Bulgaria - Fellow travellers Jason & Julie

J & J at CVT? Julie & Jason at Camping Veliko Tarnovo

Julie & Jason and pooch Charlie

One of the joys of motorhoming is that you every now and then come across people with whom you click. There's no recipe or textbook that says how, you just know after a while that here is someone you can sit down with and have a chat over a drink or two. You swap stories, you exchange information and sometimes you just sit and chill and the conversation flows freely.
They stayed for two nights at Camping VT and on the first evening it just so happened that we sat down at the same table for drinks and eats which lasted until 22:30, shortly before closing time.
On the second evening Joan and I thought to ask them over to our pitch for sundowners and snacks. The Weber bbq was duly lit and on went chicken wings regularly basted with olive oil to brown it. Julie brought over a mature Camembert which was warmed on the fire until soft and melted for Balkan style bread to be dipped into. Local beer and wine miraculously made an appearance and before you knew it we could even have made Keith Floyd (English Chef) envious.

Jason and Julie are well travelled and seasoned motorhomers who have published a paperback on their travels in Morocco. Click the link below:-

A Monkey Ate My Breakfast

The Hymer motorhome they use is known as Dave and their dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is known as Charlie. They keep a very up to date Blog on their travels, which can be seen here:-

Our Tour

Below a final wave from Julie as Jason steers Dave towards the exit gates of Camping VT in Bulgaria.

Cheers guys!

Bulgaria - Camping VT (4)

We had the good fortune of being invited to see the Sound and Light show pertaining to the Tsarevets. This is a medieval stronghold on the outskirts of Veliko Tarnovo, the former capital of Bulgaria.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsarevets

The music is timed to a kaleidoscope of lasers, lights and bells that is played out on houses, trees and the imposing old fortress and is watched from a terrace in the city. In a straight line I would guess the distance to be about 1200m to the building gracing the top of the Tsarevets hill.

The pictures were all taken 'hand held' without the use of my tripod - an accessory which was sorely missed. This will explain the 'shaky' look of the pictures.

During the visit of a tour group there was also the opportunity to go for a walk around the local village Dragishevo, which is 1km from our campsite. It is typical of a backwater village in rural Bulgaria, with a police station, two bars, a small hardware store and a town hall.
The town hall to me, was the find of the day. It can seat probably 300 people if extra chairs are brought in, but the feature which had us all talking was the heating system. Very simple and probably effective, but also capable of setting the whole place on fire. Certainly not something I've seen before in a town hall. Then again I've not travelled much in the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe.

Town Hall dated 1894

Heating system next to the stage

Same heating system at the back of the hall

On a cold winter's night it must have made for a cosy fire side chat with whomever sat nearest the wood burning stoves. The sound system operator probably attends events in summer clothes, with those furthest away in coats. All very interesting.
We also came across this scene, depicted on the picture below, showing the changing Bulgaria, from old style values to the consumer orientated lifestyle of modern society. Whether 'modern' is necessarily good is open to debate of course. It shows a middle aged man doing hard manual work in laying a new pavement whilst in the background a young lad has just got out of a car making his way to the terraced cafe. Also in the picture is a passing group of tourists taking in the scene as nonchalantly as possible, however the contrast has not gone unnoticed. Then there is the yellow reflective jacket draped over the paving stones to act as warning for the pavement works ....

Pavement works

A few more pictures taken in the village ....

Gazebo with national flag and grape pergola

Charabanc of sorts parked up on the roadside

Black ribbon for a deceased member of the community

The somewhat neglected square opposite the town hall

BMW's at the cafe and a farmer on his tractor

A colourful entrance to a private home

After the village walk, back at the ranch:-
Twice weekly there are organised pool exercises at Camping Veliko Tarnovo which is well attended by the British expat community. A sparkling pool in beautiful countryside!

Water aerobics at Camping Veliko Tarnovo

Bulgaria - Camping VT (3)

Yesteryear looking at the future through the eyes of today 

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."

And he said: 

Your children are not your children. 
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 

They come through you but not from you, 
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts. 
For they have their own thoughts. 

You may house their bodies but not their souls, 
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. 

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. 
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. 

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. 
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. 

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; 
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

"The Prophet" - Kahlil Gibran.

Bulgaria - Camping VT (2)

And then the rain came ....

