Back in Scotland after a Wonderful Holiday in Bulgaria

Greetings Friends -

Happy New Years!! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a happy holiday season!

After a 2 ½ week vacation in Bulgaria, it’s great to be back “home” in Scotland. The trip was truly an eye opening and once-in-a-lifetime experience. My roommate, Nick, and his family were such amazing hosts, and I’m sincerely grateful to them for their hospitality. In a relatively short time span, we explored the nation’s capital (Sofia), skied at Vitosha Mountain, spent Christmas with Nick’s mom in Haskovo, visited ancient ruins in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains, off-roaded around countryside in a 4x4, spent New Years at a villa in the mountains between Bulgaria and Greece, and returned to Sofia to fly back to Scotland.

The Republic of Bulgaria is located in Eastern Europe, so its culture still reflects quite a bit of Soviet-era influence. Today, Bulgaria functions as a parliamentary democracy under a unitary constitutional republic. The country has joined the European Union and NATO. It has a population of approximately 7.7 million, with Sofia as its capital and largest city. The country is currently undergoing tremendous economic growth and is experiencing one of the largest real-estate booms in the world. If any of you are interested, more information on Bulgaria is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria.

It was quite a shocking experience to spend nearly three weeks in a country where few people speak English. The Bulgarian language is based on the Cyrillic alphabet, which meant that I couldn’t read or pronounce most things that I saw in writing. Adjusting to this different alphabet served as a particularly challenging element of this trip. Yet, by the end of the trip I discovered that I was able to read and understand the occasional road signs. If any of you are interested, more information on the Cyrillic alphabet is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_alphabet.

I managed to pick up several everyday words in Bulgarian, but I largely depended on Nick and his English-speaking friends to translate for me throughout the vacation. It was quite a fascinating challenge to constantly discover new ways to communicate with people. The way of life in Bulgaria varies significantly from most Western cultures, and it was fascinating to encounter cultural differences that I could never have previously imagined.

During the visit I also managed to reach the Haskovo Rotary Club, which is located in District 2482. The Bulgarian Rotarians were quite welcoming, and it was great to experience two of their Rotary functions. In addition to attending a meeting and exchanging banners, it was a pleasure to speak briefly about my purpose as an ambassadorial scholar and about my experiences in Bulgaria. Of course, my roommate (Nick) translated for me.

Overall, the visit was quite a rewarding experience. To share the experience with all of you back home, pictures from the holiday in Bulgaria are posted in separate entries below. Hope you enjoy!!

Wishing you all the best in 2008 -

Nick

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 1): Arrival and Sofia

Me posing in front of an old Christian Orthodox church in Sofia:

The former communist party building in downtown Sofia:

The Current Bulgarian House of Parliament:

Interesting Liberation Statue in downtown Sofia:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 2): Skiing at Vitosha Mountain

Tony (Nick’s cousin) and me at the top of Vitosha Mountain:

View overlooking the valley:

View going down the slopes:

On the way down the slopes:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 3): Haskovo

Standing in front of the Largest Statue of the Virgin Mary in the World:

http://haskovo-online.com/content/view/10/8/lang,en/

Dinner with Nick and his mom, Daniela – such wonderful hosts:

The crew out for a night on the town:

Older area of town:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 4): Perperikon

Sign at the base of the ancient ruins:

View of valley below from the path leading to the ruins:

Sitting on the outer wall of the ruined city:

Overlooking the valley from the outer wall:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 5): Perperikon continued

Excavation site at the mountain peak:

View of the valley from the peak:


Picture of the wall – overlooking valley:

At the top edge – over looking valley:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 6): Haskovo Rotary Club Visit

Group picture of the Haskovo Rotary Club, District 2482:

Bulgarian Rotary banner:

Socializing afterwards with one of the Rotarians:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 6): Countryside

The Lada Niva, our off-roading vehicle:

The driver with his grandpa's Russian-made 4x4:

View of the frozen lake: Posing in front of a massive cross at the top of a hill:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 7): New Years at the cottage in Vodni Pad (a.k.a. waterfall)

There wasn’t really a road, and we accidentally slid off the path in the 4x4:

On the bright side, the walk was quite scenic with the mountain stream running next to the path:

The village:

Standing in no-man’s land between Bulgaria and Greece:

Overlooking the village at dusk:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 8): New Years at the cottage in Vodni Pad (a.k.a. waterfall)

Petko and I enjoying the sunset from the hilltop:

The crew:

View of the moon just before sunrise:

Drinking fresh mountain spring water – these fountains were all over the place:

Standing next to the sign for Vodni Pad:

Pictures from Bulgaria (Part 9): The Journey Home

We drove back to Sofia in the middle of a snow storm:

The front of the car afterwards:

Somewhere over Europe during the flight back to Scotland: