Rosalie's littlest sister at home in Bajkal, Bulgaria
Bulgaria is declared to be the poorest country in the EU. Whoever came up with that statistic must be talking about money, nothing else. For who could call a country rich in tradition, friendliness, good humour, generosity and sheer love------POOR?
We first stepped onto Bulgarian soil (after a difficult start in Cetate Bay) in Vidin welcomed heartily by an official who offered us free berthing tied onto his pontoon and directed us to the friendly customs officer who cleared us through in record time, 5 minutes! The town was quite interesting with several old buildings, an orthodox cathedral which was closed, but the priest kindly opened it for us, a town gate dating from the Turkish time, a huge derelict synagogue which is being reconstructed now with EU funds, and the Baba Vida Turkish fortress, used also in the filming of 'Lord of the Rings'!
The old synagogue, and below, Baba Vida
The huge fun fair was packed with Bulgarian people, including many families with little children who enjoyed the pigs roasting on spit over wood fires, the beautiful traditional crafts, the funnily old-fashioned rides which still managed to thrill the kids and the folk dance group accompanied by live musicians on flute and drum.
Some of the attractions at the fair in Vidin
Next day, our first sighting of pelicans was a gift indeed! First one all alone, then a flock of 15 and then even more. Since then, we have from time to time sighted these 'swans of the lower Danube', always with excitement and never with the right photographic equipment to hand!
In Lom, our next stop, we again met with nothing but kindness , and I can never forget the open smiling face of the customs officer on his bicycle who paced the length of our boat with massive strides and who poured me drinking water from his own bottle. Johannes got taken into the office next morning by a border policeman. ¨Face check!¨ said our laughing customs officer to me and the two fishermen who'd tried their luck all night. But no, he just wanted to show off his 'exotic catch' to his friend from customs and to wish us a good trip.
Sunset in Lom
We tied on next day after a LONG drive of some 9 hours which brought us 103 km further along the Danube in the little town of Bajka. Bajkal, you'll live forever in my heart! We walked to the centre and just beyond, following a horse-drawn cart, and met first a charming gypsy family. The eldest daughter Rosalie spoke some English and introduced us to her mother and the other little children including Nikki and Dani, two brothers who grinned away at us, and her little sister. We bought 2 bottles of beer at the local shop and sat at a little table outside with 2 old men who, even without each other's language soon knew everything important about us. And so did everyone else who came past. One guy had worked in Bremen and Cuxhaven and with his remembered German announced, ' Ich liebe dich von ganzen Herzen!' (I love you with all my heart!), as he presented us with two more beers. As we walked back, an 80 year old gentleman invited us into his compound and gave us a melon and picked some peppers for us, kissing and hugging us and talking all the while in Bulgarian. When we spoke English to him, his response was 'Blibalibalibablib!'
Treasures from Bajkal, a gift from the old man
Nikapol was a very rundown town with not many people around, a few nice buildings and very little in the shops.
But in the evening, we chatted with fishermen and were given the best of their catch which we fried up next morning according to their instructions and ate later for lunch. 'We can eat Danube fish every day, but for you, it's once in a lifetime to eat the best fish in the world,' they said.
'Love is in the air' in Nikopol
What a surprising contrast we found in the town of Svishtov, a seemingly thriving university town with plenty of life about. Somewhat similar is the town of Ruse where we've spent the last 4 days at the yacht club, a meagre marina with a very helpful manager. Here in the town are a big park and central meeting area with a few buskers and loads of kids on scooters (much more 'in' than bikes or skateboards).
The highlight though was our trip by train ( a rickety old piece of iron rattling down the tracks whose back doors, where we with our bikes stood, held together by a fraying piece of blue string) to the Ivanovo Rock Monastery and Churches complex. This little known gem is not only set in marvelous landscape, it also has remarkably preserved frescoes from the year 1360 in churches hewn out of the golden rock! The ceiling and walls are covered with bible scenes and legends and the man who collected our 5 Lewa admission fee was full of information about the site.
Yet another exquisite gift from Bulgaria, a land hitherto unvisited by us, but now certainly one of our favourites.
A monk's cell and church, called 'The Barber's'
Frescoes in the Virgin Mary church in Ivanovo
The working monastery in Basarbovo
Comments