Posts

Buzz Off

Image
Yesterday, it was very foggy you could hardly see the wooden bridge from the dining window of our apartment, as the weather was so dark and murky. It reminded me of the time when Peter and I went to see Buzludhza. In case you did not know, Buzludhza, as well as being difficult to spell and even harder to pronounce, is a huge concrete monstrosity on top of a mountain. It looks a bit like a flying saucer and it is enormous. We drove up to it on a beautifully warm and sunny summer's day, but as we came to the top of the mountain we found ourselves inside a cloud. It was very misty and really cold. When we got out of the car at the small carpark, we could not see Buzludhza, but as we walked up some step we saw it, looming ahead of us in the mist. Because it is saucer-shaped, the walls stick out and tower above you, like a concrete cliff that is about to fall on you. Buzludhza is a scary, weird place. You cannot go inside. All the doors are locked, although sometimes people do break in....
Post a Comment
Read more

More Holes

Image
Dear Peter,          Wednesday, 3rd December, 2025                                 No, my dear chap. I am really not suggesting that any of the banks in Bulgaria are about to go bust. I think that this is highly unlikely and next year this will be even less likely, as Bulgaria will be in the Eurozone. The other countries in the Eurozone would probably not be too happy if some Bulgarian banks go out of business, so they will make sure that this does not happen. As you have probably seen on the BBC news, there have been rather a lot of demonstrations in Sofia. (President Vladimir Putin will be very pleased with his agents’ work, I am sure.) What are they protesting about? Well, maybe they are unhappy with the EU, which is silly because the EU has done a lot of good things in Bulgaria. Or maybe they are protesting about Bulgaria’s entry into the Eurozone? Everyone has been tal...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sveta Gora

Image
Sveta Gora is one of those places in Veliko Tarnovo that we just keep coming back to, again and again. In case you did not know, Sveta Gora is a huge park, next door to the University and near to the big art gallery. It is on a very steep, wooded hill, with rather splendid views over most of the city of Veliko Tarnovo. It's not far away from us, maybe just ten minutes in the car. In case you were wondering, that podgy, pampered Plovdiv pooch had a great time. Yesterday it was a beautifully sunny day. The sunshine was quite warm, even though the air was cold. As usual, there were LOTS of steps and our knees were hurting this morning.  Here are a few more photos of the two of us in Sveta Gora, taken over the last few years.
Post a Comment
Read more

The Return of the VT Walkers

Image
Yes, we are now back in Veliko Tarnovo and we will be staying here until March. (I am hoping that it will be the beginning of March, but my dear lady wife seems to think that we ought to go back to Daveri at the end of March. Hmm.) Being back in VT means that on Wednesday mornings we can go for walks with the VT Walkers, a group of old drinkers with a walking problem. We had quite a long and tiring walk in the woods above Gorna Oryhavotisa (have I spelled that correctly?), stopped at the gazebo for a cup of tea and a piece of cake, and then we had lunch together at a rather nice mehana.
Post a Comment
Read more

Elenski But

Image
On Saturday it was our 30 th wedding anniversary and it was also the Elenski But Festival. Just in case you did not know, Elenski But is salt cured pork leg from Elena. It is a local and national delicacy. Elena is quite a small town, much smaller than Veliko Tarnovo, and it was exciting to see the place so full of people. The Bulgarians do love their piece of pork. Anyway, we went into Elena and saw what was going on. Yes, a bit touristy and traditional at the same time. It was very noisy and crowded, but a lot of fun. The Elenski But Festival probably was not an enjoyable experience for vegetarians and piglovers, but we liked it.  
Post a Comment
Read more

The Last Gardening Bore of 2025

Image
The good news is that this will, most probably, be the last Gardening Bore of 2025. The bad news is that it was a rather warm day (what the Bulgarians call "a gypsy summer" day) and so I took off my shirt while I was doing the weeding. Although my American readers will no doubt be used to wide open spaces, some of my other readers will not be pleased with the sight of my huge tummy! Unfortunately the soil in our garden is mostly clay and that does not make gardening a pure pleasure. It's awful soil when it's wet: heavy, sticky and blooming hard work. When the weather is dry, the soil is even worse and does a very good impersonation of concrete. Tina, that pampered Plovid pooch, was not really interested in helping me with the digging. She is a lazy and fat little dog. As well as removing the weeds, my dear wife also wanted the soil turning over and loosening, ready for planting in the spring. As well as weeding, I have also been quite busy with the leaves, collecting ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Daily Mail, Part 2

Image
No, I am not a big fan of The Daily Mail . It was quite enjoyable, seeing one's name in print, but it would have been even more enjoyable if they had actually paid me for my journalistic services. Well, all I really did was to chat with a journalist over the Internet and then she turned my comments into a finished article. Recently I saw this piece about Bulgaria in - yes, you guessed it - The Daily Mail . Christine and Eric Thompson are not quite so positive about their BG experience. I am including a few photos of their Bulgarian house that they are trying to sell for 240,000 euros.   They were sold the idea of a dream life in Bulgaria, with low prices and friendly locals, but after nin e years they say the reality is quite different. Speaking to the Daily Mail , Eric, 70, said, "It's certainly a slower pace of life and the weather is well over 30C. But the people are a different story. Even in the beautiful weather, they have faces like it's a wet Sunday. People say...
Post a Comment
Read more