Bulgaria is a fascinating country with thousands of years of history and so much to see and do. If you’re looking for an off the beaten path destination, Bulgaria fits the bill to a T. It may not be the first place to come to mind when most people think “European vacation” but in my…
Read More
After our quick jaunt to Istanbul, we return to Bulgaria and Varna to spend more time with Maggie’s grandma and other extended family. I think they find me very odd. To say thank you for letting me stay with them, I cook dinner one night and choose chili as a sort of American meal –…
Read More
Nessebar might be the most adorable town in Bulgaria. To me, it’s the Cape Cod of the Black Sea. It has a ton of charm, lots of cute little shops and is infinitely photographable. As such, this post is heavy on the pictures, light on the words. The town of Nessebar is over 3000 years…
Read More
Reunited and it feels so good! After spending the day visiting the ruins of Perperikon, I hop back on the bus to continue my journey to Varna. Maggie and her mom are waiting for me at the bus station, and it’s nice to be able to easily speak to people again. As an introvert, I…
Read More
The ancient ruins of Perperikon may not be well known, but if you have the time in your Bulgarian itinerary, they are worth half a day to see. Located on top of a hill in the Rhodopes Mountains, they are easily accessible by car from the town of Kardzhali, so I decide to take a…
Read More
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Plovdiv just might be the highlight of Bulgaria (Maggie would disagree and say it’s Varna, I’m sure, but she’s biased). It ends up being my favorite city in the country, and my second favorite city in all of eastern Europe (after the city where I…
Read More
The Rila Monastery is located about 70 miles south of Sofia, in the Rila Mountains. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get there on my own easily, so I join a tour leaving from the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral early in the morning. I can’t resist one more picture of the cathedral in…
Read More
After a fun weekend at Oktoberfest in Munich, it’s time for Maggie and I to fly to her homeland. I’m really excited to see where she grew up, meet her grandma’s and some of her childhood friends. As the largest city and capitol of Bulgaria, our first stop is Sofia. Our friend Todor (who I…
Read More
