Plovdiv, Bulgaria
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| Come on guys, you'll miss the train to Plovdiv |
Armed with a
couple of litres of melnik courtesy of our host, we made for the train station in
Bankso and anticipated a snowy adventure through steep mountains. The trains were warm, platforms not, so we had
a wee wait for a connecting train at a town with a rather difficult name. Correct pronunciation it seems, was related to quantities of melnik consumed; hang-overs from the previous day/night included. We knew this sturdy red wine would
come in handy for something!
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| Train Waiting at What_Name Station? |
Plovdiv was
our last fling – last for Bulgaria, and essentially the end of our trip. The old town, Stari Grad, was charming, an
easy place to lose yourself and explore.
Be warned, the hills are steep and the cobbles life-threatening. Seriously, the old town is said to predate Athens,
Rome and Constantinople (Istanbul) with its Thracian fort ruins (5000 BC Eumolpias),
scattering of Roman relics, Ottoman mosques, medieval structures and baroque
timber mansions. Angelina led us on a
breathless “stream of consciousness” tour around the main sites before we were
let loose to discover according to our own whims.
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| Nebet Tepe (Prayer Hill) with walls from Eumolpias, 5000 BC |
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Reconstructed Roman Amphitheatre (discovered 1970)
built during reign of Emperor Trajan |
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Hisar Kaplya, medieval eastern gate 11th c
reconstruction of Roman walls |
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| Bulgarian Revival - Lamartine House (1829) |
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| One of many fixer-upper mansions in the old district |
GS took in the Ethnographic Museum (1847) set in an
elegant baroque mansion and beautiful gardens, made a B-line for an antiques
shop with textiles, and finally meditated over artworks in the City Art
Gallery. The Cap’n, seizing an
opportunity for self-determination, made for the Archaeological Museum though
spent his time next door reflecting over Bulgaria’s National Revival (modern
history). There was a little time left
to shop in Kapana (judiciously called The Trap) and have a hot chocolate in pedestrianised
Knyaz Aleksandar Street before making for the bus station and our midnight border
rendezvous.
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| Ethnographic Museum - as interesting for the building as its collection |
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| Interior - a life for the privileged |
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| Antique Textiles - oh yes, please! |
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| Art in the making _ near the City Art Gallery |
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