I had bought a Balkan Flexipass, which is a train ticket that I can use in any Balkan country for 5 travel days within a month. Being 25, I just made it under the threshold for a student discount. It cost about $75.
I used it from Brasov to Bucharest, stayed in Bucharest for a few hours, saw that it sucked (as every Romanian I met had told me), and moved on with night train to Bulgaria. I got out at 2am at Gorna Oryahovitsa which is just outside Veliko Tarnovo. I was looking around for a bus or something, but nothing. Two police officers were curious about me so they came over to help. They spoke almost no English and it was a tough time communicating. It was fun though, as we were each very pleasant to each other and trying to transmit messages using handmotions, etc. I also was struck by the backwards Bulgarian head nodding. I would ask a question about a bus, and the two cops would nod their heads “yes” but said “nine.” So weird.
So I had to hang around until 5am for a train to Veliko Tarnovo. I got a beer, used the bathroom (squatter!), watched an old stray dog, and slept a while on a bench.
I walked a long way from the train station to the center of the city, and then had to wait until a hostel opened. Then I checked in and slept until noon.
Veliko Tarnovo is the old capital of Bulgaria. It’s quaint and has beautiful surroundings. I went for a hike. I had the whole trail to myself and hiked to one of the monasteries. Bulgaria has a lot of monasteries.
I even took a naked dip in a stream’s pond.
Beauty valley.
A Bulgarian car.
Self-portrait in front of the monastery’s fake window. I lost the trail on the way back so I just walked about 6km along the railroad tracks.
On one of the next days, I went to the fortress, which was great.
I stayed 3 days in Veliko Tarnovo. It was really cheap and I could just chill and hike and see the town. Beer was about $0.80. I got a pretty good meal for $2.
Some interesting interactions:
I met a Bulgarian girl in a souvenir shop who spoke very good English. She was sassy. She wondered why I traveled alone (probably because I’m going to murder someone), asked if I had a girlfriend (No — I must be gay), concluded I must be in Bulgaria to find a wife, asked me if I thought Bulgarian girls are pretty. I told her I hadn’t seen an attractive Bulgarian (this was my sass), and that I much preferred Romanian girls. She introduced herself as Sveta and told me I should come back to talk. Maybe this Bulgarian wanted an American husband.
I also CouchSurfed with a Bulgarian guy named Plamen. He lived in a student dorm. He gave me beer, food, and we smoked a hookah. Good guy and really hardworking; he worked 12-hour days at a car wash. Actually most Bulgarians were really hard-working. Even on Sunday shops were open. I went back to talk to Sveta and she works 12 hours or more too.
I didn’t meet anyone in the hostels that I liked. I did run into a few annoying Americans. One guy, Jonathan, was that really nice type that would pleasantly intrude on conversations to give advice. Every conversation he had turned out to benefit him. He would talk about all his travels and how open-minded he was, so adventurous. How he’s lived in all these different countries and thinks all the cultures are “so incredible.” This guy needed a friend, bad.
Another guy was this old American in his fifties or sixties. Danny. He was also really open-minded and living abroad, trying to find that place to live or that project he would put all his passion into. He lived in California for a while, but he swears he’s not going back. Some kind of wannabe jaded ex-pat who’s staying in dorm rooms with 20-somethings and thinking he’s still cool and got something to offer these young guys.
Well, Danny and Jonathan really hit it off.
I think the most annoying travelers are Americans followed by Australians. Australians love to tell you about how long they’ve been traveling for. Usally many months or even years. I think they are pretty proud of themselves.
