Bulgaria - the rest

Kabile ruins-Marg

Leaving the Black Sea coast, we headed west, driving across attractive rolling farmlands covered in sun flowers, creating a beautiful yellow vista as far as the eye could see.  

We were aiming to drive part of the “Thracian Route” – a route covering several Thracian ruins and sites.

We got to Kabile which is an ancient Thracian city established around 2000 BC. 

There we visited the ruins of the original city and the onsite museum which also includes an exhibition tracking the excavation history of the site.

Mezek Thracian tomb

We found it to be a very interesting area to explore even though it was such an extremely hot day.

From there we wound our way south-west on some rather small roads to a little village called Mezek which was only 2 kms from the Greece border.

Mezek is the home of an amazing tomb belonging to a Thracian ruler, which dates back to the 4th century BC. 

It was composed of one round and two rectangular chambers with the roof formed like a beehive.

Also in Mezek, high on the hill above the village, was a medieval castle which is one of the best preserved in Bulgaria. 

It was at the end of a rough, winding road but we were glad we made the effort to get up to it.

It was getting late in the day when we reached our next stop at Camping Sakar Hills in the wee village of Bisser. 

Mezek Fortress-Leigh

It was great to be able to stop at a place with good facilities again and relax for a couple of days as it had been so hot travelling.

The locals kept goats in the paddock next door and the young man who looked after them was very friendly and sold us a bottle of fresh warm goats’ milk. 

When we went for a walk later he went scooting past on his little bike and yelled and waved madly to us.

The camp owner was really helpful with information about places to see and gave us a bottle of local Merlot – very yummy so we purchased two more bottles before we left.

Onwards we went with more sights to see along some small roads, with some roads better than others. 

We passed an interesting formation of rocks called ‘The Rock Mushrooms” and they did look like mushrooms.

We eventually reached the ancient Thracian city of Perperikon.

Stone Mushrooms

Perperikon is high on a rocky hill and involved us setting off and doing a lot of climbing in very hot conditions. 

The Perperikon site is thought to have been a sacred place and is one of the most ancient sites in Bulgaria. 

Perperikon Thracian ruins-L&M

There were wonderful views out across the surrounding countryside from the top.

Air-conditioning on high to cool us down, we then drove north-west towards Asenovgrad.

There we visited the Bachkovo Monastery, reached by driving along a pretty, treed and winding road with the river on one side and the Rhodopi Mountains on the other.

Bachkovo Monastery frescoes - Marg

The Monastery was founded in the 11th century, making it one of the oldest monasteries in the Balkan Peninsula. 

We saw some lovely frescoes and interesting architecture, all in a very peaceful mountain setting.

Still driving north-west we came to the city of Plovdiv where we thought we had a camping ground to stay in. 

We followed instructions to the village but no sign of a camp ground. Another Bulgarian camp that has disappeared!

As we drove around the same bit of road for the third time a local business man waved us down and offered help. 

We explained our plight and after consultation with his young woman assistant, they suggested the best place would be to park in the Kauflands supermarket car park overnight. 

Plovdiv street-Leigh

They then very kindly lead us there and ensured we were safely parked.

Next morning we got a taxi into the ancient town of Plovdiv. 

Founded in the 4 century BC, it is now Bulgaria's 2nd largest city.

Built on six steep granite hills along the banks of the Maritsa River, we found it chock-a-block with narrow, winding, hilly, cobbled streets.

We saw lots of beautiful decorative 18th-19th century buildings typical of Balkan style of architecture. 

Most are renovated and some function as museums or galleries.

Plovdiv’s most famous landmark is its 2nd century Roman amphitheatre along with lots of other ruins, many of which many are still being excavated. 

Plovdiv also has a newer town centre with attractive pedestrian ways and lots of modern shops.

Balabanov House Plovdiv-Marg

We thought it was an attractive and vibrant city with heaps of cultural history.

Arriving back at Vanni, we found that our Bulgarian business man Nedelin, had left a note for us on Vanni. 