It may be a country where day time temps reaches 40C on a good day, but thus far we have had more rain than shine in June, which has not helped me in getting rid of my T-shirt tan. Most evenings at 7pm the thunderclouds build up in the east, then the wind picks up and minutes later it buckets down. On many an afternoon we have joked how nice it is to be reminded of British weather.

Several tour groups have come and gone during our first few weeks, Dutch, German and currently British. They comprise anything between 10 and 20+ caravans and motorhomes and it all quickly lends a festive atmosphere to the campsite. Being tour groups they will take up an area and stay together, in so doing creating a mini village of campers.

And then the rain came ....

One of the highlights of the recent past was the music and song provided by the local village songsters. The all female song group was from Dragishevo, the village just up the road from Camping VT (Veliko Tarnovo). Dressed in traditional costume, the music and song gave the performance a very local cultural feel. The harmonising, very ably assisted by the accordion player, was most enjoyable with the Bulgarian landscape giving it a feel of real authenticity.

A visiting tour group listening to music and song

Traditional Bulgarian dress

Deserving of a medal was this lady!

Dutch TV crew recording for Kanaal 1

And then the rain came ....

A unique visit in some ways to Camping VT, was that of Paul and Kathleen from Antwerpen (Antwerp) in Belgium. They are cycling from Belgium to Singapore - yes you read that correctly. The distance approximates about 10,000+ km in a straight line, by bicycle it could be much further. However, it's not the distance, but the discipline the mind needs, to undertake this journey. The pair has put aside 12 months to complete the journey and then plan to travel back to Belgium by ship. Quite mind boggling and not for the unadventurous and squeamish.

Paul and Kathleen leaving Camping VT

A final wave

We had wonderful conversations between the four of us during their stay at Camping VT and we wish them the very best of good fortune on their journey to Singapore!

And then the rain came ....

The pool, house and cafe at Camping VT - and the dark menacing sky about to open up.

Bulgaria - Camping VT (Veliko Tarnovo) (1)

We have well and truly settled into our new surroundings as seasonal Camp Wardens at Camping Veliko Tarnovo and have tackled what needs doing by the proverbial 'scruff of the neck'. Judging by the photo below it was arduous work (the real work that is) which needed the requisite periods of rest and relaxation - well you know what I mean .... ?! 

The pool needed its annual fill after standing empty over the winter, which means chlorinating and 'vacuuming' the bottom, then the acquisition of the certificate stipulating that the water conforms to health standards.

Testing testing .... and the farmer's tan

Part of our activities (Marius) is lawn mowing on the sit-on mower. At a good pace and starting early enough it can be done in a day, the thing to watch is the sun over the midday hours. Like sun anywhere, you will abuse it at your peril and pay the price, hence a preference to avoid it from noon to about 3pm.

Joan looking at Marius' new toy 

Machine, with the job completed.

All of the past week there has been activity on the farming fields around the campsite. Tractors have been ploughing up the fields in preparation for what I assume to be planting of some crops. This brought out a resident White Stork (Ciconia ciconia), which we think nests somewhere at the nearby lake. It is obviously accustomed to tractors and people as it was unperturbed by all the movement and simply kept looking for worms and insects.

Ploughing before planting

Notice the White Stork on the right

Ciconia ciconia (White Stork)

One of the endearing sights we have seen so far in Bulgaria is the image below of a farmer going about his business in a manner reminiscent of yesteryear, where life was unhurried and the symbiotic relationship between man and beast very visible. On many afternoons we watched this man taking his cow along the disused railway line to graze. He walked with it and guided it to the best bits of greenery along the way. It was a scene of man and beast in perfect harmony. The picture below shows this - have a good look, it is fast disappearing.

Above and below - a way of life seldom seen these days....

.... compared to the more modern day interaction between man and mechanical beast, where the machine necessitates immediate remedial action in order to get it working again. Worlds apart.

There was (is) also the very noticeable input from Joan in the gardening department. There are the four 'firebox' beds as we call them, that needed clearing of weeds. This has been tackled with her known persistence for getting on with the task and the beds have been transformed. She has also taken on maintenance of the flower beds near the ablution block and more pictures will follow.

Before ....

.... and after.

From a photographic point of view Bulgaria has been a joy. More so because after eight years in a city you once again appreciate the joys of nature. Being out in the countryside the weather patterns are very visible, and because we have a view across large tracts of surrounding countryside, any changes are readily noticed.

