A View from the Bridge
As usual, I got out of bed and took that naughty, pampered Plovdiv pooch for her walk. That was when I noticed some Police cars on the other side of the river. Later, as I was munching my toast (with yummy homemade marmalade) and drinking my second cup of coffee, the doorbell rang. It was an Army officer and he wanted me to move my car. That was when I realized that we were going to have the weird and rather Monty Pythonesque tradition of throwing the wooden cross into the river. About forty young men were actually in the river, trying to catch the cross that was thrown into the river by the Orthodox bishop. The water in the Yantra River must have been flipping freezing! Anyway, this all happened on and around Vladishki Most, the old wooden bridge next to our apartment. We could see the whole thing from the dining room window. Of course, this cross throwing and catching business is some strange Bulgarian tradition that is supposed to have something to do with the baptism of Jesus. Well...