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We have some friends in Bulgaria (Ina and Marty) so we went there a couple of times and we spent a wonderful time. Though Bulgaria is a beautiful country to visit,

Bulgaria 2000

Trucoto
2004-02-28 16:14:11

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lovely town. The modern people live near the ruins, and I had the sensation that they are unaware of them. I went alone to walk inside the ruins, and I found a painter. At first I thought he was just being inspired by the ruins, that he was painting a view of them. When I came closer, I realized that he was copying a small portrait of a woman, a clip of a magazine. He noticed me, and tried to speak with me. My ignorance of the Bulgarian language and his ignorance of the English language prevented the communication. I just kept walking, and thinking on the very idea of Roman people walking in the same paths. It did not take too long, and I was in Roman times, in a Roman bath or something. There was nobody there to deny it: just my clothes, and a vague sensation that I did not belong there. Back to reality, there are Thracian tombs well preserved in the surroundings. The Thracians lived in Bulgaria in the 7th century BC, and there is a lot of archaelogical things to see about that important people. One of the most outstanding places is Plovdiv (Пловдив), where they have an old amphitheatre that is still used today for some events. In Plovdiv they have a strong touristic-awareness: and so they charge to see the theatre, concerts and plays are held inside it, and in the city everything is "friendly", to say it somehow. For example, we found a clay worker and he made some pottery in front of us, very interesting. He even had a business card, written in English. The city itself is an old and charming place, full of streets faced by old houses. But this "touristic-friendliness" did not charm my friends, who told me that is kind of artificial in Bulgaria, but it was a beautiful view in any case.

Small Towns

Small country towns like Etar (Етъра) or Bozhentsi (Боженци) are closer to the real thing. They are as cute as a children's tale. In Etar I bought a tambura, a kind of Bulgarian mandolin, and we had a very folkloric ...