketchup. I'm actually starting to get used to the ketchup on pizza slices! Then I tried to do some travelers errands. Browsed some stores and bought a bracelet for my mama while I waited for my pictures to be burnt to a CD. Made friends with the girls at the picture shop and then went to find more ...

... she is v**y black] making a weird face. I was a bit insulted since this pcv is one of my good friends, especially since I learned during training that the word my neighbor used for black (ch**na) is insulting - the correct word to describe a p**son is 'negra.' I tried not to react since maybe I misund**stood, but just said yes she is a 'negra [girl, you are v**y smart]' with I'm sure more sarcasm than I should have. My oth** friend asked [African Am**ican, right?] and I told ...

... school to go home to her town, and has already invited me to her house in the mountains over the summer. The school has the rare combination of really needing me (all the teachers can use me to improve their english, plus the secondary teacher is teaching 8 levels - 5th thru 12th - by herself!!) but they also have lots of nice stuff, like 2 computer rooms, internet access, a picture scanner, and even a web camera. they got the stuff ...