This is going to be a patchwork quilt of a post. It’s going to feel itchy, you’ll be confused, and it’s something you should probably just let gather dust in a cupboard.
Our route:
- Sofia
- intention to go to Koprivshtitsa, but we zoomed past the exit and went to Devetashka Cave and Krushuna Falls instead
- Veliko Tarnovo
- Tryavna on the way (can be skipped)
- Plovdiv
- Riga Monastery (can be skipped if you’ve seen monasteries before)
I have to say, the cat situation in Bulgaria is top. Reasonably well-fed strays everywhere, and some non-strays that we followed while the owner looked at us questionably.
After the dicey engine failure– we craved an adrenaline-induced snack. Almost dying in a highway inferno can make anyone get a little peckish.
On our way to Veliko Tarnovo, we stopped on the side of the road where we got a banitsa from the shop that was directly in front of where we parked. We weren’t craving banitsa, in fact, we were a bit meh towards it, but we thought it was the only option since we looked in 0 other shops.
(Dry) banista in hand, nibbling away, we walked along the other shops. My friend and I abruptly stopped. We both smelled and then locked eyes with the sizzling meats bbqing away. I said uhhh damnit, she laughed and spat out some of her (dry) banitsa at me.
Fool of a Took. How many times must I panic with my food choices?! Time and time again.
One doesn’t pass up the opportunity to get meat on the side of the road, so we pointed to stuff on the grill, paid and sat our cabooses down. We got some white bean soup with our assorted meats, that we could dip our outside purchased (dry) banitsa in. YUM.
Not sure where this was on the map, I think shortly before the caves.
Veliko Tarnovo is fab. Love a castle, love a historic old town, love bbq meats.
Plodliv is a time.
The old town is a thumbs up (I enjoy typing out emojis). The town also offered up some great kebab and great gyros.
We walked to the Monument of the Red Army “Alyosha” in Plovdiv and I have no idea who or what that is, but the views were really nice. Nebet Tepe viewpoint was blocked with construction gates and closed when we were there. We tried casually walking through the gates, but were told to fuck off.
eat.
In Veliko Tarnovo, Shtastliveca was shtastic. Very yum with gorgeous views over the ravine, old town and monument. It packs up so if you go at 15:00 when no one decent is eating, you can get a spot by the window.
In Plovdiv, our accommodation recommended Котка и Мишка, Cat and Mouse Beer Bar. It was cute. The area Kapana is the food and bar area of Plovdiv so there are heaps of places around there to get a little treat.
It is here, in Plovdiv, that I abandoned reason for madness when I accidentally ate a spicy pepper that I thought was a sweet paprika. My ears were burning.
cheap.
Devetashka Cave were cool as far as caves go. Parking was free, but there were limited spaces- then you walk a short distance to the entrance.
Krushuna Falls you had to pay a small fee to enter or to park, can’t remember which, but it was minimal and there was a doggie on the trail.
You know what’s not free? Renting a car. It was needed in Bulgaria because getting to these places isn’t feasible without one.
Here’s what happened- I have the touch of a blacksmith and a foot of lead so when I’m driving, I tend to go over the suggested speeds mentioned on the signs.
For a while there, the malfunctioning GPS in the car that almost blew us up said the speed limit was 90km/h. Because I am a trusting, kind-hearted individual, I believed the car robot. Turns out the GPS was a bit too generous and those 90km routes were signposted as 60km/h when we bothered to look out the window.
A few times I slammed on my brakes when I noticed speed cameras above the roads. Once, I realised too late a cop car was parked so I slammed on my brakes, ducked and glided past the officer. Not sure why I ducked while driving- having a driverless car with a single passenger is probably much worse than speeding, but luckily the officer wasn’t looking up when this hilarity ensued.
My friend also is lead-footed and must have zoomed through at least 3 speed cameras so when we got home, we thought there would be a bunch of tickets in my postbox. So far so good, but I’m more stressed from this than from the engine failure.
travel.
Rila Monastery wasn’t worth it to me, and it had free entrance, so that’s saying something. We had to drive down this creep road, not knowing what was lurking around the corner, no phone signal, forest mountain area and you had to pay for parking at the front of the monastery- so I suggest pulling over on the side of the road before you get to the monastery and walk the short distance from there.
The thing is pretty, but I spent more time taking photos of the cats there. Two cats were cuddling, and one put its arm around the other one!!
We originally planned and packed to hike the seven lakes, but the weather was shyte so we couldn’t. It seems you need to take a gondola up to the start of the hike.
*Rant pant section- disregard unless you’re in the mood for some whinging.* Have you ever been hounded by the accommodation to give your exact arrival time? We booked our stay in Veliko Tarnovo through booking.com and I get that it’s not 24 hours reception like it would be in a hotel, but honestly the guy messaged 8+ times asking for the exact minute we were arriving.
I told him between 16:00-18:00 (on booking.com it said check in between 14:00-20:00) and he kept messaging saying he was going to be going out so he may not be there when we arrive unless he knew the exact time. We ended up rushing our leisurely explorations because of it. It’s your job to check us in. What if we didn’t have data? Would we have had to wait hours for the guy to show up because he decided to attend a dog’s birthday party? If you choose to have your accommodation available online for people to book, then it’s part of the gig to be there when guests would like to check in.
Anyways, the accommodation was lovely, would recommend.
