Postcards from abroad
Another foot-wearying day: note Sue’s rather sceptical stance this morning before we began the climb up to the church on top of Tsarevets Fortress, the citadel capital from the Second Bulgarian Empire ( 1185-1396), on very uneven cobbles and steps, to reach a splendid view far into the distance. We were impressed with the crossbow,… Continue reading Veliko Tarnovo and Tsaravets Fortress
We left the gloomy Black Sea this morning and drove along a very speedy motorway before heading off into the mountains, up and up and up through the trees with in their fresh spring colours. We stopped for luncn in Elena, a small town full of wooden houses from the National Revival period. What’s that… Continue reading A church and beehives
We spent the day poking about Burgas, the fourth largest city in Bulgaria, and surrounding areas. Our adventures raised the issue of the sea’s name, particularly as it turned from grey to green as the day progressed. The upshot is that we don’t know. But two interesting things we found out: a) the deeper layers… Continue reading Scenes from the Black Sea
A visit to the Varna Archaeological museum today - and that was after our trip to see the Roman baths (the fourth biggest in Europe). Maybe one can have too many antiquities … Anyway, the skeleton above was from a grave of a man from the second half of the 5th millenium BC, uncovered in… Continue reading The oldest worked gold in the world – and some nice earrings
A detour to an enormous monument high on a hillside and visible for 30 kms left us open-mouthed. The monument to the Founders of the Bulgarian State was built in 1981, and is a testament as much to concrete as it is to the founders. We’re here for scale, rather than to show off our… Continue reading Heroes and a quasi-heroine – and more Bulgarian history!