retiredmartin

April 2024. Plovdiv – Veliko Tarnovo.

Mrs RM’s plans saw us ticking Bulgaria with a circular route starting and ending at Sofia, and taking in two other of the “must-see” cities.

I’d never heard of Veliko Tarnovo, never heard of Pleven or Ruse either to be honest, but it would turn out to be the week’s highlight.

Veliko doesn’t get many tourists, and last Wednesday morning in Plovdiv it was a case of catch the single daily bus from Plovdiv, take our chances on an ever slower train that evening, or head back, defeated, to Sofia.

So a second early start saw us walking the half hour past weird diners,

and slightly scary dummies that may have been stolen from a Dr Who episode (a feature of Balkan clothes stores).

We arrived 30 minutes early to await our bus. This was it;

A 16 seater that would prove sufficient, with a dozen seats to spare, though it seemed to randomly stop at the roadside to pick and disgorge locals along the way.

Still, I made Mrs RM stand in line (of 2) while I sought out breakfast. I guess “sweetened bread product” (30p) is the best definition of what I found alongside the stuffed animals and plastic flowers,

while the other vending machines had equally vital products.

But I resisted the espresso machine, as you NEVER know when your next stop is on a 3 hour journey in the Balkans.

Well, I needn’t have worried, as the bus driver took his fag break in Stara Zagora, a major city known if at all for being burnt to the ground during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877.

With a bit better planning I’d have used that 20 minute stop to do an Untappd Check-in at a bar where the previous day Alexander D. had been hard on the Badger.

I’m sure Alexander treasures his “God Save The King” badge.

Instead, I focused on a late breakfast.

I really wanted one of those cheese and salami toasties but Mrs RM decided unilaterally we didn’t have time for toasting in case the bus left without us (and virtually empty) so it was an untoasted sarnie (top) that reminded me of this photo of London in 1972,

and to be honest the Bulgarian effort wasn’t a lot more expensive 50 years later. Pretty good, too, with just fresh lettuce and omitting the other bits of salad that make UK sandwiches soggy.

This time I did have a decent double espresso from the vending machine, 0.60 lev is 25p.

I’ll be honest, first impressions of Veliko Tarnovo were NOT positive.