Bulgaria would have to rank as one of the most unhealthy places going around. Everything comes with cheese, they put salt on already salty food (we saw one guy have a good 30 second shake on his pizza) and they ALL smoke. I asked someone if everyone smokes, he replied "Oh, yeah!" like it was something to be proud of. When I asked at what age people start smoking, 14 was the response. In spite of being a land of drug addicts, Bulgaria is a really cool place and the people are quite friendly, if outwardly gruff. Veliko Tarnovo was orur first stopping point and I think it was the best. It is an obviously old town, with an old town layout, that is to say it doesnt have one.
Streets meander in any which way they feel like and buildings are built what feels like on top of other buildings, but all this just adds to the charm. It feels like there is a lot to see, without there actually being a lot to see. A few days go past and you ask yourself "what did I do?", you dont know but you enjoyed doing it. There is a great castle at the top of the hill, which dominates the town, and on certain days, is illuminated at night, synchronised with music. The resulting display is impressive. (
Bulgaria is becoming an exciting place to live for expats, especially Brits and we met quite a few. There is a lot to attract people, the cost of living is quite inexpensive, the countryside is beautiful and the people are amiable, whats not to like (if you can put up with the smoke that is). Our next port of call in Bulgaria was Plovdiv. Quaint without being attractive to the point of "I want to live here".
It has some interesting Roman ruins, mostly interesting in the way they are displayed. There is a ampitheatre right in the centre of town, in the middle of a pedestrian zone. Unfortunately, half of it is covered and you cant see it, so it is sort of on display. There are some Roman town walls too, somwhere. Even when we asked people, we couldnt find them. Mostly it was a nice, inofffensive town to while away a few days.
Its the kind of place that you are glad you went, but are not sure you would go back. There is an interesting statue of an old guy with large ears. Aparantly it represents an old guy who used to hang around and listen in to peoples conversations, and then diligently report them to whoever needed to know, or so the story goes. It's a good statue anyway. Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, was our last stop. It is a city that needs time to scratch beneath the surface to find all its glory. You can walk around and tick all the boxes, church here, architecture there, museum, gallery, check, check, check. After that, you wil be left wondering, did I actually 'see' Sofia. It reminds me of Adelaide in that way, in that it needs time for people to war to it. Unfortunately we didnt have that sort of time, but what we saw we didnt dislike.
Our next country is Macedonia, which as more than a few Bulgarians made sure we knew "once belonged to Bulgaria", and Im sure they wish still did. In fact, choosing the losing side in two world wars "as long as we can get Macedonia back" is testament to this.
Bulgaria would have to rank as one of the most unhealthy places going around. Everything comes with cheese, they put salt on already salty food (we saw one guy have a good 30 second shake on his pizza) and they ALL smoke. I asked someone if everyone smokes, he replied "Oh, yeah!" like it was something to be proud of. When I asked at what age people start smoking, 14 was the response. In spite of being a land of drug addicts, Bulgaria is a really cool place and the people are quite friendly, if outwardly gruff. Veliko Tarnovo was orur first stopping point and I think it was the best. It is an obviously old town, with an old town layout, that is to say it doesnt have one. 
Streets meander in any which way they feel like and buildings are built what feels like on top of other buildings, but all this just adds to the charm. It feels like there is a lot to see, without there actually being a lot to see. A few days go past and you ask yourself "what did I do?", you dont know but you enjoyed doing it. There is a great castle at the top of the hill, which dominates the town, and on certain days, is illuminated at night, synchronised with music. The resulting display is impressive. (
Bulgaria is becoming an exciting place to live for expats, especially Brits and we met quite a few. There is a lot to attract people, the cost of living is quite inexpensive, the countryside is beautiful and the people are amiable, whats not to like (if you can put up with the smoke that is). Our next port of call in Bulgaria was Plovdiv. Quaint without being attractive to the point of "I want to live here". 
It has some interesting Roman ruins, mostly interesting in the way they are displayed. There is a ampitheatre right in the centre of town, in the middle of a pedestrian zone. Unfortunately, half of it is covered and you cant see it, so it is sort of on display. There are some Roman town walls too, somwhere. Even when we asked people, we couldnt find them. Mostly it was a nice, inofffensive town to while away a few days. 
Its the kind of place that you are glad you went, but are not sure you would go back. There is an interesting statue of an old guy with large ears. Aparantly it represents an old guy who used to hang around and listen in to peoples conversations, and then diligently report them to whoever needed to know, or so the story goes. It's a good statue anyway. Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, was our last stop. It is a city that needs time to scratch beneath the surface to find all its glory. You can walk around and tick all the boxes, church here, architecture there, museum, gallery, check, check, check. After that, you wil be left wondering, did I actually 'see' Sofia. It reminds me of Adelaide in that way, in that it needs time for people to war to it. Unfortunately we didnt have that sort of time, but what we saw we didnt dislike.
Our next country is Macedonia, which as more than a few Bulgarians made sure we knew "once belonged to Bulgaria", and Im sure they wish still did. In fact, choosing the losing side in two world wars "as long as we can get Macedonia back" is testament to this.
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