Bulgaria

Hello, all the way from Sunny Plovdiv!

Travelled from Veliko Tarnovo yesterday, was an interesting bus journey! But anzwaz..

Veliko was a lovely town - our hostel was perched atop a hill with an amazing view of the local castle ruins. We visited them (albeit under 30+ sun, so it was a quick trip) - they are on another hill, surrounded by forest and a winding river.

If enough tourists visit during the day (the price is 4 leva each, a fee that we somehow managed to get out of paying, we weren't asked!) and they raise enough money - a total of 320 levs - they put on a light show spectacle at 9.30pm, which is visible from the town. The castle is lit from below with multicoloured lights, and even though we didn't see it (as it wasn't on due to us not paying the entrance fee), the normal 'everyday' night lights were spectacular enough.

We didn't see the 'centipede monster' again, but research showed that it is called a 'European House Centipede' and it bites. So our fears were founded. But, luckily for us, we weren't eaten in our sleep.

Left Veliko yesterday morning, after being given a hand-written note from the girl on reception for the taxi driver, to take us to the bus station and not to charge us more than 3 levs for the privilege. Bought our bus tickets (3 pounds for a 4.5 hour journey - why can't england be the same?) and went to buy some food for the journey - of course, at that point the bus turned up and Bulgarians from every corner of the station ran towards the bus and began the tight squeeze of 30-odd people trying to fit on at once.

We dutifully gathered our backpacks, chucked them in the hold, and patiently waited outside the crush (as us Brits do - we really are the masters of queueing). Someone spotted our ticket and told us that we were allowed on first, as we were priveleged enough to have bought them beforehand, whereas everyone else was paying the driver. A reluctant path revealed itself in front of us, as they parted (not without a few frowns in our direction) and we managed to get on board.

Once there, there were few seats, so we sat one in front of the other. Unfortunately, the driver thought nothing of letting everyone on board, so when the bus finally pulled away, the aisle was full of frustrated sweaty Bulgarians (not a nice experience - one of them smelled not unlike a wet dog). Of course, the air conditioning didn't work and the curtains had to be pulled across the windows as the sun was too fierce - there were several heated exchanges during the trip, but thankfully no fisticuffs.

Drivers in Bulgaria are scary. Especially bus drivers. Even the Bulgarians were nervous. The driver thought nothing of overtaking two lorries on a hill, facing oncoming traffic. If ever any of you get a bus in Bulgaria, sit by the window - ignorance really is bliss.

Arrived in Plovdiv at 6pm, to be greeted by an enthusiastic young man with a goatee, who had come from our hostel to pick us up. He bounced around, introduced us to a huge hulk of a guy called Nikolai, both took our backpacks (on Nikolai's shoulders, it looked like a child's rucksack) and we all bounced over to the waiting van.

It's so nice to be somewhere that one of us knows - travelling around foreign and alien places starts to take its toll and you long for something familiar. We love the adventure of new places, but theres no place like somewhere that feels like home.

We were taken to the apartment, which is just off the main square and next to a mosque, which houses a 6-bed dorm and a private twin room, a bathroom and toilet. We stayed in the 6-bed last night and for the next 3, we are having a twin room (ah the luxury...). As we booked it through it's sister hostel in Veliko, we also get a 10% discount, so we can afford to go private!

Had a strange Canadian in the room last night - in his late 50's, he was rather odd. We asked where he was from, to which he replied 'Canada. You?' We said 'Near London' (as no-one has heard of Essex or Berkshire) and he was confused as to 'which' London, as 'there's one in Ontario'. Thought it might be pretty obvious from our accents...

Plovdiv has built itself up quite considerably since H's visit - there are many more cafe's (also due to it being summertime) and benches, and it just looks 'cleaner'. It's a great town, with Roman ruins around every corner, and a beautiful Old Town. We will be going to see the amphitheatre tomorrow (Theatre of Ancient Philippopolis) which is the country's most impressive Roman ruin, and take a walk around the old sector - we're here for 3 more nights, at least, so plenty of time to explore.

Currently sitting in a great internet cafe in the middle of a ruined amphitheatre in the centre of a busy shopping street - an amazing view! This afternoon, we will not be doing the tourist thing, but going to the cinema to watch 'Superman Returns', for just over a pound each. It is in English, with Bulgarian subtitles, and the deciding factor was that it's air-conditioned..

