Bulgaria with Noodles

One of the many things I love about Sofia is how Vitosha mountain looms beside it. Even in the middle of the city, in Vitosha Boulevard, there is this ruddy great mountain squatting at the end  of the road, right next to a capital city! Well, I was rather motivated to go up Mt. Vitosha, after reading Claire’s excellent post on the same subject on her superb blog, Auntie Bulgari a. No, we did not take the cable car ( cabinov lift as it is called in Bulgarian) from Simeonovo, which is basically behind IKEA on the ring road. According to Claire, it is wise to call ahead and check whether the cable car is running before you set off (the same goes for the chair lift at Dragalevtsi, apparently). The working days are, shall we say, a bit sporadic. In theory, it is meant to work at the weekends. But, you know, sometimes maybe not. According to Claire, the cabins are dinky – about the size of a large ferris wheel cabin – so you will have one to yourselves. There are actually quit...

Martenitsi Well, 1st March has finally arrived and now the last of the snow is melting, although there is still plenty of it on top of Mount Vitosha. The weather is definitely warming up again, after the latest icy blast. On Wednesday of next week it is supposed to be 18C! The first day of March is a big celebration in Bulgaria. It is supposed to mark the beginning of the spring and you are supposed to wish your friends luck, health and prosperity. Chestitata Baba Marta! is the commonest greeting and it a bit like Merry Christmas! or Happy New Year!   Irena and Zlatka Baba Marta herself is imagined to be a rather grumpy old country woman, rather like our neighbour Zlatka, our nextdoor neighbour in Kalotina. Sometimes she is in a good mood and the weather is warm, so we start thinking about the coming summer, and sometimes Baba Marta is in a bad mood and then March is more like one of the winter months. Martenitsi  are red and white bracelets, usually ...