Photos of Bulgaria

Our trip, Eva and myself, to Bulgaria was in late August, early September 2002.

After arriving in the capital of Sophia, Eva and I stayed at Hotel Bor, a Bed and Breakfast in the newly wealthy suburb of Simeonovo south of Sophia.

Eva had arranged it as a favor to me. She hated old hotels but was willing to compromise on a B&B.

These are the owners of the B&B.

The owners spent a great deal of time on their garden.

Our apartment was up the stairs to the right. That was out breakfast room in front.

Here is more of their front garden.

This is the entrance to the B&B. Look at that front gate and the tiles above.

The building to the right will be commented on next.

The neighboring white building was owned by the United States Embassy and used for parties. One day they had a party with people having very nice clothing.

This building with a terrace around it -- which cannot be seen here -- must have had an impressive view of Sophia since the ground sloped down drastically rigth there.

It's evening at a small restaurant in Simeonovo near a ski lift.

I ate outside. Smoking is common in Bulgaria!

Eva's parents lived in another suburb of Sophia a couple kilometers - and a couple hills - to the east of Simeonovo.

They had a small property but every bit of it was planted with vegetables and fruits. Grape vines grew profusely from the terrace out.

The "development" goes back to the 1950s and most of the homes are from that time. Streets in this hilly area were never paved and essentially one vehicle wide. Most people walk to the bus stop some 20 minutes away.

Nearby is a United Nations monument (1960s?) having a bell donated by every UN member country.

Parents' home.

Her mother.

Parents' home.

MariAna is Eva's best friend, from high school. Her guy, Nelco, has his own import/export business and she works there with him. They drove us around Bulgaria in their nice car.

The location is Pancharevo Resevoir, south of Sophia.

At Pancharevo Resevoir.

This is Eva's cousin, Pechov, and his wife. We are at the Rila Monastery in the Rila mountains southwest of Sophia. He was a reporter in the past and is now working for a small publisher of scientific texts. They drove us around in their old beat-up car.

Rila Monastery.

We stopped at a town to buy sheep yogurt.

Town of Melnik. This is way south of Sophia near the border of Greece. The town has a single street running along this dry riverbed. Shops and hotels are on the two sides, but the street quickly becomes just a dirt road and ends.

In this area are limestone cliffs like the one behind.

Melnik

We had no hotel reservations and arrived late. We tried the one hotel we saw and the only room that was available was the bridal suite taking up the entire top floor. But it was cheap!! It was similar to the central building shown here.

Melnik

There was a wine bar in a cave. Supposedly Melnik wine is well known.

I am raiding the wine.

Melnik

Melnik. I don't remember -- was it for Easter? They had the custom of putting these things on tree branches. Then they stayed there for the rest of the year.

Melnik

This was the terrace of the hotel.

Melnik area.

This is in a town at the end of a twenty mile long god-forsaken road. About 100 km east of Melnik and at the edge of the Rhodope mountains. The name of the town is Kovachevitsa.

Kovachevitsa

A Roman road in Kovachevitsa.

Kovachevitsa

This fountain was on the main road.

Eva was friendly with people and spoke to this woman who turned out to be a realtor. Her name is Kapsazov.

This is the entrance to her house.

Her garden.

Another view of her garden.

The owner's house is in back in this view from the garden. The building at their right is her rental property.

Kovachevitsa

In the rental.

Kovachevitsa

On the way back we stopped at a restaurant in Bansko.

It was nearly midnight.

But they served us food.

Bansko restaurant.

Back in Sophia, this is the National Theater.

In front of the National Theater in Sophia.

The Little Russian church, in central Sophia.

Sophia

Tanya lives in the same area as Eva's parents and is friends with them. Since they are old she sometimes helps them out. For example, the underground water has nearly run dry. While they wait - for years - for the town to provide city water, they now rely on bottled water from the nearest store. That store is a twenty minute walk on a hilly dirt road. So this woman helps them out.

She is with her daughter, Christine, and a friend in her real estate office.

Christine could speak a large amount of English and was greatly interested in learning more.

City of Bansko, south of Sophia. This woman took us on a tour of the city.

Bansko

Bansko. Storks.

Bansko

Here is the hotel that we stayed at in Bansko, Hotel Alpine.

Bansko. This woman took us on a tour of some homes.

Bansko

Now we start on a hike in the Pirin Mountains.

Pirin Mountains

Pirin Mountains.

We were told that this colorful mushroom is poisonous. But we picked a load of mushrooms that we took back with us to the hotel, most wrapped in Eva's shirt.

The hotel management informed us that it is against the law to pick plants in this national park.

They were also unhappy with Eva making a mess cleaning them in their public area.

Again at Eva's parents' home.

Parents' home.

Typical Bulgarian pottery design.

At a botanical garden in Balchik on the Black Sea.

Balchik

Vanya along the Black Sea near Albena. This is a Roman Therm. (bath)

Vanya

We stayed at a hotel along the Black Sea in Vanya and hoped to go swimming but the weather was too cold and rainy.

But our hotel room had a balcony from which these pictures were taken. Vanya.

The owner of the hotel in Vanya is seen here.

One of Eva's sons died in an automobile accident on the main road along the Black Sea south of Burgas. He had been a high school senior in New Jersey and had been accepted to Princeton. But that summer he decided to visit his homeland.

Consequently Eva had this stone put in the ground at the spot along the side of the road. She has tried to visit every year on the anniversary of the death and provide some food for the deceased.