The rise of the moon

Dusk

After a passing thundershower

Chapter 2 on Camping Veliko Tarnovo to follow.

http://www.campingvelikotarnovo.com/

Bulgaria - First Impressions

We arrived from Serbia in Bulgaria on Sunday 12 May. The border crossing into Bulgaria went smooth, the requisite vignette was bought at the nearest service station and off we went making for Veliko Tarnovo, a small city in central Bulgaria.
Tarnovo as it is known by locals (VT as British expats call it) used to be the capital of Bulgaria until 1879 after which power was transferred to Sofia, which has since been the capital. The land area known as Bulgaria today, fell under the rule of the Turkish Ottoman Empire until liberated by the Russians from the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878). Restoring Bulgaria to its former size and land mass, as was the plan, never came to fruition as it was deemed that Bulgaria would be too large and powerful which could upset the regional balance of military power in the Balkans (south eastern Europe between the Adriatic and the Black Sea). Bulgaria in the early 20th century was often referred to as the Balkan Prussia because of its militaristic approach to foreign affairs. It fought on the losing side during both World Wars and it was not until the collapse of Communism in 1990, before it became a parliamentary democracy. It is today a member of the European Union and NATO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria

Our destination was Camping Veliko Tarnovo, which is a short distance east of VT near the village of Dragizhevo. We will be staying there for the summer of 2013 as camp Wardens doing general housekeeping and campground maintenance tasks on a part time basis. Weekly free days will present ample time to look around Bulgaria and the Black Sea coast, or just enjoy our surroundings.

http://www.campingvelikotarnovo.com/

The campsite is beautifully situated in rolling hills, has a large swimming pool, cafeteria serving good tasty meals, very smart ablution blocks, wi-fi, and various other amenities important to those seeking an enjoyable camping experience. Owners Nick and Nicky Kinson are both hands-on in terms of involvement, ensuring a smooth day to day running of the campsite.

View from our pitch

After a rain shower

The two pictures above were taken 48 hours after our arrival and says much about the scenic countryside. More of our surroundings will follow in due course.

We had barely settled in when a celebration was on the cards, that being Nick's birthday, very festive with bunting and birthday cake laid on by staff. It was kept secret from him until their return from an outing, the first indication being the 'Happy Birthday' played over the cafe sound system enhanced by those present in a spontaneous sing-along.

Cake resembling the campsite

Guests of Honour

Happy Birthday Nick!

I think our sojourn here in Bulgaria will be most interesting! Watch this space....

Serbia - Belgrade(3)

Belgrade is a city full of life with many sights to see. It has a vibrant city centre with many young people, owing to the University of Belgrade. There are various parks and green areas, many cafes and take out eateries, restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets along the Skadarlija, also known as the Bohemian quarter of Belgrade.
Many of the major high street fashion names can be found along the pedestrianised Knez Mihailova in the central city area, together with all and any other shops. It is clean and user friendly with a broad road devoid of vehicle traffic. It leads to the old Belgrade fortress at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers.

City centre park

Serbian National Assembly

A city centre with trams

Picture above. The centre with trams mixing with other traffic can be busy, trams must follow the track whilst the rest do as they please, and then you still have pedestrians. Note the mix of tram cables, electricity cables for traffic lights and whatever else - very eastern Europe from yesteryear, yet lovely.

The 'old' Hotel Balkan....

.... and the 'new' Metropole Palace hotel.

Old style vehicles ....

.... and a Harley-Davidson

Free drinking water is provided in the main shopping boulevard 

From the Belgrade fortress, the confluence of the Sava and the Danube

Picture above. We decided to have lunch on the Skadarlija, a large pedestrianised mall known for dining and imbibing in Belgrade. Honouring the time tested axiom of the traveller i.e., Rome and Romans or Serbia and Serbians, we opted for a Serbian mixed grill with two side salads and bread. Geez, what arrived could have fed four! It was both wonderfully presented in a ceramic dish and tasted just like a proper grill straight off the bbq (braai). It had beef, chicken, sausages, pork, prunes wrapped in bacon and roast style potato's. All imbued with a marvellous smoky flavour and washed down with pivo (Serbian lager). Now how civilised is that?!

The restaurant was situated on the pedestrian mall, had an outside covered veranda where you could watch the very watchable passing parade! Not a rip off either, the bill came to 36Euros (£30) including our tip.

As said before, Serbia is open for tourism! It is different, yet not overly so. You feel like you have travelled, yet not to some outlandish different place. We could easily visit Belgrade again - highly recommended!