Welcome back!
We crossed the border from Macedonia into Bulgaria and, as if to prove that borders are just lines drawn on a map, the landscape didn't change at all. Lovely green hills were covered with scrub, trees and lush greenery.
An hour or so later we turned into the main 'road' (dirt track) of the small town of Melnik however, and it was like we had stepped straight into a Hans Christian-Anderson fairytale. Triple-storied stone houses with whitewashed overhanging upper floors lined the pretty street, their window frames, doors and timber-work all a dark brown.
On the backs of some buildings were unusual round chimneys.
Tourists ambled along the road eating ice-creams in the heat and huge plane trees provided shelter in the centre. Backing all this were dramatic sandstone cliffs with jagged ridges.
My first impression was that it was all preserved for the tourists as we hadn't seen this concentration of tourists for a while but, after staying here a few days, I found it to be a very genuine place.
We found our accommodation, a small 'hotel' with five rooms run by a wonderful family. Our room was fantastic - all whitewash and timber with a view over the town. It had enough space, had air-conditioning and - wait for it - a super-comfy bed! We were in heaven!
The view from our window:
We had changed time zones by an hour and it was even hotter here so we had to get up very early to exercise before the heat. There was one clear option for me - a hike through the valley up towards a monastery. I set off early the next morning and the track was clearly marked. I passed ruins of buildings in various stages of being taken over by nature. It occurred to me that all throughout history nature has eventually overridden the signs of mankind - think ancient ruins being discovered under metres of soil or stone structures hidden under layers of jungle greenery. However today, mankind seems to be dominating over nature as we encroach further and further into the natural world that sustains us.
I didn't have time for more deep and meaningful thoughts though as, ten minutes into the walk, flies started hanging around. Soon they were driving me mad. They were mostly large flies, very much like our March flies at home, but there were other sorts as well. I couldn't stop or they would land and bite. For 40 minutes I walked quickly, constantly swishing at them with my hat. The track then turned off the valley and headed up the side of a hill and as I ascended, the flies suddenly stopped. Thank goodness!
This area is known for a number of things, one of them being the dramatic sandstone formations near the town. As I climbed, the views of the sandstone 'pyramids' got better and better. The morning light looked wonderful on them.
I reached the highest point and the sandstone was all around me. Some of the formations were a bit Cappadocia-like.
I had to turn around at this point to be back at our agreed time and had a good walk back. The flies only bothered me a little this time.
Meanwhile, John had ridden in a similar area and also got attacked by the flies. At one point he was slogging us a hill, sweat pouring off him and the flies were able to keep up with him. When he stopped to check directions he got bitten through his clothing.
He found some interesting sights on the way though!
Some buildings weren't whitewashed and they were just as beautiful.
By now we had realised that there was a lot to see here and we only had two nights so after a delicious breakfast at our accommodation we jumped in the car and drove up to the monastery I had been headings towards earlier. Before we visited the monastery though, I wanted to take John up to the viewpoints I had climbed to earlier. It was only a 15-minute walk but it was now very hot and it was tough going. The views were worth it though.
After our last monastery visit in Macedonia, we didn't have high expectations of this one but it was fantastic! Double- and triple-storied buildings in the typical white-and-timber style formed a rectangle around a central church. As soon as we stepped through the exterior doorway coolness and shade greeted us. Cool water ran from a spout and it was wonderful to wash our hot faces down. Photography isn't allowed inside but John took this pic at the entrance on his ride earlier.
This photo of the cool, shady courtyard is from the internet.
The church in the centre of the courtyard was amazing. 500 year old paintings decorated both the interior and exterior walls. The detail was incredible on the murals depicting various biblical scenes on the outside of the church. Inside, the walls were lined with saints with heads too small for their bodies. We see this a lot so it must have been from a certain era but it always reminds me of shrunken Beetlejuice heads.
Next up, as we are in a wine area, we had to do a wine tasing of course! We were shown around the small but very modern and impressive Villa Melnik Winery and enjoyed tasting the wines.
Despite its up-to-date equipment, it still had some very old, dusty bottles stored in a tunnel under the building.
We drove to another village and drove through another tunnel of a different kind. Two local villages hounded the local council for years to build a tunnel to connect the two villages but nothing happened. The locals eventually took the matter into their own hands and dug the tunnel by hand. It took them 10 years!
Knowing there was a lot to see and we didn't have a lot of time here, we pushed on and visited the museum which was the original house of a wealthy family who were traders a couple of hundred years ago. At least we didn't have to go far - it was right next door! The rooms were huge and would have been very grand for the times.
