Mri Aspen Golf Bansko

... kann ich natuerlich ich auch kaum, die Bulgaren haben kyrillisch erfunden). Habe aber den Bus nach Rila in die Berge gefunden und war dort dann am Spaetnachmittag (erneut 60km fuer 2,50 Euro). Habe mich im Kloster einquartiert (10 Euro fuer die Nacht, Duschen gibt es keine), wenn die Tagestouristen weg sind ist es ganz nett. Touristen gibt es naemlich sehr viele ...

... late and missed the gondola ride that would take me up to the mountain, so I was stuck in a city where half of it was empty (its major industry is skiing in the winter), having nothing to do. I walked the streets, used the hotel’s wifi to go to internets and relaxed. I ate a simple dinner and tried their "draft wine", I guess it means homemade wine without filtering, and it was cheap and nice.

... back and continued on to Rila Monastery. We arrived early afternoon and found that a room was available so decided to stay overnight at the Monastery. The Monastery is in a forested valley and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was first built in 927 and has 300 monk's cells in buildings surrounding the Nativity Church. It continues to be a working ...

... out towards departure time to make sure we had gotten on it! The scenery was pretty average - could have been anywhere really with fairly flat regions all obviously under cultivation with something or other throughout the year. The little villages were a bit run down but better than I expected in some ways - all characterized with every house having several grape vines and often long ropes of what looked like drying ...

... 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 ...

... is in the process of teaching Mladen how to be a strong leader and train those in the church what it means to be a christ follower. Today, not a whole lot happened. Al and Diane let me sleep way too long, but I guess that it was needed rest because I do not feel tired in the least. My next post will contain photos of the place I am staying along with with the town. But here is a sneak peak at what I get to look at everyday.

... in Bansko, I went for dinner with two of the others. Tried the cold yogurt and cucumber soup that is on every menu, it wasn't bad but wasn't near as good as the cold soup that was in Latvia! Also had a shish or shish kebab to the rest of us, yummy stuff. Came back to the hotel and chilled on the patio for a couple beers again before heading in for an early night before the dreaded 6am start tomorrow.

... Two more hours on the bus and we were in Bansko. Got ready and then we went out for a big group dinner. The restaurant was a traditional place and had a gypsy band playing some music. Had some cured ham type of meat and then and amazing (!!!) rice, sauerkraut and shredded pork dish. Blew the one earlier out of the water! On the way back a couple of us grabbed some 2L bottles of beer (for $1.50!) and sat on the balcony for a couple of hours having some drinks.

... is free for anyone who wants to go, but no one goes. cause cold water is bad for you. and just so you know i do think it's true that if you get really cold, like sit in front of a drafty window during the winter for hours, then there's a chance it will lower your immune system and you could get sick blah blah blah... but this is entirely different from a summer breeze knocking you out. bulgarians are strange. but i still love them.

... church. Again on the inside it is very dark (and to be honest just a little dismal), but that's probably how the parishioners like it so no more *****ing from me. I much preferred the little St Nikolia church down the road (above right) and watching the speed-chess being played in the park as I cruised by - although the very short move ...