Will blog again tomorrow, amigos.

Lots of love

From the Terrible Twosome xxx

The Train to Nowhere

We were very sad to leave Eugene and Martha yesterday morning - it had become a place of relaxation and rest after a hectic couple of weeks, and they were very accommodating. Bought a plant (don't ask what it was - it was red and pretty) for Martha to say thankyou for the pancakes and laundry, she was ecstatic, saying 'multamesc, multamesc' and kissing us on our cheeks. When we paid, we realised we'd been given a discount on the original price as we were 'angels'.

Eugene insisted on driving us to the train station and carrying our tent. As he locked up the car, he switched a video camera on inside the car - he informed us that his car had been vandalised on numerous occasions by the 'competition' - other hostels in the area (one in particular) would employ someone to key his car/dent the wing to warn him away from advertising his guesthouse in the train station. His place is so small, with very little revenue, that we couldn't understand why larger institutions would do that to him.

After a sad goodbye, we made our way to the platform at which time the announcer (after the obligatory 'ding-dong' of the xylophone) told us that our train was 80 minutes late. Cue panic (our connecting train was the only one that day, and we would miss it). Relief followed as our train pulled up on time (think the other one was a different train - we shall never know).

It was lovely, a truly luxurious train, compared to the ones we had experienced so far in Romania - air-conditioned, spacious, clean... The scenery was amazing - passing through the Carpathians, steep mountainous rock surrounded the train as we passed through a valley covered in thick, green forest.

There were two English girls sitting near us, who unfortunately attracted the attention of a young Romanian lothario. Phrases floated through the air towards us.. 'You both so smart - English girls so smart', 'That's a beautiful name - my name is Valentine.. I am your Valentine...'. Even the Romanian couple next to us began to cringe in embarassment. The romance was over when he serenaded them, at top volume, with the recent Romanian top hit 'Dragostea Din Tei'.

Our next train, from Bucharest to Russe in Bulgaria, was less comfortable. Another turn-of-the-century vehicle, with grimy windows and cramped cabins. We were seated in a compartment with three Americans - two 18 year old girls and a Californian school teacher. Let's just say, it was quite difficult to read our books due to volume!

The train was running late when it stopped at the Romanian/Bulgarian border, so there was little chance that we would catch our connecting train. We arrived at Russe, prepared to get off to catch the train and were told we would have to wait onboard until the Border Police had checked our passports. So we waited. And waited. And watched the officials having cigarettes and cups of tea. While we waited. Shouts came from men on the platform - 'Where you going? I can take you there, taxi, 6 Euro each, only 6 Euro. No? Why? Why?' - they were very persistant, buzzing around like flies - swatting one only made their mates swarm over.

Eventually got off the train, and befriended a Dutch couple (Sebastian & Sabina - hi if you're reading this!!) who were also going to Veliko Tarnovo, along with the Californian teacher (Kevin). We made our way down to the ticket office and, through a bit of German communication, Sebastian managed to get us some tickets for the next train (thought it didn't exist!) to Gorna Oriahovitsa. The train station in Veliko is closed (no-one seems to know why), so we would have to get a taxi from Gorna to Veliko (about 10km).

Made our way onto the train, unsure of its destination. Passed through many small villages and small country train stations with officials wearing comical red hats, it seemed we were once again going to the back of beyond. Saw some more amazing scenery, although Bulgaria was considerably flatter than Romania - as soon as we crossed the Danube (not particularly pretty, very industrial part of the river and very wide), the landscape seemed to change instantly.

Due to the heat (which we hear you guys are also getting back home?!), there were numerous forest fires, flames taller than a man coming from fields of corn with smoke billowing across the countryside (and in one case, a man sauntering along between two rows of flames, seeming not to have a care in the world). The sunset was pretty spectacular, giving the blue sky a beautiful orangey-red hue, with black silhouettes of distant hills and trees standing out. We all leaned out of the windows in silence, with the wind in our hair, watching horses and carts in the fields and waving to children next to the track - felt like explorers, entering a relatively uninhabited country, surrounded by beauty and tranquility.

As the stations got smaller and smaller, the train became emptier still, until, at a seemingly 'final' stop, the only other passenger in our carriage (a small elderly woman with a head scarf) disembarked, leaving us 5 foreigners on board. The train turned its engines off and the ticket inspectors and driver all got off for a beer and a cigarette as the sun went down. So we waited. And waited. And got a little nervous. Finally, they all got back on board and the train began to move.

The sun had just set as we pulled into Gorna, and, with luck on our side, and the help of a friendly Bulgarian student, caught a minibus on its way to Veliko Tarnovo. Cost 1 Lev each (about 30/40p). We were dropped off in the middle of town and all looked at our maps to get our bearings. We said goodbye to Sebastian & Sabina as they went in search of a guesthouse, and made our way to the hostel with Kevin, who had decided to stay in 'Hotel Comfort' (a very attractive sounding abode at 10.30pm), about 30m from our Hikers Hostel.

Realised our hostel was VERY much off the beaten track, and up a VERY steep hill - Kevin decided to make sure we were safe by attempting to find our hostel before going to his - he shot off down a street, telling us to 'wait there, girls', in search of the place. Very sweet guy, wandered off chatting away to himself, we could hear his chattering even when he disappeared from view. He came back, saying the road he'd walked down was 'very creepy' and that he'd ask where the hostel was in his hotel. They informed us it was up another side street, 'number 19 or something...'

So we thanked Kevin, and began our laden trek up the steep side-street. Found number 19, looked at Lydia's text (Thanks, Lydia!) and realised it was 91. Much, much further up. Oh joy! Finally stumbled into the hostel, dropped our bags and went out for dinner at 11pm. Ate at 11.30pm (gorgeous pasta dishes), and zonked out at about 12.30am. Found a VERY strange creature in our room, on someone else's bunk (thank god) - a type of centipede, but the length and width of an index finger, with long feelers and spider-like legs, and it was stripy. And it moved with inhuman speed when we prodded the teeshirt it was residing on. So now, it is somewhere in our room, and it may eat us in our sleep. We will let you know.

Haven't really explored Veliko yet, going to the resident castle this afternoon - it's still very hot so going to try and take it easy before getting the 4-hour bus to Plovdiv tomorrow morning.

Just so you all know, if you don't already - very strange custom in Bulgaria to shake the head for 'yes' and nod for 'no'. The head shake is more of a 'wobble', and rather off-putting at first. But we've now experienced the wobble a few times, and are getting used to it.

Will try and post tomorrow from Plovdiv. Hope you're all ok, missing you all lots.

Lots of love from..

Us xxx

Congrats are in order...

Firstly, well done to everyone who got their degree results this weekend - lots of firsts! You all worked very hard and deserve it. We hope that you're all happy with your marks.

Just so you all know, if you don't already, Marli (Amalia) got a 2:1!! Found out last night (was a very tense few minutes spent over the phone to England) and she is very very happy. Very very proud.

Yesterday day was a bit of a non-day - the rain poured from dawn to dusk, making the temperature plummet and any planned trips went out of the window. We passed the time playing cards and reading, with Martha (Eugene's mother) bringing in pancakes for us to eat. (She's a whizz in the kitchen, and brought us a cheese pancake, followed shortly by a desert jam pancake). She's very motherly, and although she can't speak a word of english, we manage to communicate somehow. She rattles away in Romanian, we rattle away in English, and we come to understandings.

Last night, we had the amazing experience of bear-watching. Now, Eugene has 'officially' stopped taking guests to see the bears, as a law has been passed by the new mayor whereby any cars seen to be stopping at bear-watching spots are fined a total of 1000 leu (191 gbp), as they make the bears aggressive by taking pictures with a flash.

There is a small ring-road that circles the town, which houses big metal bins for the housing estates within. The bears emerge from the surrounding forest to get food from the bins, and it was this route that Eugene (+ girlfriend) took us at 10pm last night.

We drove up and down the road for a few minutes, peering into the dark recesses around the bins, and came across a large bear cub, sitting on top of the concrete wall above the bins, preparing to jump inside. It was hard to see, but another car stopped and shone a torch so we could make out the features. It was a juvenile female, and it jumped down and began to rummage through the rubbish. Eugene spotted a car in the distance, and worried it may be the police, drove away to turn around. We passed the police car and turned out we had left just in time - behind us, the blue & red lights began to flash as the cops caught someone else.

