Shumen, Bulgaria

We spent 2 nights in Shumen, Bulgaria. I found this town interesting because of the contrasts. It's a pretty European town with a nice pedestrian area and relaxing parks. But it also has a massive socialist "Monument to 1300 Years of Bulgaria" on a hill overlooking the town and at one end of the pedestrian street are two abandoned unfinished buildings and a very 70s hotel.

Unfinished tower in the heart of downtown

Monument to 1300 Years of Bulgaria

People comment that the figures look like transformers

Ruins of 15th century Shumen Fortress

Tombul Mosque - still being restored

Our hotel room

Coffee vending machines

Coffee vending machines seem to be everywhere in Bulgaria. You can find one on almost every block in the business areas, and often in residential neighbourhoods also. Most of them will make an espresso, cappuccino, hot chocolate, and at least a dozen other variations.

In the park

In a mall

While buying swimwear or jeans

Built into someone's yard

Side by side coffee machines!

Ruse, Bulgaria

Ruse is located on the Danube River and is sometimes called Little Vienna for its architecture. It also has an extensive pedestrian zone with parks, fountains and numerous fancy buildings. We were here for 4 nights which gave us plenty of time to explore side streets, visit museums, and sit in parks and streetside cafes.

We have been receiving an education in the Bulgarian National Revival, a period from the late 1700s (while the country was ruled by the Ottomans) until Bulgaria came an independent nation in 1878 after the Russians defeated the Ottomans. Many monuments and historic sites are focused on events and people from this period of time.

Monument of Liberty in main square

National Revival style house

Socialist style city hall

Bad service, great service

Toma, our host in Pleven, drove us to the bus station to help us get our tickets to Ruse. After being redirected to two different ticket windows by indifferent employees, the one where we were supposed to buy our tickets was closed with a note indicating a lunch break from 12:00 to 12:30. It was already 12:45 and the bus was scheduled to leave at 1:10. Tomi called the phone number posted on the window and found that the the clerk was paying personal bills at another kiosk in the bus station. She basically told Toma that she would be done when she decided. So we waited and in the end got our tickets just in time.

In contrast, the next day we took a local bus to a nearby monastery. The fare for the trip out was 2.80 BGN (about $2.10). When we got on the bus for the return journey, I had 2.80 BGN ready to pay. I handed the ticket seller (a guy in his twenties) the cash. He promptly handed some of it back and said with some pride that "on this bus you only pay 2.40". He asked where we were from and then thanked us several times for coming to visit his country.

The guesthouse in Ruse

Our room

The Basarbovo Rock Monastery near Ruse

Pleven, Bulgaria

We spent two nights in Pleven. The Lonely Planet guidebook describes it as "a languid and fairly lacklustre place". We thought it was a great town with a wonderful and extensive pedestrian zone with lots of cafés and park benches for relaxation.

The day before we were to arrive, our original accommodation reservation was cancelled because of a plumbing problem. The host, Toma also rents a room in his apartment and offered that to us instead. That would not be an arrangement we would normally choose, but we thought it might be an interesting experience.

The apartment was in a typical  apartment block on the edge of town. A lot of older apartment buildings in the region have run down entryways and stairwells. Most of the owners don't have enough money to fix up the common areas of the building. Owners that do have some money will fix up their individual units but the rest of the building could be quite shabby. Toma's apartment was very modern inside.

Toma told us his whole life story until late into the evening. The next day we walked around downtown and toured the local museum covering the 1877 Siege of Plevna.

Catching the train to Pleven

The apartment block where we stayed

Our very modern and comfortable room

Socialist monument

Pleven Panorama museum