April 2001 Bulgaria Trip Report

During Easter, 2001, I went to Bulgaria to visit my girlfriend Anna and her family. Click on one of the thumbnails to see a larger image.

Arrival

I arrived in Sofia, where Anna met me. It was late in the afternoon by the time the flight arrived, so we spent one night there, at the Hotel Repos (Репос). This is a private hotel and was, in my opinion, much better than the Hemus, where I had stayed during the previous trip. Anna didn't think it was any better, and certainly the bed was more uncomfortable for some reason. Perhaps it was that combined with the strain of traveling, but my back was very sore that first night. The Repos is near the central train station, so it's very convenient for catching trains, buses, and trams. We caught a bus the next morning for Plovdiv (Пловдив), which is Bulgaria's second-largest city.

Plovdiv

The hotel in Plovdiv was one that we had found on the web, the Hebros (Хеброс). It's located in the old city in a house that is decorated in the style of the Bulgarian National Revival. The hotel was excellent in all aspects, and both Anna and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a place to stay in Plovdiv. It's very small of course, so you'll probably have to book well in advance. After checking in, we set out on foot to see the old city. This spot was near the hotel and was typical of the streets and buildings in the area.

A bit further on, we came to the ruins of a large Roman amphitheater. It was uncovered during a landslide and subsequently restored. It's now used for concerts and other events.

This church was pretty unusual; part ancient, part more modern.

Eventually we wandered out of the old city and onto a large pedestrian mall. There were lots of cafes, a kid's circus, and one man was selling rides on a small fleet of little electric toy vehicles to children. Fortunately we were not run over by any unlicensed five-year-old drivers :-).

The mall leads to the central square, which surrounds the main post office and telephone center. Right across from it are the ruins of an ancient Roman forum. (You can see one of the fleet of toy cars to my right in the first picture.)

We went to the central bus station to inquire about buses going to the Bachkovo Monastery (Бачковски Манастир). Then on the way back towards the hotel, we detoured off to find a music shop so I could get some Bulgarian folk music CDs. These pictures were taken in front of a mosque that we passed which was located above a restaurant.

That night, we ate dinner at the hotel's restaurant--smoked salmon for me and mushrooms (what else :-)?) for Anna. Afterwards, I asked Anna whether she knew the story of the Wizard of Oz. She didn't, so I gave a short summary of how Dorothy had acquired her ruby slippers and how eventually they carried her home. Then I took out a ruby slipper pin that I had found and placed it on her shirt above her heart. I told her that these slippers would carry her away if she wished it, and asked "Ще се ожениш ли на мен?" (my Bulgarian version of "Will you marry me?"). She said "за мен" (I of course had picked the wrong preposition, but I couldn't well ask her about it beforehand), before saying that, yes, she would :-).

The Bachkovo Monastery

On Sunday morning, we checked out of the hotel, then caught a taxi down to the central train station, which is near the bus depot. We left our luggage in a storage room there and then went to catch a bus to the Bachkovo Monastery. It's a short bus ride, probably only about thirty minutes. Anna had made the trip many times since it's on the way to Madan (Мадан), her birthplace, and Zlatograd (Златоград), where her family lived before moving to Varna (Варна). The bus stops just beside the highway. There's a group of restaurants, stands, and shops there, and a road leads up the hill to the monastery. These photos were taken just after we got off the bus, and on the way up the hill. The words over the gate read "Most holy Virgin, have mercy on us and redeem us."

Inside the monastery, it was very crowded, as might be expected on Palm Sunday (Цветница). I also found out later that the day before is St. Lazar's Day (Лазаровден) in Bulgaria. In its origins, it was a celebration of girls attaining marriageable age, which seemed appropriate given the circumstances :-). The line waiting to get in to the church in the center of the courtyard was so long that we didn't even attempt it. The monastery and the surrounding scenery are very beautiful though.

Some of the trees inside the monastery were so festooned with martenitsas (мартеници) that you could hardly see the leaves. Martenitsas are another custom that is unique to Bulgaria. They are worn in March to celebrate the coming of spring and to bring health throughout the year.

Back in Sofia

We caught the bus back to Plovdiv, picked up the luggage, and then caught another bus back to Sofia. We were still staying at the Repos, but thankfully the bed agreed with me a little more on the subsequent nights. We had planned to get married in Bulgaria, since it's much easier for Americans to travel to Bulgaria than for Bulgarians to visit the US. In order to do that, I needed a document certifying my eligibility to marry. That document is issued and notarized by the US Consulate in Sofia, then authenticated by the Bulgarian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. I had an appointment on Monday morning for the interview to get such a statement. We left the hotel early and got to the Consulate a little before the time of the appointment. There was a big crowd of people waiting around for visa interviews, but as an American citizen, I was let in immediately at the time of the appointment. The privileges of being lucky in where you were born... I was shown to an office, someone took my statement and the appropriate information about Anna, they printed up the declaration, and then called for the vice consul. He came in, verified that the statement was true, then we each signed it and he stamped it with a consular seal. Then the person who took the statement gave me the address of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and I was done. The whole thing probably took less than thirty minutes. We caught a taxi over to the ministry, which took even less time to authenticate the statement. Both of us were a little surprised at how fast everything was. We had been expecting to be fighting bureaucracy for the whole day :-).

