Hotel Elena Veliko Turnovo

... chip leaders with 4 players left . .
I took my mate down and was in "heads up" poker with a Bugarian fella.
My cards weren't the best . . but I finished a strong second place . . I felt like Arnold Schwarznegger in "Twins" when he read the manual for how to drive a car and then did it!
Needless to say we celebrated after the big win . .
The language barrier is rough . . but after its said and done what reigns when you travel alone is the fast friendships you ...

... to make jam and compots, mostly cherries and elderberries, helping in the garden, cooking for the whole group (there are 6 volunteers and 2 hosts) and helping around the village when their neighbors or workers need it. We go into Popovo, the 'big' town nearby every few days for things when we need them, but mostly we just keep it simple. Bread and salad from the garden for lunch, fresh vegetables for dinner - life is good.

Sometimes I look at what Mark and ...

Veliko Tarnovo was a great stop for us. A lovely chilled hostel, free t-shirt, a fort, and a waterfall. What more could you ask for? We took an early morning bus from Sofia and got picked up by a guy from our hostel. The people running this hostel were really amazing. They constantly had friends coming over to hang out, made us several lunches of sopska salad and sausages, and even organized a trip for four of us out to a swimming hole with a small waterfall to jump off ...

... about this and that's it.

I walk into town get the bits and wander over to a monument on a central bluff. This gives terrific views of the town perched on the hillsides. Then I walk through; find a path which crosses a railway bridge by the means of rotten planks and end up back at the hostel to blog.

I'll probably stay here one more night and leave on Saturday to get better traffic conditions.

Saturday we crossed over the Danube and into Bulgaria. I hadn't realised they used a different alphabet to English, but it somehow marked our first real change.



We visited a beautiful Bulgarian town called Veliko Tarnovo in the afternoon. Wandered around and had a lovely lunch of a big pizza and drinks (all for about £3!) ate some ice cream and did a spot of shopping. We spent the night in the Dayonovo monastery. It was a little weird and the ...

Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgarian: Âåëèêî Òúðíîâî, sometimes transliterated as Veliko Turnovo) is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Turnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists with its unique architecture. The ...

... I'm going to have to get a taxi to Gorna tonight, I was going to get a bus tomorrow but I'm not risking it at that time of night. After that little interlude I came back to the hostel to try and sort my train to Budapest out and then went off to see the fortress and have a wander about. The views from the fortress are amazing. The whole town is set on a hillside and is very picture postcard pretty. But of course my batteries for my ...

... us, but of course we had no idea where the"paying customers" would sit. After 2 more false starts, we were getting ready to leave when a man in a Lada Niva (remember them?) turned up and said something (sounding) menacing in Bulgarian to a couple behind us. They immediately got up and moved 10 meters to the other side of the seated area. He then "menaced" to us, and not being Bulgarian, but being sufficiently wary of ...

... head yes. Without a word, I was utterly confused. I gave up my search and perhaps my Bulgarian for the time being. I have decided I should learn one of each type of language in the world so that I can at least get by anywhere in the world. I really must tackle Spanish so that I can travel to South America, my last real continent to tackle. Antarctica can wait...West Africa comes next. Anyone with me? Anyone? Ok, well, I guess I better go pick up my laundry and head for the bus now. Ciao~

... only a small part of Bulgaria - in the North - but with being close to Veliko Târnovo, we saw city life and the rural life of Mindya. Every morning and evening in Mindya, goats and sheep (and their shepherd) passed by the house - excitement for all. We really enjoyed being based in one spot for 6 days, toodling about exploring and relaxing. Given the speed of the trains, distances, and the fact that we needed to retrace our steps into Romania - the decision to stay in one spot ...