| The Caucasus - My Journal |
Castles and Lasers
18th to 20th July - Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a very popular town with Bulgarian and foreign tourists alike. In fact, many foreigners like it so much that they stay there permanently! There is a thriving market for Europeans buying up property here, and even from a brief exploration, it's easy to see why.
 Rosa, in her very helpful way, insisted that I jump on the local bus number 5 as it does a loop around the city, passing by many of the towns best bits before returning to the hostel via the front of the ancient castle at the top of the hill, the number one sight in town. And, at only 1 lev (about 40p) it's a bargain of a city tour. Rosa actually took me up to the bus stop then waited with me so that she could explain to the driver that I'd be doing a full loop around the city.
The little drive around town was definitely worth it. The route took me through the small but busy commercial centre of town, by the main parks, through the old and beautiful part, down to the gypsy village and out of the town. In fact, as the town began to disappear behind us in the distance, I was a little concerned that Rosa had picked the wrong bus. However, after a large loop it did come back into the old town and stopped briefly in front of the ancient castle where the conductor indicated I should get off.
 The castle is actually a collection of old buildings gathered behind the old city walls at the top of the hill. Veliko used to be the capital of Bulgaria, and the castle complex looks impressive enough to assure this. The various buildings are in different states of repair, from the almost pristine church at the centre, to the ruined foundations of some dwellings. The most interesting parts are "Executioner's Rock", the purpose obvious from the name and which gives a great view of the surrounding area, and the church. The decor inside the church is quite astounding, unlike anything I've ever seen! Floor to ceiling artwork covers all of the walls, and the style must be unique. It's a strange mix of comic book, art nouveau and some other techniques which I don't know enough about to name. Although photography isn't allowed inside, I managed to grab one photo before being stopped. I also bought some postcards of the artwork which I'll display when I get back home.
 The town also boasts a collection of museums and galleries, and I decided to check out the city art gallery on the little peninsula caught in the s-bend of the river. The collection was very small, but I really like most of it! It's rare that I find myself liking the majority of works in a gallery, but the mixture of styles was very interesting and I spent a long time looking at the exhibitions. Hmm...maybe liking Bulgarian artwork makes me cultured!
Rosa had insisted that I was back at the guesthouse by 7:30pm for dinner with the other guests, and who am I to argue with a free, delicious dinner? In fact, there were only two of us currently staying at the hostel, myself and Jackie, who I'd met briefly the other night.
Because of the cramped layout of the common area, Jackie and I were made to sit comically close together on a small table, struggling for elbow room. Luckily Jackie was relaxed and easy to talk to, so we had a good dinner, accompanied by Bulgarian wine. Rosa proudly told us that Bulgarian wine is the best, and it was quite good, but the fact it came in a 2 litre plastic bottle made us a little dubious at first. The wine was very drinkable, and the Shopska and barbequed meats she gave us were delicious.
 On the tourist grapevine, Rosa had heard that some of the richer tourists had stumped up the money for the famous light show to be put on this evening. The local authorities have fitted a vast collection of coloured lights and lasers around the old castle complex, and whenever a group of tourists pay about $200 to $300 between them, they do an entertaining light and sound show. Of course, it's impossible to hide such a widespread spectacular from the rest of the town, so all of the locals and stingier tourists get to see this for free! In fact, in an almost comical secret mission style, Rosa led us up to the viewing gallery (for the paying tourists) and positioned us near enough to hear the accompanying music (this, the rest of the town can't hear).
The show was actually quite good, and not as cheesy as I thought it would be. The music is quite evocative and each passage represents a different era in Bulgarian history and it really brings home the fact that I was sitting in a very different country.
Back at the hostel, we found a Dutch couple had just arrived to stay at Rosa's (actually, they were looking for somewhere else, but got collared by Rosa's husband and decided to take up the offer). Of course, they got the same welcoming treatment from the kind host ("Are you hungry?", "No.","Ok, I'll make you a little something!"). And after they'd eaten, we passed the rest of the evening finishing the 2 litres of wine and chatting about travelling in Bulgaria.
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