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Veliko Tarnovo – Day 2

What of today. Such a busy day!! But very satisfying as I’ve seen everything I really wanted to see which is a bit of a coup. At 8.30, after a very ordinary hotel breakfast, I decided I was going to have to try to get to Arbanasi, a small hilltop town near here with some amazing frescoes and old ottoman houses. So I decide to get a taxi out there…very cheap here in Bulgaria….I get the hotel to call me a taxi which comes and then there is a lot of consternation about how I’m going to get back. No taxis hanging around in this village waiting for me. I negotiate with the taxi driver to come back for me in 2 hours but the girl from the hotel is looking very worried as she waves me goodbye!!

Anyway it worked perfectly, was just arriving at the pick up point when the taxi drove in. And the effort to get there was really worth it. Amazing vivid frescoes again just covering the churches I went to…ancient frescoes that take your breath away and are truly amazing. Also an old ottoman house that was great too. Arriving in the town though is the usual Bulgarian experience. No signs (at least not in the Roman alphabet) and no-one to ask so I wasted half an hour just trying to work out where I was and how how I got where I wanted to go. People often just ignore you if you ask them a question. But once you find one of the sights, which I did, you’re OK because the people working with the (scant) tourists are tuned in and helpful and you can get directions from one to the other…very helpfully given.

So I was off and running and blown away by what I saw which, to some extent, I was unprepared for. At the most impressive, the Church of the Nativity, I was overrun by a group of pompous poms with their guide. That was a pain in in the arse except that they had a very informative guide and what option did I have but to listen to him. He was referencing and referring to Boyana Church which was most interesting. But then I trundled off by myself again…turn right, then left, then you’ll see an arch, don’t go there but there is a road after in just follow up the hill….long story short I felt very pleased with myself as I headed back to the square to meet the taxi and even more pleased with myself when he and I turned up together on cue.

He dropped me back in the centre of V.T. and I felt I deserved a coffee and a gelati which I duly consumed. Then I somewhat stupidly decided I was going to find a bridge to go across to the Museum on the island formed by the river running through the town. I was doing this completely blindly and decided I just had to go downhill!! Well after a mammoth downhill trek (remembering that everything that goes down has to ultimately come back up), found I was completely on the wrong track altogether but enjoyed the walk immensely through the winding, cobbled streets of V.T with its ancient houses. All good but then up I had to come and work out how to get where I wanted to go. Ask a few people…ignored but then find someone who helps, and when they are helpful they are fantastic, found my way to the island, only to discover it isn’t the museum I’m actually wanting but the State Art Gallery. I’m ashamed to say that I just didn’t feel up to another art gallery so gave it a miss, having spent a few hours getting myself there. As I said it was a great walk though.

What next…a very late spot of lunch then back to the hotel for a brief respite and toilet break ( hadn’t been since before breakfast so that was welcome), the girl at the hotel was absolutely delighted to see me, said she was very worried and I think she thought she’d never see me again (and I hadn’t paid the bill).

Then I had one more mission for the day to get myself to the Holy Church of the 40 Martyrs. From my hotel there was a signpost that said 400M…easy peasy…they did forget to mention that the 400M was vertical!! Down I went and just as I arrived so did the bus of English tourists from the morning. I could have cried but I pulled myself up, decided to listen to their guide again and learn a bit! Which I did then I pulled myself back from whence I had come and they sailed past me in their bloody bus!! They then went up to the Tsarevets Fortress and I was so glad I’d been there the night before. I must say although painfully British (when did you do your finals at Oxford, oh I was rather before you, but did you have Professor xx for history, so did I !!) some of them were so plucky, quite elderly and disabled but getting themselves around, I did admire them. As I was heading off for the uphill trek I thanked their tour guide for a very informative free tour…he said it was OK because it was accidental and I wasn’t freeloading…oh truly, certainly didn’t get the Aussie sense of humour!!

Now, finally, you know how I’m always whinging about the Nanny state in Victoria. Well one aspect of that I have to say I will appreciate when I get home…that is the amount of dog shit in the streets. One other hazard I have to look out for ( and there are many) and which prevent me from having any idea of the scenery around me as I walk around with eyes firmly on the footpath)

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Veliko Tarnovo

I start tonights missive on the rooftop terrace of my hotel in Veliko Tarnovo overlooking the massive fortress of the town called Tsarevets Fortress for those of you who have been here.

In answer to your first question…yes I did make it to V.T. Against all odds…the ticket (little bit of paper) got me onto an ancient, rickety old mini-bus affair with another dour Bulgarian bus driver who didn’t acknowledge me at all. I just hoped I was on the right bus.
Even more worrying, when I got to V.T I went to get my next bus ticket to Burgas while I was at the station. Talk about hilarious. ‘Do you speak any English??’, ‘NO’, with that we just look at each other, not a word spoken. So I take a deep breath and start again writing a date down etc. Well I got a piece of paper and I paid some money but to be honest I have little idea if I have the right ticket. I’m going to have to ask the hotel to look at it for me.

It was a lovely bus ride through the mountains..Sunflowers harvested, fresh apples being sold on the roadside, snow in the mountains (I’m told very unusually early).

Arrived in V.T. and got in a taxi, again no words spoken, very glum really but I have discovered that a tip works wonders, a couple of Lv and there is a marked increase in helpfulness.

This hotel is much, much nicer and the staff really sweet. But again I’m early and have to leave my case and trot off to start seeing the town. Only staying here 2 nights, as in Plovdiv, I can’t waste the half day I have when I arrive. So I trotted into the old town…gorgeous really. I like this town even more than Plovdiv, it is friendlier. I had a nice lunch somewhere in town and then I headed back for check in. My room is on the 3rd floor and there is no lift!! A young girl and I had to get my massive cases up which we did!! I’ll be glad not to have to take the big case everywhere again which will happen once I reach Bucharest(which is a complication in itself…how to get there).

So a minutes rest and then I figure if I’m going to be efficient I have to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring Tsarevets Fortress. So off I set. It is amazing and i did enjoy walking around it and right up to the top with the massive Cathedral. I’m a bit bushed now but food will probably get me going again. Amongst all of this I did manage to get my wine. Now I’m sitting on the roof looking over the fortress and writing this.

Two night here and then on to Burgas (if that’s where I’ve got a ticket to) but there is a complication in that I can’t easily get from Burgas to Bucharest and will probably have to spend a night elsewhere like Rose to get myself up into Romania. Still, I guess it will all be managed in the long run.

This is really quite adventurous travel…just wish I was 40 years younger but still am coping well for an old girl. My knees are playing their part in a manner that is little short of miraculous!!