България

Well Bulgaria has certainly been interesting. To be honest, a lot of places somewhat merge together in Eastern Europe and when reflecting back it takes a few moments to recall each different place. That said, I don't think will ever be the case here. For a start, we are deep in the Balkans so not only does everyone look different, the writing is all in Cyrillic so following street signs all comes down to trying to identify different shapes rather than spelling out words.

We have enjoyed Bulgaria and while its not our favourite, we are of course very glad we came. As I type this we are on route to Istanbul - half hour in to an eight hour bus journey. Thankfully our bus is the creme de la creme of public transport, complete with smiling stewardess offering us deliciously sweet Turkish coffee and not so Turkish Pepsi every five minutes! Best of all, it has air conditioning, which saves us from the 35 degree heat where the sweat runs off our faces. Yuck!

We arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria just before midnight on Friday thanks to a delayed flight out of Heathrow. I hated to jinx it, but the moment we got to Heathrow I knew it would be a hideous flight. We were surrounded by 80s Cher lookalikes, all lining up to fly the hideousness that is Bulgaria Air. Nonetheless, we got there eventually after negotiating our way by Taxi (no mean feat as taxi drivers in Bulgaria are notoriously horrible con artists). The streets of Sofia are quite rough looking and we didn't feel comfortable exploring that late without having a feel for the land, so instead we opted to watch Downton Abbey, which we picked up at the airport, and go to bed.

Our sleep was fitful thanks to the lack of air con, meaning we slept with the windows wide open to avoid drowning in our own sweat, but therefore had to contend with the car alarms and noise right outside our window. We got a bit of a lie in the next day and before we put on our explorer hats, we hot footed it to the bus station to buy tickets for the following day to Bourgas. This was a bit of a mission given everything is written in Cyrillic and we had no other option than just walking in the general direction and hoping for a spot of luck. We were sweaty, dusty, lost, but jubilant when we found it eventually and although presented with a few translation issues, our usual trick of an apologetic smile meant we eventually found the tickets we were after.

Hot and exhausted we wandered back to our hotel for a quick lie down, before our walking tour kicked off. Our hostel offered a free walking tour and as there were just three of us, it was more or less a guided private tour - bonus! Our guide was born and bred in Sofia and we absolutely chewed his ear off with questions for over two hours. If we were going to describe Sofia in one word it would be 'raw'. While its not particularly pleasing to the eye, it feels very raw, rugged and authentic - quite an experience we felt.

Bulgaria has a tumultuous history really, more than any other nation. Alongside Athens, Sofia is the oldest European capital (3000 BC) and has been fought over by almost every nation in Europe! It was a part of the former Ottoman Empire (lead by Turkey) and only managed to break free in the 20th century. Next up was the Balkan war, followed by Nazi occupation then the Soviets with communism. Interestingly enough, Bulgaria was the only country whose Jewish population were kept safe, thanks to the smart thinking of the Bulgarian Tsar. Bulgaria had basically no other option than to side with Germany in the war, or in effect the population would be crushed, but they managed to keep out of actual combat somewhat. When Hitler's plans for the Jewish population became clear, the Tsar managed to avoid sending Bulgaria's Jews to their population by effectively saying: 'Of course the Jewish are terrible, but we really need them at the moment for cheap labour in helping with the war efforts - I'll send them to you afterwards of course for you to execute.' Nek minute, statues are erected all over the city by way of thanks to the Tsar. No other country managed to save their Jewish population.

One of the highlights of the tour was seeing the array of religious temples from Christian Orthodox to Catholic - I even got to don a full green robe complete with head covering and go inside a Mosque for the very first time. For sure the most beautiful building was the Christian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

This was the most interesting tour we have done as thanks to our guide, we didn't just see the token sights. He gave us insight into the history, culture and current social living situation of Bulgaria. One of his man topics was the country's biggest current social problem - Gypsies. We've encountered these communities all over Europe, but nowhere are they more prevalent than in Bulgaria and Romania. In fact, just before we left London, 200 arrests were made of Romanian Gypsies who were ripping and conning tourists in London - they're cracking down on this immensely in the build up to the Games. In Bulgaria, they don't go to school and parents don't work - instead they make their money stealing in effect. As a result, others don't want to live near them and move away, meaning the two cultures don't integrate and the children have no way of learning a different life. When we were walking we were shown a big natural spring where locals fill up their water bottles. Gypsy children were bathing in the fountain, which used to be home to a copper monument, which was recently stolen by them and used for scrap metal. A bit of a chicken and egg situation really.

