"This is România": Down in Thrace

I only have a few more days in Brasov, which is somewhat hard to believe. At the same time, I'm totally ready to be back in the U.S.A. The only thing that would convince me otherwise would be a paid position traveling in the Black Sea region for the next few months.

I just spent a week in Bulgaria, which turns out to be an awesome country. I started out with a few days relaxing on the beach at Varna, then moved on to the old Bulgarian capital city, Veliko Tarnovo. I stopped for one day in Plovdiv, an old Roman city that was built on seven hills, but now only has six because one was leveled during communism. It's now the second-largest Bulgarian city, and it has a very cool vibe to it. Basically, the old part of the city has literal layers of Roman life below layers of 19th and early 20th century life, below communist life, and now modern life. It's a fascinating combination.

Finally I spent a few days in and around Sofia, which surprised me with its endless supply of well preserved buildings. Unlike in Bucharest, the beauty of these massive and varied churches seems to outweigh the ugliness of the communist blocks (but I'm not hating on the Buc here). It also helps that the city looks up at Mount Vitosha. And my own experience wasn't hurt by the shady green trees covering the city.

I have many photos, but I have to wait until I'm back in the States to develop them. Bulgaria will seem much more beautiful then, I promise.