bulgaria update

i'm in veliko tarnovo which is a very old city. it's history goes back to 4000bc & it is set on magnificient hills with steep slopes down to the river.
i've spent some time walking through some of the older parts of the city where there are streets & roads that are 1000 - 2000 years old. along the river there are some very old houses that are from 150 - 400 years old. some of them would make a lovely home/studio/gallery but alas, no art market here. $20,000 - $30,000 australian will get you a decent place. of course the bulgarian 'decent place' is a long way short of our standard, but what you lose in refined finishes, you more than make up for with historic value.
spent about 3 hours yesterday walking through the 'bush'. it's called the 'forest' here but it's very different to aussie forest. didn't see any bears, wolves, deer, jackals or other critters, only birds & very few of them too.
i went 'bush bashing' & left markers for myself so i'd find my way back. it was a great walk mostly along & through the forest floor, but i eventually came to a track which i followed for about 2kms before turning back. great walk, great scenery, lovely clear mountains streams.

the street/road in photo 1 is about 1300 years old. houses, shops & old church range from 150 - 800 years

photo 2 shows 120 year old house & roman fort wall in background. some of this is over 1000 years old

3rd photo shows house built in 1800's
my hand is holding native bulgarian fruit from a tree we found near the river. they aren't very big but they sure are very nice - taste is like a cross between plum & peach. would make magnificent jam

this is the church in pavlikeni. auditoreum is in the basement. i'm staying in section on the left of picture.

top photo is view from front window

Hi to all who are eagerly awaiting updates.
Getting online over here is difficult at times because I don't have ready access to wi-fi very often.
I will post some photos soon with info about what is happening.
stay tuned, it's bound to get better!

today is 1st October, the day i fly out from melbourne to sofia, bulgaria.
my flight takes me to zurich via doha.
i'll have to wait in the zurich airport for 19 hours for connecting flight to sofia & on my return flight i have to wait in zurich for 22 hours.
i land in sofia at 12.30 pm on Wednesday 3rd & at this stage will be travelling by train to pavlikeni (about a 3 hour trip).
pavlikeni will be where i'll be based for the first week & after that i will be wherever my itinerary takes me. i won't know what that is until i get there.
there will be updates after i arrive, get settled & find out where i'm going.
cheers, blessings,
ian

my visit to bulgaria

This is my blog where you can follow all of my adventures in Bulgaria ('coz none of them will be on the evening news)

I fly out of Melbourne at 10.55pm on 1st October enroute to Sofia via Doha & Zurich & I land back in Melbourne on November 6th at 10.30pm

                                          
                                              Ancient Roman road in Veliko Tarnovo (c 200AD)


I will post new pages & photos as time & internet access allows & let you see some of the amazing archaealogical sites, architectural structures & natural beauty that exists here.

                                                shopping centre in the gypsy village at Maglizh

                                      

Drummer in church (old shipping container) in gypsy village with his home made drum kit - gaffer tape over plastic pipes taped to a couple of very old microphone stands

There will also be photos & stories about places & people that show the extreme poverty & hardship that some have to endure as a way of life.