Assenova

The results of the American election were such a shock that for several days I did not want to watch TV or read the BBC and the CNN news on my computer. Then I remembered that I do not live in America, I am not an American, and in fact I live in Bulgaria. At the moment Irena and I are living in a part of Veliko Tarnovo called Assenova, a world away from Washington DC.

Located more or less half-way between the two fortresses of Trapezetiya and Tsaravets, the region or district of Assenova is next to the river, close to the old wooden bridge. The bridge is called "Vladishki Most", the bishop's bridge, and it dates back to the Middle Ages. You can find lots of padlocks fixed onto the wires on the bridge, many with red hearts on them, so some people call it "the lovers' bridge". 

On a less romantic and more practical note, there are two little houses or towers at the Tsaravets end of the bridge and I think that these used to be tollhouses, as you had to pay a fee to cross the bridge. Maybe the old bishop was not, after all, such a wonderful and public-spirited chap.

I also read somewhere that Assenova used to be the old Jewish quarter of VT. Located between the two fortresses and next to the bridge, Assenova was the ideal location for "middle men". Well, there are no synagogues now, but quite a few churches.

In some ways, Assenova is the most "typically Bulgarian" part of VT. Although it is one of the oldest parts of the city, it is not on the main "tourist trail" and therefore we do not have s lot of tourists wandering through Assenova. (A few, but not many, come to see the famous church at the top of the hill and of course it is always locked.) Therefore the residents just do their own Bulgarian thing and it is not all a contrived and artificial act that is put on for the tourists.

Another nice feature of living in Assenova is that you are on the edge of the city, so that you are in the countryside and in the city at the same time. It's rather lovely. Being so close to nature, we often see herons and storks flying down the Yantra River. 

Another common sight are weddings. The Vladishki Most seems to be a very popular location for wedding photographers to take all those photos of the bridge and groom. 

Oh yes, and I must not forget to mention the cats. There are quite a lot of them in Assenova.  One of Tina's main occupations is to sit on the back of our leather armchair and look out of the window, checking to see what those naughty cats are up to.