Sankt Peterburg Plovdiv

... whole process is starting again. The website took our credit card number and issued a receipt which we had to pass onto the guesthouse!

2. When someone tells you to catch a bus from Sofia to Plovdiv stick with your convictions and use the train!

NOW FOR THE GOOD BITS

The travel from Sofia to Plovdiv was pleasant and the scenery lovely. Our only regret was that we did not catch the train!

Plovdiv was always one of those places ...

... in Plovdiv and Vienna, and M. Jackson, because his death was the biggest news and she is a musician.

When I went back to the station to catch the train at 2130, I was happily surprised: I expected to spend the next 12 hours sitting up, but I found out that got a sleeper! And besides that, the whole car was filled with jolly and friendly international travelers. It was not a boring night.

9th June
Rila Monastery to Plovdiv
Sunny 31 degrees

We left the lovely Rila Monastery to drive to Plovdiv. It involved some backtracking to near Sofia and then on to the motorway to Plovdiv. Unfortunately, once again, the area is very smoggy and spoils what would be lovely views of the countryside and mountains. We arrived in Plovdiv and found our hotel ...

... hostel were really vague (no streets had any signage) and so we spent a bit of time trying to find someone who could speak some English to point us in the right direction. Just as we thought we were going to have to jump in a taxi we found a guy outside the station from Abu Dahbi who was in Plovdiv visiting family. He walked with us through town until we found some landmarks that corresponded with our directions - he was really nice and didn't want anything for helping us which was excellent ...

Saturday 16th May. We packed up and were on the road reasonably early and headed towards the border of Croatia where we crossed the border and drove through past Zagreb and towards Serbia. All was good and roads were fine though we had to pay tolls along the motorways we soon added up but it was a quicker way to drive there than the free regional roads. At the border of Serbia things got interesting as the border controls insisted we had to pay insurance as they said ...

... to put a fair sort of a dint in Nas' supplies of Wymehcko (pronounced Shumensko, believe it or not. Crazy **** cyrillic!). Steve's son, Geoff's cousin James also put in an appearance which is noteworthy mostly because of the havoc he managed to wreak in an amazingly short amount of time. James is a nice enough guy, but can't handle his alcohol, or at least, couldn't on this occaision. On Corey's (Geoff's good friend and old housemate) last night in Bulgaria, he came around to the ...

... of the train was kind and friendly and that's the only good thing of Sofya. The girl staying in the same compartment was an interpreter from Cyprus who spoke six languages. She had an experience to work in the Athens Olympic Games. She was also complaining of the train, saying she couldn't sleep in the diry and smelly train without beds. I agreed with her, but eventually I had a sound sleep. When I got up, she was also sleeping tight.

... the hill, the spot where we got engaged a few months ago, then tomorrow we will go to Sofia where Svetla has a monthly service to go to, I will visit the millitary museum while she is at the service, afterwards we will meet up possibly with her sisters or one of her friends. On Sunday we will travel to Haskovo and meet up with Magi who I have met several times. So a good couple of weeks so far. Anyway I have added a few pictures and video to this blog. Paul

... all, which was rather challening but well worth it. To cap it all of had the fun of trying to negotiate a menu written completely in Bulgarian. Its pretty tricky, especially when your trying to avoid the local staples such as goats tongue, chicken hearts and beef gizzards. I also hear raw pigs fat is a common meal, with a side of tripe soup. Yum. The Bulgarian countryside has been amazing, as i think i may have mentioned in my last entry. The hikes have been brilliant. Also ...

... them. I can't help but think that perhaps they are left as a reminder of where the country has been and to where they do not want to return. Bulgaria, like Korea, has been often fought over and ravaged because of its strategic location. It is such a deep history...I wonder if it is forgotten, a distant memory. Bulgaria exudes such peace and contentedness... After disembarking from the bus in Plovdiv at 8PM, I waited for Mary's friend, Nellie, and her friend, Rumin. They were the ...