Going back, we saw another bear, an adult and huge (!), so Eugene stopped the car in a car park, and we hesitantly got out of the car and walked a bit closer for a better look. It was fantastic to stand so close to a wild animal, yet far enough away to be able to run if it looked in our direction. It was big and bulky, with a long snout, and ambled along (not looking ferocious in the slightest - looks really are deceiving). But then it ambled in our direction, and seemed to spot us, so after hearing 'ooookaaaay, we go now' from Eugene, we made our way hurriedly back to the car, watching the bear walk down the road alongside us.

Following it, we got out again and watched it safely from the other side of the road, as it sorted through more bins. But as the bins are emptied on the hour, every hour, there was no food so it made its way back up the hill and into the dark forest. It was all very 'cloak and dagger', watching out for police cars, hiding behind vans, added to the excitement!

It was a one-off experience, which we won't forget. But no photos, we're sorry to say, best not to aggravate a big brown bear with a bright flashy camera if you don't need to! Eugene then refused any money for the trip, as we are 'doing him a favour' by staying for 5 nights! It was great of him to do it, especially with the possibility of a massive fine.

After dreaming of bears, we woke this morning and caught the bus to Dracula's Castle, in Bran. Passing by the Carpathians on the way was awe-inspiring - huge, snow-capped mountains rising into the clouds, it took our breath away.

Bran has become a major tourist attraction since people cottoned on to the 'Dracula's Castle' aspect. The castle was (probably) never inhabited by Vlad, but it's an amazing piece of architecture, with turrets and solid stone walls, being perched on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere. To get inside, however, you have to pass through a 'tourist market', full of stalls with Dracula-themed gifts and souvenirs. We had a quick drink in 'Skeleton's Tavern', with tables shaped like coffins and odd music playing (Michael Jackson, Romanian Folk Music and JLo).

Going into the castle itself, it was beautifully kept, we had to wear strange slippers over our shoes to make sure we didn't mark the wooden floors (or, as M put it, a cheap and easy way for them to keep the floor polished). Lots of rooms filled with various items of furniture, (we were stuck behind some Harley enthusiasts, dressed to the nines in leather, taking numerous pictures of every single room with very expensive cameras - no idea why) and a secret staircase hidden between the walls, which was only discovered a few years ago.

Went to a little pizzeria just out of town for a bite to eat before catching the bus back, lovely pizza but the waitress didn't speak english. Asked for the bill, paid, then realised we had given them 10 leu too much (an extra note - fiddly little things) - asked non-english-speaking waitress for the money back, she refused, she consulted with a waitress who did speak english, she refused, lost 10 leu. Still, teaches us to check our money before giving it away!

Now - so you all know, as we're sure you're following our itinerary to the button... we are no longer going to Bucharest tomorrow. A decision we reached after reading other travellers' experiences of the city, it seems to be a party town, with little to see during the day, apart from grimy streets and pickpockets. So.. we have decided instead to go to Bulgaria early, and are catching the train to Veliko Tarnovo, in Northern Bulgaria tomorrow morning. We will be staying two nights and moving direct to Plovdiv by bus on 21st. Slightly worried about weather from Bulgaria onwards - it will be low 30s in VT/Plovdiv, rising to 38/39 degrees in Belgrade! But we will cope - we're making the most of the cool mountain air for our last Romanian night.

Hope you're all well - Zegna, Chris & boys, have a lovely holiday in Cyprus, hope you get lots of sun and let us know when you're back.

Auntie Gwyneth, great to see you're reading this, really nice to see your comment! Hope you're doing ok, H will email Adam (Gpa gave me his address) if he has access?

Lots and lots of love to all of you

From Us xxx

The Morning After The Night Before

Buna ziua

Had a lovely 15th July evening - after many failed attempts on behalf of H, trying to call home (phonecards are cheap, but run out incredibly quickly; the Romanian operator is inoperable; mobile phones cost the earth), we made our way into Brasov centre to find nourishment in the form of food and copious drink.

Found a lovely Irish pub called Deane's, run by an Irishman (!) who came to Romania 6 years ago after meeting a Romanian lady. Had incredibly unhealthy food in the form of the 'Ulster Fry' and bottles of beer to wash it down, while listening to the live Romanian band downstairs play covers of 'Every Breath You Take' and other 80s hits..

