BULGARIA
 

Hi fellow Fodorites, <BR>In late july, i will be travelling to Bulgaria to visit my relatives living there. Much of my family lives in the city of Plovdiv, which i am told is one the best cities in Bugaria to visit. Though i will be spending three weeks wth my family, i would like to explore the rest of Bulgaria on my own. I have already scheduled to visit the black sea coast, take a train to Sofia, and hike in the Rila Mountains, i need to know of ther places to visit and things to do. <BR>Thanks, <BR>Vlad

Hi Vlad <BR>I visited Sofia last August to attend a family wedding and spent the rest of the holiday with my family and the newly married couple! We too travelled to the Black Sea (Sozopol - very nice) and then over to the Pirin mountains, where we stayed in Bansko which was having a music festival. I'd recommend both locations, esp. the Pirin mountains which keep the ski lifts open during the summer so you can hike around the top. <BR>Have you been to Bulgaria before, and can you speak any of the language? If not, an understanding of German may help you. Personally I found the language barrier quite difficult to overcome, and it prevented me from being a little more adventurous in travelling around... thank god for my new Bulgarian cousin there to translate! <BR>Please reply if there's any specific info I can help you with.

I hear the bilberries from Plovdiv are to die for.

I assume you will "do" Sofia at some point. The other main site in the west of Bulgaria is Rila Monastery. We'll probably be in Bulgaria in later November-December so please report back! [We were invited to go to the Black Sea with our Bulgaroan friends this summer -- but, for various reasons, we are going to watch the garden grow this year instead!

If your in the area you could seek out the Panorama at Pleven. It is a life size 360° model of the siege of Pleven, quite breathtaking. If you're interested in wine then travel through Suhindol and perhaps visit the wine factory there to try the wines. If you're hiking in Rila you must visit the Rila monastery. <BR> <BR>Plovdiv is a very attractive city with the remains of a roman theatre and an area of town given over to preserved buildings which you can visit.