How time really flies, we are already on our way to
our 6th country and we only have 7 more on our to-visit-list!!
This week we went on a tour in Bulgaria, which has
Greece, Turkey and Romania as neighbours.
According to the creation story, the Bulgarian people
are a bit forgetful and when God started to hand out the countries, they came
too late, everything was already divided.
Luckily God took pity on them and gave them a piece of
his own paradise…
Bulgaria, what a blissful time we had here!! First we
stopped in Bansko, a charming ski resort about a 160 kilometres from the capital
Sofia. We loved it because we both love skiing and we heard that Bulgaria is
the new and upcoming place to be.
It is the best resort in Eastern Europe and nestles at
the feet of the Pering Massief, one of the 11 national parks in Bulgaria, where
you can run into bears and wolves.
But the most dangerous ‘animals’ we encountered here
are the people on skis…
A local ski instructor told us that the resorts can
compete with Switzerland and France, because the snow isn’t all that different,
but they can guarantee the snow here because of the use of snow cannons.
So, no signs of communism here, but brand new ski
lifts, miles and miles of slopes and 'après ski' in the typical Bulgarian
‘mechanas’, which actually means meat on a stick and women dancing on the
tables.
Bansko is a hot new ski resort, nothing short to his
big brothers in Switzerland or France.
After all these sporting efforts, we decided to sniff
out a little culture and discover the country. The Sveta Trojitsa, also known
as the Trinity Church, dates from the time the Turks were in charge here.
At the entrance you find the emblem of Christianity
next to the symbol of the Islam. Next to the church there is a bell tower from
which you have a stunning view. We enjoyed the ‘Dancing Koekoerie’ very much.
They fend off evil and pray for an excellent harvest. This is very much for
real!
Bansko might be a small village, but still there are
plenty of museums. The most important one is that of Nicolas Fabsarov, who was
a famous poet.
If you like the rustic, you can visit the old village,
walk up to one of the convents or spend the day in Sofia.
~ MELNIK ~ 
Finally, as said before, we ended our visit in
Bulgaria with a trip to Sofia. One day isn’t enough, but still you can’t leave
without having been here…
See you next time!!
Big kiss Aurélie <3
