April 2024. Veliko Tarnovo. A reminder where this blog is up to, somewhere in central Bulgaria on the penultimate night of a whizz (or is it wizz ?) round Bulgaria’s highlights. I suspect we may have only scratched the surface of this great country, though Veliko Tarnovo would definitely be my tip if you only… Continue reading I RECOGNISE THAT CAN DESIGN !
Author: retiredmartin
Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.
TOP 100 PUBS – Снек-бар “Малкия Интер” , VELIKO TARNOVO
April 2024. Veliko Tarnovo. Heading back round the west side of the Tsaravets fortress the heavens opened, and Mrs RM demanded a pub, while at the same time making unnecessary stops to take soggy photos for her own blog. Untappd has two categories of entry, yellow dots for “verified venues”, the sort of place that… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – Снек-бар “Малкия Интер” , VELIKO TARNOVO
THE CHURCH OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, VELIKO TARNOVO (NCSS 4.5)
April 2024. Veliko Tarnovo. Our third Bulgarian city, a third characterful hotel under £40, the snappily titled HiStory INN unique guest house (Houses of Olden Times) in Veliko Tarnovo was a cracker, at the end of the ancient houses of cobbled Gurko Street. A smiley face above Mrs RM’s name on the room door, a… Continue reading THE CHURCH OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, VELIKO TARNOVO (NCSS 4.5)
KAVARMA
April 2024. Veliko Turnovo. Our third and final stop on our whirlwind wizz (actually with Ryanair) round Bulgaria, as we arrive at a bus stop 2 miles west of Veliko Tarnovo* (pop. 71,502), perhaps the Shrewsbury of Bulgaria. Reader, I did allow Mrs RM a taxi to the centre (£2.50). One slight problem, the driver… Continue reading KAVARMA
BREAKFAST IN STARA ZAGORA
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… Continue reading BREAKFAST IN STARA ZAGORA
OUR BIG FAT BULGARIAN CRAFT NIGHT
April 2024. Plovdiv. For a city the size of Nottingham or Newcastle, Plovdiv seemed remarkably compact, bar the slog of a walk to the outer bus station in unseasonably hot weather. Back in Kapana from the museum-heavy Old Town, we spent our lone night ticking the craft, because it’s what my readers expect. Our £35… Continue reading OUR BIG FAT BULGARIAN CRAFT NIGHT
PLOVDIV OLD TOWN
April 2024. Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Mrs RM was a bit knackered by the time we got back from the northern bus station, a half hour walk resulting in a Bulgarian lady scribbling down the time of the next day’s bus to Veliko Tarnovo (which I’d already told her) but ignoring the request for tickets. Because they… Continue reading PLOVDIV OLD TOWN
PLOVDIV CRAFT BARS – 13% IMPERIAL STOUT AND “DOPAMINE HITS”
April 2024. Plovdiv. Only a night in Plovdiv, so a bit of a shame we spent (2) hours walking the duller suburbs to check out the location of our 8:30am bus the next morning. Bulgaria was easy to negotiate even with the impenetrable language (no worse than Sutton Coldfield to be fair), but booking a… Continue reading PLOVDIV CRAFT BARS – 13% IMPERIAL STOUT AND “DOPAMINE HITS”
INTO PLOVDIV
April 2024. Plovdiv. An ancient city, possibly the oldest in Europe, built on seven (7) hills (remind you of anywhere ?), Bulgaria’s second city promised everything bar hand pumps. The minibus driver was doing a tour of the city and the monasteries but we were just hitching a ride from Sofia so he dropped us… Continue reading INTO PLOVDIV
THE BULGARIAN VERSION OF LITTLE CHEF (R.I.P.)
April 2024. Sofia to Plovdiv. We awoke on Tuesday to find the temperature had plummeted from 31 to 18 degrees. Our coach driver told us joyfully that Monday had been a record temperature (by some 6 degrees), so some folk welcome their global warming doom. Mrs RM had done a masterful job planning hotels, buses… Continue reading THE BULGARIAN VERSION OF LITTLE CHEF (R.I.P.)
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