Bulgaria with Noodles

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 fe...

Yikes! We have had some serious, serious snow and it is still only November. I think that here in VT we had maybe 30 cms of snow. There were lots of branches broken under the weight of the snow and many of the villages round VT seem to be without electricity. So what is going to happen in January and February? The heavy fall of snow has damaged quite a few trees in the woods around our apartment. What a pity I left my chainsaw back in Daveri!

Apologies for not having written any entries for my blog for absolutely ages. Well, not much has really happened. Yes, the ghastly war in Ukraine drags on and my brother Andrew is coming to Bulgaria for the first time, but otherwise not much is happening. I have just about recovered from the minor surgery I had, on a nasty little lump on my back. I went to the hospital (that is bolnitsa in Bulgarian, in case you did not know) to see Dr. Ivanov on the Tuesday and then went to the surgeon for the op. on the Thursday. None of this UK and NHS nonsense of waiting months and months for an operation. The doc only gave me a local anesthetic, so I was conscious all the time when he was doing his thing on my back. Laser surgery seems to be very good, but there is one downside, namely the horrible smell of burning flesh. Yours. I had some stitches and a dressing was applied. No showers for about three weeks. Well, I had the stitches out a couple of days ago and it is all healing up very well....

He does not look very happy about his VIVACOM bill. This morning we explored the big park in Veliko Tarnovo, the one on the hill next to the university.  That naughty little doggie was very happy, of course, and we were able to let her off the lead for a good run. The park has some pleasant walks, with plenty of shade for a hot day like today. The 1970s architecture of the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in VT rather reminded me of Southampton University. C & M looked as though they were looking at their latest bill from VIVACOM, the Bulgarian telephone and Internet company. They did not look very happy.

On Tuesday of this morning we had our first amazing visit to Emen Canyon, west of Veliko Tarnovo. Yes, it really is as incredible and spectacular as all of the photos on Google Images and as breathtaking and huge as the videos on YouTube. Tina, that naughty little doggie, had a great time too. From the little suspension bridge at the beginning to the waterfall at the end of the canyon takes about an hour of fairly strenuous walking and then you will want to do what we did: go for a swim! Tina went swimming tooo. What a brave little dog! One commentator has described “a crystal clear lake with a quiet waterfall providing its water”. What a lot of nonsense! The pool at the bottom of the waterfall was full of muddy brown water. Even though there was a modest flow of water, it certainly was not quiet and the surrounding cliffs amplified the sound. Some of the paths through Emen Canyon are quite easy and pleasant, but there are some pretty steep and rocky bits too. In the UK, a Health and...

We are now in Veliko Tarnovo and that gives me an excuse for including a few old photos of VT, most of which were taken by my friend Peter Adams.  Recently I received an email from Thomas Hughes, a new recruit for the teaching staff at St. George's School. Hi Simon, I hope you are well. I managed to get back to the UK after much trouble getting out of Mexico, and Elena managed to get back to Russia a couple of weeks back. Phew. I asked the school a couple of weeks back what age range they thought I would be teaching, and they said that I would most likely be teaching year 5 & 6.  I think you mentioned that you were willing to pass over your work from last year which would most likely help myself transition and teach next academic year. That would be a great help if you are still willing to do this. Also, I have 28 days in quarantine to look forward too in the UK and Sofia it seems, so this would help me to stay sane. Let me know if this offer is st...

As regular readers of my blog will know, I am a great fan of Bosch. They make some great kitchen appliances (washing machines, coffee grinders, toasters and so on). My wife and I have bought quite a few Bosch things. However, I am now a fan of Yantra Homes as well because this estate agency gave us some excellent service when we went to Veliko Tarnovo for our house-hunting expedition.  We saw quite a few properties and most of them we did not really like. Yes, they looked great in the photos, but they were not so wonderful when you actually went to the houses and saw how they really are.  The side of the house and you can see the massive wooden gate. There was, however, one splendid exception. There was one house that actually looked a lot better in real life than it does in the photos! The bad news? Yes, there is some. First of all, it is a bit further from Veliko Tarnovo than we had wanted (50 km or thereabouts) and, at 81,000 euros, it is costing u...

One of my favourite photos! Recently we have been spending quite a lot of time in our apartment in Veliko Tarnovo (VT), so I thought that I might perhaps give you a little tour. (This is also an excuse for me to include lots of old photos of VT.)  Tsaravets across the river and the old wooden bridge Our apartment is in Ulitsa Patriarch Evtimy, next to the old wooden bridge. This area of the city, Assenova, dates back to the 13th century and it is just across the River Yantra from Tsaravets, the huge castle that is up on the hill. From the wooden balcony and the dining room of o ur apartment, we have some great views of the wooden bridge and Tsaravets.  The dining room The dining room is probably my favourite room, but the sitting room is also nice. We bought the leather sofa and the chair from Malcom, who originally owned the apartment, and we said, "We will buy the apartment if you sell us the sofa too!" Breakfast on the balcony We were in VT because we ar...

In many ways Veliko Tarnovo, also known as V.T., is a much nicer city than Sofia. It is smaller, less polluted and the traffic is nowhere near as bad as it is in the capital. Every year, we go and spend a week or so in our apartment in Veliko Tarnovo.  The balcony of our apartment in V.T. For I don't know how long, Irena and I have been saying, "When you retire, we will move in V.T. and that is where we will spend the winter, as it won't be much fun spending the winter in Kalotina." The main problem with this plan is that we have not retired yet. Well, I was retired for six months, but then I started working again and now we have started to put down roots in Sofia, not in V.T. This trip to V.T. was rather different, as it was dominated by the presence of Tina. Yes, it was a lot of fun to have her delightful company, but she was also seriously ill. Several trips to the Vet were needed, along with quite a few injections and a course of antibiotics. Firs...

Looking across the Yantra, with Tsaravets at the top of the hill. Veliko Tarnovo used to be Bulgaria's old capital city. It is a rather splendid place, with the River Yantra winding through the old town and the Tsarvets fortress up on the hill. There are two main bridges across the Yantra, the stone bridge for cars and the old wooden footbridge. Our apartment in the Assenova quarter is next to the wooden bridge and from the window of our dining room you get a great view across the river to Tsarvets. The balcony of our apartment, looking down into the cobblestoned street. Now it is time for the bad news. Our apartment was horribly, dreadfully COLD. It was like a freezer. (Unlike our house in Kalotina, we have never got round to having the insulation done.) There was a bottle of olive oil in the kitchen and it had frozen! There was also something wrong with the guttering, as it was probably clogged up with ice and snow, so there was a nasty-looking damp patch in the bat...