A quick jaunt to Bulgaria

Last Monday Camilla and I set off for a few days in Bulgaria. I was a little nervous, not least because it would be the first time I actually saw the house Dave and Amirah bought last autumn! I was also a little worried about the language, the Cyrillic alphabet and the notorious Bulgarian drivers! All of which made me wonder if I would make it to my destination town, Veliko Tarnovo, three hours away from the airport.

I was able to relax about the journey from the airport to the hotel when Todor and Ben, our agents from Link To Bulgaria, said they would pick us up from the airport and take us to the hotel they had booked on our behalf. We left the house at 10.15 am on Monday morning for the train to Manchester Airport, we booked in without a hitch and took off on time. I was a little surprised to find that we were 16kg UNDER our luggage allowance, and wondered why Dave pays £100's in excess fees! (Maybe its all the camera kit he lugs everywhere) Unfortunately, Bulgaria is 2 hours ahead of us, so we landed at 8pm in the dark. Ben and Todor were there waiting for us as promised, and it was quite relaxing being able to chat in English while being driven at reasonable speeds! I only saw glimpses of the mountains in the dark, but what I saw I liked. Ben and Todor saw me into the hotel and checked we were OK, before leaving us for the night. The Hotel Silvestar was good value and the staff spoke good English.

When we woke the next morning, we were disappointed to see that it was raining - however, the view from our window still beat that from my bedroom at home! After an odd breakfast of toast, cheese spread, jam, spam and cheese, Ben and Todor arrived to take us to see the house. Fortunately, we liked it :-) We then went to meet the village mayor - a nice chap who speaks English and uses Skype, and we sorted the Internet for the house. It seems we will be able to have a 8mb connection - which I though was pretty good for a small village. After lunch back in town, which was remarkably tasty and cheap, we were dropped back at our hotel.


As it continued to rain I phoned Ben to ask him to get me a taxi to the new shopping Mall. This pleased Camilla, and kept us dry. We looked at furniture, toys, shoes, clothes and handbags, before popping into a food store to pick up some snacks. I phoned Ben to arrange a taxi back to the hotel, and was pleased to see him and Todor arrive to collect us. Camilla and I wanted to walk around town - but the rain was relentless.


The following morning I opened the curtains to mist over the river and blue skies above :-) When we went downstairs the doors to the terrace were already open - this was more like it! B & T arrived just before 10am, and we went to explore essential shops - Metro for food, and several furniture shops so I could price up beds, sofas, wood stoves etc. It was nearly 3pm before we stopped for lunch - and we were all starving. It was worth the wait though, as the food was superb!


Later we met with Adrian, an expat who has lived there for 4 years and had offered to meet us and show us around. He took us to the market with wonderful fruit and veg, and to some hidden furniture shops. He also gave us loads of advice about living in Bulgaria and offered to introduce us to his Bulgarian friends.

Camilla was delighted to try some freshly cooked hot mini donuts with Strawberry sauce (10 for just 50p!).

That night we were too tired to go out, so we asked the hotel staff to order us a takeaway Pizza (and silently thanked B & T for making sure the hotel had English speaking staff). The pizza quickly arrived - 12 inch, deluxe vegetarian - for about £3.50 inc delivery! I could easily get used to that :-)

We awoke to more sun on our final morning, and neither of us wanted to come home. B & T arrived just before 8am to drive us to the airport, stopping for breakfast enroute. I was pleased we could see some of the scenery Bulgaria is famous for as we drove through the mountains on our way to Sofia. It was so uncrowded compared to the UK, and many of the mountains were still covered with snow.

Erm....it was MUCH prettier than this, but the shots through the window of a moving car with a compact camera were limited.


Sofia airport is grim. Although it is the main airport for Bulgaria, and in the capital city; the facilities are worse than many small town railway stations, with ques for everything. There was only one check in desk for my flight, compared to 4 in Manchester, and only once security point to filter everyone through, compared to 6 in Manchester (which is only a regional airport). The toilets should only be used in absolute emergency, and the staff have yet to learn to smile. 'Priority boarding' for passengers with young children and special needs, mean you get on the bus first, so are last to get off when you reach the plane! What a shame its the first and last thing visitors see, when the rest of the country and its people are so welcoming.


The flight was uneventful, and my traveling companion was otherwise engaged. We were delighted by the relatively speedy service at Manchester Airport, as our baggage arrived before we had even got through customs. This was let down by British Rail, who for unknown reasons had canceled ALL direct trains between the airport and Blackpool, and various other services. This meant a train to Manchester to join 100's of people on the platform trying to get on any train that came through. Camilla and I were hampered by our suitcase, but eventually managed to get a train to Preston where Dave could collect us in the minibus. The final part of the journey was more stressful than the rest put together.

After over 12 hours traveling we were pleased the journey was over - but can't wait to go back. Meanwhile I will try and learn more Bulgarian - its not easy!