back in town!

I think the best thing working for a school district is the schedule.  Its very conducive to having a family, in fact almost all my colleagues are parents.  This summer, with no kids to look after and my husband working, I took a trip to Bulgaria to visit.  I hadn't been back since I COSed (Close of Service) from the Peace Corps 5 years ago.   I traveled with a friend who had been a PCV in Uzbekistan. 
I'll just stick with the highlights, because I traveled for about 3 weeks.  I flew into Istanbul, saw all the sites.  The highlights of Istanbul are the food, Hagia Sofia and the Cemberlitas baths. 

Here's the Blue Mosque and a Whirling Dervish.

Took a night bus to Burgas in Bulgaria.  Then a little bus called a Marshutka to Primorsko.  If you are going to the Bulgarian seaside, I highly recommend Primorsko.  It has beautiful beaches, and plenty of inexpensive accommodations.  You can stay with a family for 10 Euros per person per night. 
From there we headed to Plovdiv, a beautiful town in central Bulgaria.  Plovdiv has an amazing preserved old town where you can seen an ancient amphitheater.

From Plovdiv, my friend and I traveled to Shumen.  Shumen is not a particularly noteworthy town, but my counterpart from my Peace Corps days is now living and working there.  Shumen has a monument built to honor the 1300 years of the Bulgarian Republic with one step for each year.  At the top of this hill is also an ancient fortress.  Not far from Shumen, is a UNESCO World Heritage site- the Madara Horseman.  This ancient stone carving is on the coin currency (except the Lev coin) in Bulgaria.

Researchers are still studying this amazing carving.  It is probably 80 feet from the ground and it is not known how or why it was created.

From Shumen we headed to Veliko Turnavo.  If you could visit only one town in Bulgaria, make it Veliko Turnavo.  This town has a beautiful fortress and well preserved old town.  Veliko was once the capital of Bulgaria and has a thriving artistic community. 
We took a train to my former site, Vidin, on the Danube river.  So much has changed and so much is the same.  I met up with old friends and visited the orphanage where I worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Unfortunately the director I worked under had recently retired and was visiting her family out of town. 
The bridge connecting Vidin and Calafat, Romania is finally underway.

After spending a few days in Vidin, we headed to Chiprovtsi.  Chiprovtsi was my husband's site as a volunteer.  Here's where he stayed (lucky guy didn't have to live in a communist block apartment like most volunteers).

Chiprovtsi is a town in the Northwest of Bulgaria known for its carpet weaving.  The kilims they weave are similar to the Turkish style, in that wool threads are woven to create a flat pattern that is the same on both sides.  During his service, my husband and a volunteer from the Japanese voluntary service (similar to the Peace Corps) worked on reviving the carpet weaving industry and focused on reestablishing the use of organically dyed wool.  The carpets are beautiful and last a lifetime, they are about 100 Euros per square meter- amazing considering it takes about 2 months to create a kilim that size. No trip could to Bulgaria could be complete without visiting the capital, Sofia.  Most Americans mispronounce it, saying it like the girls' name Sophia.  When talking about the capital, don't emphasize the second syllable.  Important sites include Alexander Nevski Catherdral.  Don't miss the changing of the guards by the St. Georgi Rotunda.

If you are not renting a car, you can still visit the Rila Monastery UNESO World Heritage Site.  Hostel Mostel in Makedonia Square organizes daily trips to the Monastery for 20 Euros.  It takes about 2 hours to get there.  First stop was at Ivan Rilski's cave.  Saint John of Rila lived in this cave for 7 years, 14 years, it depends who you ask.  Bulgarians write prayers on little notes and stick them between the rocks, tie them to the trees.  Apparently, if you squeeze through the cave, all your sins are wiped clean.  So I'm in the clear for a while.  We then wandered through the Monastery, which is currently undergoing a renovation. 

Notes to St. John of Rila and martenitsi bracelets from the March 1st celebration.

Climbing out of the cave, don't try this if you are claustrophobic!

Catching a night bus from Sofia, we arrived in Athens 12 hours later.  Athens is beautiful.  Don't let the media scare you, the austerity measure riots don't affect the tourist areas.  We even went to Syntagma square, where the riots were centered, but the police had restored order.

You can still see remnants of the riots, but there were crews cleaning up and fixing what was damaged a few days ago.  Of course the most important thing to see in Athens is the Acropolis.

From Athens we flew back home.  It's good to be home and see my husband again.  I am disappointed that our insurance is taking its sweet time and nothing new has happened at our house.  We are still living in a hotel.