Moving On

Waiting for a coffee

 

After helping Jeni and Jordi to get a little closer to domestic and married bliss we were ready for a short break.  Veliko Tarnovo really hit the spot.  Hostel Mostel, is the best and the city is just the right size to get to know in a short time.   We spent 3 days there walking around the city and the best, a walk up into the hills and visited Abanasi.  Up through the trees and onto the limestone upland, hot, smells of flowers, wild herbs and the green growing of spring.  Lizards, a snake, red squirrels, lots of insects.  The flowers were numerous and we found lots we didn’t know, 3 types of orchid for instance.

Turkish Merchants House

Abansi is an upland village that has found fame – very commercialised but we visited an old house built by a Turkish trader at the time of the Ottoman empire, very interesting.  Then a very old church completely painted on the inside with old depictions of the life of Christ.

Orchid

Tsaravets Fortress Veliko Tarnovo

Everything here is 6 Leva (app £2.80) entrance, houses, churches, castles and exhibitions, anyone would think it was state controlled!!

Inside the fortress

The Old High Street

In need of TLC

Now we are sad and excited,  sad at leaving Bulgaria where we have had the most fantastic time, excited to start something new – a 12 hour bus ride to Athens then an overnight ferry crossing to Crete, we’ll keep you posted.