Given the extra time, we spent the rest of the day wandering around in the center of the city. Things are definitely changing from my point of view. There's a subway now, though I don't think it goes very far. TsUM (ЦУМ, what used to be the big central department store) is now a mall that looks very western. And the number of upscale shops seems to have generally increased. Whether the economy is really generally improving slowly or whether the wealth is still confined only to the top of society, I don't know. The first picture here is in the subway; the second is in TsUM.

Another newly upscale place used to be a collection of stores selling meat. You can still get meat, but now there are some clothing stores and other shops in the same building, and it's a lot fancier.

These statues are of Pencho and Petko R. Slavejkov (Пенчо и Петко Р. Славейкови), two popular Bulgarian writers, in Slaveikov square. (Thanks to Anna's friend Plamen for the identification.) Appropriately, the square features a large collection of outdoor book sellers.

We eventually wandered in the direction of the largest church in Sofia (in all of Bulgaria?), the St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral (Храм-паметник "Св. Александър Невски"). It's enormous, and was built in the early 1900s as a memorial to the soldiers who died for Bulgarian independence. Nearby is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is flanked by a large statue of a lion.

The area around the cathedral has a number of interesting sights: the National Assembly (Народно Събрание), the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Българска Академия на Науките), and the Monument to the Liberators.

There's another very distinctive church in the area too, the St. Nicholas Russian Church. The style is quite different from many of the Bulgarian cathedrals.

Here are a few more pictures from around Sofia. I'm not quite sure what they are, but I have the excuse that Anna was the one taking them :-).

Varna

We took a bus from Sofia to Varna on Tuesday morning, arriving by mid-afternoon. The hotel was near the center of the city, and very convenient to the Sea Garden. We needed to wash clothes by this point, so decided to go over to the apartment of Anna's parents. We were also planning to visit on Wednesday evening, when we'd break the news, so I was a little nervous. I had started thinking a little about what I'd say, but hadn't decided yet. Also, since Anna's parents don't speak English, I wanted to have a chance to rehearse a little and look up any words that I needed but didn't know. So we agreed to keep things under wraps during this visit, and I felt much relieved. Once there, we were greeted warmly by her parents. We got the laundry going, and had to have a little something to eat, though the bigger meal was supposed to be on Wednesday. Somewhere in the midst of all this, Anna was going to take the authorized statement from the Consulate and put it away for safe keeping. In the process, she managed to "accidentally" show it to her parents. Of course, when they're sitting there reading something that says "I, David Esley Long, swear that I am legally free to marry Anna Koleva Angelova, ...", it's kind of hard to keep things a secret :-). At that point, I forgot every bit of Bulgarian that I had learned. But I stumbled through some speech, prompted at what must have been every other word by Anna, and ending with "and she said 'yes'" :-). The whole thing was somewhat expected, so it wasn't really a shock, but it was an emotional moment for all concerned. I remember staying for quite a while, but very few details. Except that something in the laundry ran, and my underwear and socks turned pink :-). Mr. Angelov eventually drove us back to the hotel. The visit on Wednesday was much easier. I at least didn't have to worry about making a big speech :-). I ate a very large and delicious dinner, and afterwards we talked and then sent email to my parents to tell them of the news.

The next couple of days were spent strolling around Varna, checking out the place where weddings are held, looking at clothes (and discovering that I have no fashion sense :-)), and just relaxing.

We also went to the Ethnographic Museum, which turned out to be surprising good. It spans several floors, and there are sections devoted to agriculture, wood and metal working, traditional arts and crafts, clothing, furnishings, etc.

We were especially interested in the traditional wedding garb, seen here :-).

The top part of the museum included several rooms decorated in the style of the National Revival and showing how a wealthy family might have lived. The hotel in Plovdiv was not so fancy, but was similar in style.

We spent one night out with some of Anna's friends: Plamen (Пламен) and his son Aleksandar (Александьр), Petia (Петя), Elena (Елена), and SVV (СВВ, his initials). The problem with large group pictures is that someone always has their eyes closed :-) |-).

Here are a few more pictures of Varna, down around the harbor and in the Sea Garden.

On Easter Sunday, we went back over to Anna's parents. Also there were her aunt and uncle, their son Evgeni (Евгени), and Evgeni's wife Silvia (Силвия). Silvia took these pictures. Наздраве! (Cheers!)

Oh, and Anna's aunt brought her this flower in celebration of her engagement :-).

After lunch, we rode out to the base where Anna's brother, Aleksandar, was undergoing basic training. The place was crowded with visiting families, all bringing lots of stuff to eat. We had a great visit, though Aleksandar was restricted to talking between mouthfuls :-).

That night, in a pouring rain, Anna's parents drove us to the train station. After saying good bye, we took the night train for Sofia, and then a bus to the airport. A few hours later, I was on the way back to NJ, sad to go, but happy with the certainty of a quick return and many more such trips in the future.