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The train from Bansko was deliciously slow as we trundled past rural villages and farmhouses. On arrival in Plovdiv we rented a room in an older couple’s house and set out to explore the city. It had a nice vibe to it – despite being Bulgaria’s second largest city it had more of a village feel to it with plenty of small shops, fruit and veg markets and people wandering the streets. Every now and again a Thracian or Roman ruin would stick up out of the modern city and remind us of the incredible history that this part of the world has seen. Underneath the pedestrian shopping mall are the remains of a Roman stadium and up on the hill we went to on the first night are the remains of a fortress, the earliest incarnation of which dates back to the Bronze Age. There is evidence of a Thracian settlement on the site, which was conquered and further fortified by Phillip II of Macedon in 342 BC. These days it’s a hangout for teenagers and cuddling couples who enjoy the view across the city and, apparently in summer, a few beers.
The old town was where we spent a lot of our time; it was a picturesque tangle of cobblestone streets lined with houses that overhung their lower levels. It seemed that very few blocks of land were square and so the upper levels simply hung out over the misshapen street frontages so that the upper levels had regular shaped rooms. Along some of the narrower streets the houses almost touched above our heads as we wandered through. Some of the old houses were open as museums and we explored the revival era (1762-1878) houses with their hand painted murals and decorative flourishes. The Koyumdjioglou house (built 1848), which is now the Ethnographic Museum, had some of the most incredible wooden ceilings I’ve ever seen. Actually, I should say some of the most incredible ceilings as I haven’t seen many wooden ones. They were carved and intricate and my favourite was a huge starburst that erupted away from the chandelier in a way that defied gravity.
One night we popped in to an antique shop to browse, actually I’m looking for a couple of things – one which seems to be more expensive than I’m willing to pay and another that we haven’t yet seen for sale. Anyway, we neither found nor bought these two items but we were once again lured in to buying old coins and notes. It’s so fascinating to have these incredible pieces of history. We are now the proud owners of a 10 Lev coin from 1881, the first year money was minted in the newly independent Bulgaria, some East German coins, a 100 million mark bank note from 1923 Germany which shows the incredible inflation post WW1 and a 1937 Russian note which is the only year the Ruble was not the Ruble. For some reason that year they decided it was called the Chervonetse. The shop owner was enthusiastic and full of information, telling us all about the things we bought and anything else in the shop we were interested in. We found out that a Bulgarian Christian who had been on a holy pilgrimage was called a Haji, the same word used by Muslims who have been to Mecca.
We also hung out on the steps of a Roman theatre, built in the early 2nd century. The marble steps leading up and down the semi-circular seating are worn in the middle from hundreds of years of use, but the marble statues on the 3 level stage structure at the front look as good as new. In the summer months they still hold performances there and I would love to see the ancient theatre being put to modern use. On our last night in town we had a glass of wine overlooking the theatre as the sun set on a beautiful city.
At the moment we’re in Smolyan, a town in the Rodopi mountains. Our original plan was to spend a night here then do a two day walk nearby but we were charmed by the guesthouse, its owner and the convenience of doing day walks. The Lonely Planet had mentioned that the meals at the guesthouse were great so we opted for dinner on our first night. We weren’t disappointed. Milena apparently learnt to cook from her mother and has passed her skills on to her son. As we tasted one delicious dish after another Brett wondered if she was still married and I wondered how old her son was. True love be damned, we wanted to eat like that every day! And we did, for three gut-stuffing days. Between her breakfast buffets, packed lunches and massive dinners “hungry” was certainly not a word that was uttered while we were in Smolyan.
Thankfully we went hiking both days we were there, though neither hike was as long or strenuous as we would have liked. There were easy trails everywhere though on our second day we got ourselves thoroughly confused and ended up walking in an almost complete circle as we missed turn offs, walked roads, found other trails and generally ended up 3km from where we’d been 4 hours earlier. Out on the road we found ourselves on the Greek side of the Border Police guard post though thankfully it was unattended. It was a good day of walking and it was nice to be out in the mountains surrounded by pine forests, farming land and small villages. We keep dreaming about moving here, every place we’ve been to has been great, the people are friendly and the weather seems nice. What more do we need?
Today we head to a village called Ivan Vazovo to stay with a couchsurfer and his family, after that we’re not sure. There’s still so much we want to see in Bulgaria but we also want to move on to Moldova and the Ukraine.
Tags: Bansko, Bulgaria, Plovdiv, Rodopi Mountains, Roman ruins, Smolyan
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