One of my favourites was local cheese (like a cross between feta and cream cheese) grilled in a pan with honey and walnuts. It was sensational!
Tatjana and Goran had brought some of their Slovenian winemaker friend's wine with them from Slovenia so after dinner we sat in the garden of our accommodation and drank not one, but two bottles of sparkling wine! Needless to say it was a late night and we were in no condition to go exercising the next morning!
We continued to get bitten by various bugs but John got bitten by something different one day and his hand swelled up alarmingly. Some antihistamines helped.
We were really sad to leave Melnik. It's the best place we've stayed in so far, partly because there's a lot to see and do, partly because our room and the family here were so wonderful and partly because we met other people who proved to be such good company! We would love to have spent more time here.
Before we left though, we had to get our washing out of the car. We've come up with a new way to dry washing when we have no sunny place to dry it on - we park the car in a warm place, crack the windows and string the washing line inside. It works brilliantly, except for when the bike is in the car too. We then get a bit of bike grease on our clothes!
From Melnik we headed north to Blagoevgrad. We are only staying in two places in Bulgaria and we thought one of them should be a city so we get the feel of Bulgaria in case we want to come back one day. As it turned out, most things we wanted to do were in the rural areas anyway. We can't get it right every time!
We navigated our way into the shopping mall car park we were told to park in as there was no parking at our apartment. We went in and out of this underground car park three times in the coming days and each time we had a different but equally helpful and friendly ticket guy. None of them spoke a word of English but we all just laughed a lot and worked it out between us. These car park ticket guys were a joy to spend time with.
Our apartment in Blagoevgrad was fantastic! It was BIG! And it had a really comfortable bed! And low pillows! We were in heaven.
The main attraction here was the Rila Mountains where there is an incredible monastery and great bike riding and hiking.
We got to the monastery early and managed to beat most of the crowds. It was incredible. It's Bulgaria's largest and most well-know monastery. Founded in 927AD, the monastery was looted, sacked, moved, burned down and restored over the centuries. When the Ottomans ruled this part of the world, they allowed the monastery to keep functioning and it played an important part in preserving Bulgarian culture.
The amazing artwork started at the entrance gate.
Like the monastery at Rhozen, the central church was enclosed by living quarters and other functional buildings.
The outside of the church was covered in religious pictures that had clearly been well- maintained. The colours were so vivid!
We weren't allowed to photograph inside the church but it was the same gilded extravaganza that we found in the Rhozen Monastery church. Here though, the vivid-coloured paintings lined all the walls and ceilings.
The living quarters were also wonderfully decorated.
A beautiful church outside the monastery was also well-maintained but it had been converted to a very popular bakery!
We didn't have a lot of info on where to walk and ride so we drove up the road and decided to just go from there. It wasn't the most exciting walk and ride we've had but it was pretty enough. We went along a dirt road and I was fascinated by the posts marking the edge of the road. These look like old bomb shells or something to me!
Like the Macedonians, Bulgarians love to go out picnicking with family on weekends. A huge group had taken over one of the picnic spots on this track and were singing and dancing.
The track followed a river through a forest and it was really beautiful.
As I was walking back I came to a spot where some cliffs provided a great backdrop for photos. A young woman - maybe in her late 20's or early 30's - was keen to take advantage of the site. She got into position then thrust her breasts forward, arched her back and put her hands on her hips. She let her lair fall forward and stared straight at the phone camera sultrily. When enough shots were taken she swung her hair back, letting the breeze ruffle it while she stared wisely and heroically off into the distance. She lifted one leg back in a sexy little kick and stared back at the camera again. Finally enough photos were deemed to be taken and the woman took the phone off the photographer - who was her somewhat elderly mum!
Meanwhile a teenage girl was being encouraged by her family to post for a photo nearby. Seeing the porn magazine shots going on nearby she just stood stiff and awkwardly for the photos. Poor kid!
Back in Blagoevgrad we were treated with a wet night and morning. The temperature dropped a bit. It was wonderful! We walked and rode between showers (John got wet though) and caught up on things. In the evening we lashed out and went to the movies to see Barbie. The movie was in English with Bulgarian sub-titles. It was fun!
We only had five days in Bulgaria as we crossed through it between other countries but it was a wonderful place. The people were friendly and welcoming and there was enough English spoken that we could usually make ourselves understood. The food was much tastier than Macedonia although cheese still featured heavily (which is never a bad thing!). Like in Macedonia, people smoke like chimneys though. We wouldn't like to come here in winter because we'd have to sit indoors to eat and people would smoke all over us.
We both loved the country. It was interesting and friendly and we and would love to come back to see more of it if it works out one day.
Heather and John :)
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