Bulgaria... just briefly

At Giurgin, we cross the border (with mixed feelings). The ADAC has issued a warning regarding wild camping. Hmmm??? Almost all campsites are closed... we'll see how it goes in Bulgaria. We then find a campsite online near the mountains in the interior, which is open. So off we go... Bulgaria here we come.

Right at the beginning, we first go over a fabulous old stone bridge from the 1950s. You have to pay a toll of 4 euros and also buy a road vignette. Then we continue. We pass countless ugly factories. There is smoke and stench coming from all the chimneys. The signs are written in Cyrillic... but the larger towns also have them in English. We drive towards the interior and pass through Ruse. Not really 'nicer living' here either. Gray old communist high-rise buildings in poor condition. Diesel costs here 1.14 Euro - 1.20 Euro.

Our route to Tornovo (to the campsite) takes us on not too bad roads through many small villages. Many abandoned and dilapidated houses and factories line our way. Many run-over dogs are found at the roadside. Through mountainous foggy terrain, we arrive at the 'Trinity Rock Farm'. A small campsite by the river. Run by two Englishmen living their dream of dropping out of society. Moreover, there is a curiosity shop here. Countless old things are lying around. You could also call it junk :) there are dogs, cats, chickens... everything is roaming around in the yard. The owner 'Jason' is very friendly and invites us over in the evening. Friends come to visit (Irish!!) and there is a small party. We don’t need to be asked twice, and so a really fun evening with English and Irish people in Bulgaria arises... who would have expected that? We chat merrily into the evening. Everyone tells us with conviction that they never want to leave Bulgaria again. Certainly not back to England or Ireland. Interesting!! Luckily, an Irish woman speaks German... which makes things easier... because you can hardly understand the Irish (and it doesn’t get better if they’ve had a drink, grin). We enjoy the fun evening and decide to stay a little longer. The weather report predicts snow!! (hhmmpppfff)

In the evening, a camper arrives. Huh? We know that?! It can't be true - but it is - it’s the nice French family that we already met in the depths of Romania. Nicolas, Katja, Tamara, Tamlin, and Lyra :) The traveler’s world is small. We are happy and greet them warmly.

And indeed... the next morning we wake up... roll the blinds up... everything is white!! Yes, who needs that?? We wanted to drive over the mountains to Greece tomorrow... Not a good idea at the moment. Then during breakfast it happens: Our heater gives out.... boom... it's gone!!! And doesn’t show any signs of starting again. A very bad timing we realize. So it's once again a job for the man with tools. I position myself with Amy in the common room in front of the wood stove (yes, such a thing exists here) and wait for the outcome. Jason comes by and offers us (if we can’t fix it) his rooms he has available for rent here. However, I trust Kilian’s skill. So far, he has been able to fix everything that was ever broken. So far, there’s no panic :) After a few hours of anxious waiting, finally: All clear!! The heater is working again :) 'A man can' just fix everything.

The French also have bad luck and get stuck in the wet meadow. The camper is tilted on three wheels. But Jason, the owner, immediately comes with his Jeep, and with combined forces, we free the vehicle from the mud.

The next morning we decide to venture on the path through the Rodopi Mountains. The next days bring even more snow... that's why we want to go. When packing the car, suddenly: Car keys are missing!! As if swallowed by the earth. Kilian had taken half the bus apart yesterday because of the heater... and somewhere the key has gone missing. Great!! We start a search operation... did we perhaps lose it while walking the dog... or misplaced it in the bus... or in the common room... we look and look, and then finally after 1 hour 'woman' finds it in 'man’s' other pants!! Phew, what a stress in the morning. Then off we go. Saying goodbye quickly to Jason and the nice French and away we go. Off to the mountains. Over Tornovo to Stara Zagora. We hope the roads are clear. Continuing over indescribably bad roads, we head further up into the mountains. There is plenty of fresh snow up here, but the roads are luckily cleared. On the other side then: fog, rain, thick gray clouds.... blahh... we just want to get to Greece. In Kazanlak we make a stop to shop. Gray on gray presents the entire city. Huge old monster high-rises from the communist era. The sight fits the weather. We continue on terrible roads. The potholes are filled with water, and we squint our eyes every time we drive over one... you can’t judge how deep they are at all. Due to the gray weather, it's getting dark much earlier than expected. Damn it!! Driving in the dark in Bulgaria is out of the question. So it’s time to search for an overnight spot. Not easy in the dark. Eventually, we capitulate and park in an industrial area... it’ll be fine!!

But we sleep well and the next morning we head off in pouring rain for the last leg. Greece, here we come. In the last 50 km before the border, the sky finally clears up again, and we can see for the first time properly what a stunning mountainous region we are in. Grandiose rocks line the road, and a river winds along the road. Small mountain villages stand on the slopes... almost a bit like in Northern Italy. We see many minarets... in almost every village. In nice weather, this region must be stunningly beautiful. Then suddenly in the mountains, we see the blue and white Greek flag in the sky.... Hooray Hooray - We made it. Greece: Here we are :)

Conclusion Bulgaria: We can’t form a real opinion since we have only been here for a short time. If the weather had been better... I believe we could have endured it a bit longer. Jason showed us some beautiful spots on the internet that would definitely be worth visiting. But with continuous snow and rain, you just want to flee. We have only seen bits of the landscape between the fog. The mountains were indeed beautifully stunning. Bulgaria seems 'further' away than Romania to us. We have not seen any horse-drawn carts or horses plowing fields here. The cities and industrial areas also seemed a bit more modern to us. We were also told by our campsite owner that every summer hundreds of tourists from all over the world come to him with tents and campers, and no one has had anything 'bad' happen in Bulgaria. Many of them also wild camp.... maybe it’s not as criminal as many say?? Now we are definitely at the gates of Greece and are very much looking forward to reaching our winter residence. After driving 20,000 km, we are excited to linger longer at our spots.