Perhaps 7.7.12 was an auspicious day to be married as over our tour we must have seen five different couples getting married - one of which we were witness to the full, traditional ceremony! Brad had the good grace to look uncomfortable, but I was snapping away as if the couple were my dearest friends! The Orthodox priest with his long beard and incense, the trailer trash bridesmain with every inch of her own display in a Eurotrash dress, or the bride in all of her glitter and diamante glory - nothing was off limits for me! Bulgaria is traditionally a very religious and traditional country, but times are changing apparently - the girl wearing next to nothing is a prime example of this our guide said, as traditionally you wouldn't be caught wearing something like that anywhere near a church, let alone under the nose of the priest! Not that it matters mind, as unlike Catholic priests, Orthodox priests are allowed to marry. This, the long beards and hair are just about the only differences between the two religions apparently and more and more, they are becoming more accepting of the other. In fact when Pope Jean Paul died, apparently a section of the service was in line with Eastern traditions as a gesture.

After the tour we were in dire need of a beer, so we made our way to the park for a cool beer (which is ridiculously cheap in Bulgaria) and copious amounts of iced tea, which has been a staple for us here and is far more popular than Coke. We then found a vintage antiques market where wee had a nosey, before wandering some more then picking up some traditional pastry stuffed with cheese and spinach for dinner, followed by some pizza. Exhausted, hot, dusty and sweaty, we made our way back to the hostel for a Downton Abbey fix and some much needed sleep.

We awoke bright and early the next day, and had checked out, picked up some breakfast and made our way to the bus station (this time by tram - screw such a big walk with a big backpack) by 9.30am ready for our 10am bus eastward bound to Bourgas on the Black Sea Coast. What we thought was going to be a four hour ride, turned into an exhausting six hour journey across Bulgaria without air conditioning. It did mean we got to see a lot of the landscape however, which we were surprised to learn was completely covered in fields and fields of sun flowers - as far as the eye could see. Who knew!? Eventually we arrived in Bourgas and after purchasing bus tickets to Istanbul for two days time, we made it to our hostel with relative ease, once again trying to identify shapes on street signs against our own Google map!

Not wanting to waste any time, we dumped our bags, changed into togs and hot-footed it to the beach to make the most of the 30+ degree heat, despite it being 5pm. We remained here for a few hours and for the very first time, swam in the Black Sea. The verdict? Very warm, quite flat and full of seaweed!

Having not eaten properly since 9am that morning, we hopped straight from the beach to a delicious dinner, before taking a walk through the streets and stopping off for a 'Soprano' ice-cream after seeing everyone else eating them.

The next day we had a set plan - beach, beach and nothing but beach, other than perhaps a beer and ice-cream pit stop. Having decided to have a more adventurous, rather than relaxing summer holiday, we agreed that one day of beach action was a necessity, which is why we decided upon Bourgas. We arrived just after 10am and managed to nab an umbrella, which came very much in handy when seeking respite from the fierce sun. We spent the day swimming, sun bathing, reading and swimming some more, with a brief stop in the afternoon for a lunch of Bulgarian meat balls and bread. The sun is so hot here that you can stay on the beach until about 7pm, so after a quick shower, we headed back out for a quick bite, as well as to pick up some refreshments for our bus journey the next day to Istanbul.

Which brings me to today! This morning we grabbed a few last hours on the beach and a last dip in the black sea, before boarding our eight hour bus trip to Istanbul. We've just passed through the Turkish border, which was the harshest border crossing we've seen - with the entire bus even being x-rayed with an x-ray truck! The weather has turned into an electric storm, so combined with the misty mountainous landscape, it all feels very unfamiliar - almost a bit like Hong Kong, which I suppose is fitting given we are officially crossing into Asia.

The customs officer did manage to say "Aotearoa - long white cloud" when he saw our Passports, so perhaps its not as unfamiliar as we think!

Love to all. We're closing the Bulgaria chapter - our next update will be the Turkey instalment.



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