From Sandanski, it was time to head 9 hours northeast to our next one month perch in Plovdiv, which we’d be splitting between a private apartment and a housesit. Now, one might look at this nine-hour chunk of time and think…that’s absurd in a country the size of Iowa. It kind of is, considering we weren’t even crossing half of it.…
Bulgaria's "Little Jerusalem" Gem of Asenovgrad Only 25 minutes by train southeast of Plovdiv, settled at the foot of the Rhodope Mountains one can find a small city of 50,000 known as “Little Jerusalem,” due to its more than 100 religious sites in and around the town. What was originally a Thracian settlement, it was named after Tsar Ivan Asen…
Day One: Plovdiv to Smolyan (Including: Bachkovo, Orehovo, Mogilitsa, Gordo Canyon, & Ustovo) From Plovdiv, we settled on a plan to take an exploratory trip south to tackle some of the sights and villages in the gorgeous Rhodope Mountains, which we can now say, is arguably the most fetching and varied of Bulgaria’s four major mountain chains. The day began by…
As we were pushing to the limit of our legally alotted time in the European Schengen Zone (90 days within 180), we opted to head to the U.K. earlier than we anticipated, and just a day before New Years Eve we touched down in Manchester. But what to do for New Year’s in Manchester? So, we hopped a quick 1…
Returning to Bulgaria Once Again After four back-to-back Anglophone countries, we were feeling quite content to dive back into something a little more foreign. However, heading to Bulgaria this time wouldn't be quite as unfamiliar as it was upon our first visit in 2018. In fact, returning to this country we adore immensely almost felt a bit like returning home,…
From Sofia, we headed back to the bus station…this time without assistance from a “helpful” scammer straight to our platform to wait for the bus amongst a sea of fast-talking smokers. This ride, which would take us three hours south to the town of Sandanski cost $11/each, which is steeper, yet a bit quicker than the train. We have been…
Are we happy our holiday housesit took us to Brussels? Yes. After Prague, it is the best European city we had ever spent Christmas in and there was so much to explore and see. Also, while Brussels doesn’t have the obvious charm of Bruges or Antwerp, it’s still a highly walkable city with a lot going for it. Famous icons…
A simple fact about our relationship is that Greg had about a 10-year jump start in the international travel department, so Mandy is always seeking the opportunity to scoot a bit closer to her competitive conspirator. But, once she knocked one off for Belgium, she realized that was not sufficient. Thus, along came a six-hour, flu-inducing solo ride to one…