We then had a visit from the man himself, Haydn Deane, who came over and chatted to us for a while (with the true Irish opener of 'Have I met you before? No? Ah, bejeesus, must have been in my dreams...'). He was going to sing with the band later in the evening, (he has his own band which play old Sinatra hits) but we missed out as it seemed half of Romania decided to pack inside the downstairs bar, hence no room at the inn for us. We also had a nice chat with his nephew, who came over just over a year ago to help his uncle run the pub, and he seemed relieved to be able to have a conversation with someone who didn't speak pidgin english.

After beer, we made our way back to a pub near the hostel called the 'For Sale' pub. It has a great atmosphere, dark and dingy, with candles on every table and broken shells from the free peanuts they provide, crunched into the wooden floorboards. We decided to have Black Russians (vodka, coffee liqueur and, usually, coke), which the bartenders didn't know how to make. So they spent the next 15 minutes poring over how-to cocktail books, gathering ingredients from here, there and everywhere (at one point, they got espressos from the machine and poured them in) - we weren't quite sure what to expect.

The drinks arrived in front of us in whisky glasses with two enormous slices of orange on the side, and we had a large gulp. They were very very strong. But very delicious. But as we're both lightweights, and are too old to take alcohol in great quantities any more, we ordered a bottle of coke to help the drinks go down. (Surreptitiously poured the coke into our drinks without the bartenders noticing - they were so proud of their concoction, we couldn't offend them)

After receiving the very expensive bill (as they went to so much trouble, they charged what they liked...) we made our weaving way back to the hostel. Trying to turn the key in the lock (it's a tricky one, and gets stuck easily, not just because we were tipsy), we were confronted with Eugene on the other side of the door, who had heard our efforts. Very chirpy as usual, asking us if we had had a good night and apologised for not having seen us during the day as he had 'got lost in the foggy'.

Admitted that we had been out celebrating due to H's birthday, and he got very animated - 'so sorry, so sorry I did no realise (went to check on passport details) so sorry, yes, 15 July, so sorry...' Had a bit of chat, he apologised profusely again for not noticing, and we went to bed.

Woke up this morning, Eugene popped his head round the bedroom door and presented two pastries 'for her majesty's birthday' (H is 'her majesty' due to English roots and living in Berkshire...), which was incredibly sweet of him.

Had a lazy morning and ventured into town around midday, where we found ourselves in the middle of a beer festival, advertising the local brew 'Ciucas'. There was a main stage, with a strange girl singing Romanian songs which were scarily out-of-tune (still, the locals seemed to like it, and were bopping away), and hundreds of benches with people drinking beer from plastic cups and eating home-made sausages with mustard.

It was lunchtime so we made our way to one of the many sausage-sellers, and asked for the whole package (4 sausages, dollop of mustard and 3 pieces of bread on paper plates) which costs just over 1 pound. The sausages are a local delicacy, called Mici, or 'little ones', and are made from ground beef and pork. We chose the stall that had the least understanding of english, or hand signals, so it proved hard work.

We managed to order, but when it came to money, they dragged a scary, animated woman across who knew some english. In fact, she knew the word 'thank you', which she kept repeating, but which didn't really help. There was, however, a man behind us who spoke good english and who translated so we managed to pay - but the scary lady got into a hushed conversation with him as we started to walk away, and startled us by shouting her newly learned word, 'ENJOY' in a particularly menacing way. 'Thank you' we said. 'Thank you' she said. We ran.

On our way back, we walked through the main park and saw FOUR wedding parties, all within metres of each other, having their photos taken with other brides and grooms as a backdrop. Also another procession where a wedding party had rented a taxi firm, and they drove down the main road, hooting and flashing their hazards. The taxis, not the bride and groom. So Sunday is a good day to get married in Brasov!

We're not planning much this afternoon, just having a lazy day and a rest, before going to Bran tomorrow on the bus, to visit Dracula's Castle. May buy some phonecards to phone home if we can, if not, we will probably wait until Bucharest, where we will be able to call cheaply from an internet cafe/hostel.

Hope you're all doing ok, thinking of you, wish you were here!!

Lots of love

Axxxxx and Hxxxx