Time for Travel 07
15:59 Mon 28 May 2007
It’s time for travel, but how much time do you have? We think it unwise to wait for that two-week summer holiday to take off and explore Bulgaria, so we would like to invite you to take a journey – however short – whenever the opportunity presents itself. That’s why we have asked a group of local wanderers to share with you their ideas of where to go and what to do on your day off, for the weekend, for that read more 
more from Time for Travel 07
10:00 Mon 28 May 2007
Saturday noon, still at work and wallowing in papers, trying to finish what has not been done during the week. The weekend is lost; the only option left, it seems, is to stay in your flat, staring blankly at the TV screen, in the confines of your kitchen, your sofa and your bed, again. A pathetic picture… A year ago I found my own solution to the lost-weekend syndrome – Pravets. Pravets is a small, neat and charming read more
10:02 Mon 28 May 2007
People who live in Sofia have a saying: every place outside Sofia is a good place. After a number of efforts to release stress in an urban environment, I am beginning to think that they are right. Bankya is a picturesque town just 10 km west of Sofia and, depending on the time of day and week, is reachable in 10 to 40 minutes. It is in the foothills of Lyulin mountain, and real estate agents insist on calling it “the small read more
10:03 Mon 28 May 2007
The magnificent world of two ancient empires is just an hour and a half away from modern Sofia. Some of the best samples of old Thrace and Rome can be seen for a day in the city of Hissar (Hissarya, as it is in Bulgarian). Hissar is almost in the centre of Bulgaria, on the southern slopes of the Sredna Gora mountains, just 170km from Sofia and 30km from Plovdiv. Most of the journey is on the Sofia-Plovdiv highway, read more
10:04 Mon 28 May 2007
If you go to Koprivshtitsa by train, it is essential that you get off at the right station. Something a group of friends and I were about to fail to achieve. Yet, bearing in mind that we got on the train in Sofia at 7am, our behavour was reasonably adequate. Because Koprivshtitsa is in a mountainous area, a van takes train passengers to the town. The ride, lasting 15 to 20 minutes, can be quite an adventure because the driver read more
16:05 Mon 28 May 2007
To escape the big city and go in search of adrenaline-boosting adventure, head for the swift currents of one of Bulgaria’s biggest rivers, the Struma. It springs in Vitosha mountain near Sofia, flows down to Greece and runs into the Aegean Sea. Only 120km south of Sofia in the breathtaking Kresna gorge. The river takes many sharp turns, making the place a perfect spot for adventure tourism in the read more
10:07 Mon 28 May 2007
Frankly, I am not sure if I should be writing about this place; it’s precisely its lack of popularity that makes it special. But it would simply be selfish to keep it’s magic just to myself. So, trusting that you will also treat it with respect, here it comes. The waterfalls at the village of Kroushouna are, without exaggeration, one of the most breathtaking sights I have ever seen in Bulgaria, or in any other country I have read more
10:08 Mon 28 May 2007
Do you like the way that Sofia empties every weekend and the noisy streets in the centre of the city suddenly become quiet, allowing you to walk without bumping into cars and other people? If you enjoy rediscovering a city devoid of its typical crowd, now is the time to visit Nessebar on the Black Sea coast. Nessebar is one of the most popular summer holiday destinations and has a lot to offer in hotel facilities and read more
10:09 Mon 28 May 2007
Pchelin has a magic atmosphere. You lose your sense of time, nature embraces you tenderly and moves you to open up to its power. You can touch, feel, smell, hear and taste infinity: a sense with which we have lost touch in the big city. We have also forgotten how to enjoy being one with nature, away from human vanity. I became fully aware of this when my friend, arriving at the hotel, sat on a beautiful wrought read more
10:10 Mon 28 May 2007
My initial, though short-lived, response to Sandanski was one of disappointment. My expectations trick me. Somehow I’ve layered my childhood impressions of the unique architecture of nearby Melnik upon memories of quaint spa towns and postcard images of Mediterranean towns in neighbouring Greece. The result was a fiction of a tranquil, optimistic, picturesque little town nestled at the foot of Pirin mountain, read more
16:12 Mon 28 May 2007
Studentski Grad in Sofia is a dormitory for the capital city’s university students. Literally translated, its name means Student City. But if you want to go to a real student city, take a trip south of Sofia. Less than two hours and slightly more than 100km away is the town of Blagoevgrad. Blagoevgrad houses the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) and the Southwestern University (SWU), giving the town an read more
10:13 Mon 28 May 2007
The prospect of the five-hour drive from Sofia to the Black Sea may taint the excitement of going to the seaside. Sweaty thighs sticking to the seat, eyes hurting from squinting against the sunlight filtered by the windscreen’s billion specks, bumps and potholes hammering the car’s suspension, near-misses with drivers commanding an imaginary fast lane along the straight white line dividing a two-lane, two-way read more
10:16 Mon 28 May 2007
He who has not experienced the majesty of the Rhodope mountain has not lived life to the fullest. I’ve been to most Bulgarian mountains as well as to some abroad, but what has always drawn me to the Rhodope is how different, how spacious, how enchanting it is. The route I offer is easily accessible by car. All you need is a good road map, a safe car, a bit of cash and huge potential for emotional experiences, of which read more
