During the first part of our winter break,
Olja (Serbian teacher and I) went by bus to Bulgaria .Traveling in winter was indeed a bit more difficult and less predictable, partly because of the weather and due to the
low tourist season demand. However, it also meant that we were able to stroll through the narrow cobble-stone streets in relative solitude. With the snow piled gently on the tall pine trees and blanketing the buildings, the Rila Monastery exuded a deeper level of peace.

This website is divided up into the different towns and sites we visited, in chronological order.

Border Crossing

After keeping each other awake by watching movies and snacking, we boarded the bus at 00:45 AM. Transferring in Nis, we arrived at the border at 7 am. There it was announced that we all had to pay two euros to be “decontaminated” from the bird flu. Not thinking I had 2 euros, I went into the duty free shop along with many others from the bus to buy something and get euros back. Most of the items didn’t appeal to me – liquor and cigarettes mostly, but I found an inexpensive local brand of Pringles. We were waiting over an hour at the border, and still no one gave us decontamination instructions. After the money was collected, the only inspectors that came on were looking for passengers carrying more than the allowed allotment of cigarettes. Finally at 8:30 we left and arrived in Sofia about an hour later.

• Location: South-Eastern Europe
• Borders: Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Black Sea
• Language: Bulgarian (Cyrillic)
• Religion: Orthodox
• Capital: Sofia (pop. 1,173,811)
• Winter temperatures: 5°C to -5°C

Map of Bulgaria - Click for a detailed map, with
the places we visited highlighted in blue.

Map courtesy of CIA World Factbook

Download the PDF version of the travelogue, complete with images.