Plovdiv-Roman Stadium Ruins

We phoned him and he wanted us to know that we could call his number at any time and he would translate or help out with anything we needed to know about Bulgaria.

What a sweetie!

We felt so privileged to meet people who were just prepared to help total strangers and this seems to be a Bulgarian trait.

Georgiadi House, Plovdiv-Marg

They are all so friendly and really interested in us and where we are from. 

They are all very knowledgeable about where New Zealand is as well.

We decided we didn’t want to spend another night in the car park .

Batak Dam camp - Leigh

So later in the day we headed towards the town of Batak and then just a little further on to a camp on the shores of Batak Dam. 

Eco Camp Batak welcomed us and managed to get us into a spot that wasn’t too muddy after their several rainy days.

Being a front wheel drive van we are always very aware of the difficulties of getting out of muddy or slippery grass spots.

Batak camp dam

It was a very peaceful spot to relax. 

We had an amazing view across Batak Dam and it many little fishing boats, and very little passing traffic.

Because we were a little higher here it was a bit cooler in the night which was a pleasant change from the heat we had been experiencing, and helpful for sleeping.

Rilska River & camping-L&M

After a few days, we moved on further into the mountains of Rila and the Rila Monastery. 

The route to our camp site took us right past the monastery and then onto an extremely narrow piece of road that had a few challenges for us.

There was a lot of traffic going up and down the mountain through a single lane road and bridge.

Rila Monastery

After several stop-starts passing on the narrow road, we made it to the campsite, parked up and relaxed, right beside the rushing Rilska River.

We decided to dine at the camp restaurant and had a delicious grilled fresh mountain trout, along with fries with white cheese grated on top – so tasty! 

Lots of Bulgarian dishes have either white cheese which is like a feta, or yellow cheese on them. 

A carafe of local chardonnay completed our feast.

The next day, after getting over the shock of the morning mountain chill following our days of 35 degree (+) heat, we walked down the hill to visit the Rila Monastery.

The Monastery was founded in AD 927 and sports some amazing architecture including wooden carved arches, colonnades, stairs, and verandas, and 300-400 monastic cells which are all very simply painted and decorated. 

The many beautiful murals and frescoes outside and inside the chapel are an incredible sight. 

A very peaceful and beautiful spot.

We felt very privileged to be able to spend time here. 

The forecast said a storm was coming so the next morning, we left the heavily treed mountains, to get to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. 

A huge electrical storm caught up with us halfway down the mountain, so we had a slow trip through very wet conditions.

As there are no campsites in Sofia we headed to the local Hymer (campervan brand) service centre as we heard that they had a parking system with electricity and water for vanning visitors. 

Rila Monastery - Leigh

The security guard let us through the gate and we checked in at the front office.

Then we parked up among side stored vans, plugged in and relaxed waiting for the storm to pass even though it didn't have the most fantastic outlook it was safe and secure with power.

To our surprise an Italian van arrived that we had been parked next to at Batak Dam and they greeted us like long lost friends! 

It was nice to have neighbours.

We caught a taxi into Sofia the next morning and had a great time exploring the many churches, large buildings and ancient ruins. 

Sofia is a big, busy and more impersonal city than the smaller Bulgarian cities, with lots of government buildings and employees everywhere.

We had lunch at a busy restaurant that was advertising NZ Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc at a very steep price! 

St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia-Marg

We stuck to coffee instead.

Leigh really wanted to see the changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace. 

This was a little different to some spectacular ones we have seen before.

National Theatre, Sofia-Leigh

It only consisted of the two guards marching forward, sideways, and back to their sentry boxes – all very low key!

We caught a taxi back to Vanni and prepared to move on the next morning.

We have now been in Bulgaria for about a month and enjoyed it immensely.

Next task is to fish out our passports and get ready to cross another border and customs point .

This time we will be heading in to Serbia.

This will be our first visit to Serbia so we are really looking forward our arrival there.