Oreshak For Real

Horowitz Travel-May 4, 2017- Oreshak

We did so much driving today there's not much to write and only a picture of our tank being filled with LPG (liquid propane gas). I wish I could listen to the attendant's (no self-serve) dinner conversation as she tries to explain how a car pulled up, three crazy Americans jumped out and took a picture of the nozzle in the tank. The interesting thing about it, as you see, is that there's a separate opening for gas & LPG. When the car was retro-fitted, a separate tank was added as well as a computer adaptation. Other interesting Bulgarian gas station facts: it's a good bet the toilets will be clean; they sell distilled water for car batteries. David uses distilled water in his CPAP & was thrilled to have such easy access to it.

We drove through Northwest Bulgaria, the poorest section of the country. This has become the home to many gypsies. Sorry, those of you who object to that term. That's what Patrick uses and it's easier to stick with his language. He has a definite bias against them and verbalizes all the stereotypes which I won't repeat. They came from India following Alexander the Great. They fought on his side against the Indians and had to "get out of Dodge" when Alexander moved on. 

More interesting than rambles about "lazy gypsies" were the stork nests perched on telephone poles. We saw many occupied, but it's too early for the chicks to be around. The ride wasn't as scenic today, but we passed the time chatting. Patrick said he enjoys our stories. I told him we have at least thirty years more of adventures than he does.

We stopped for lunch at a lovely place. Where, I do not know. Patrick closely supervises what we order and makes recommendations. He had stinging nettle soup. I tasted it and may try it later on. There was a wooden box on the table with a button on it. The box was marked with "push button for service." As the waitress approached I asked if I could push it. Patrick told me there was no need since she was coming. I was teasing him putting my finger closer and closer. He finally explained to the server what I wanted to do. She indicated I should push it. It caused her watch to vibrate. After she left, Patrick turned to me and said, "What can you do with kids nowadays?" He said that maybe he should get me a babysitter or toys to play with in the car. 

He surprised us by paying for our lunch. I thanked him and said we'd buy him dinner. The joke was that our overnight was in his wife's hometown and he was staying with his in-laws.  His mother-in-law never missed a chance to feed him and tell him her daughter could have married better. Since he's given them their only grandchild, she might change her tune. He laughed and told us he was buying our lunch because he liked us a lot.

Our major tourist stop was in Pleven. The English translation said the building housed the Epopee of Pleven. Epopee? Patrick said it meant "epic." It was in a large multi-storied circular building with paintings, weapons, and an enormous diorama depicting the events of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. It reminded me of the diorama of the U.S. Civil War in Atlanta. Our guide spoke excellent English, but, of course, Patrick had to slightly amend his version of history when we were outside the exhibit. I particularly found the weaponry interesting. A lot was British and American. The Russians adapted rifles like Colts, Smith & Wessons, & Winchesters to suit their purposes. They also altered the Gatling gun so it would accept the same ammunition as the rifles. The Turks were stuck with single shot powder loaded muskets. Guess who won? It was a major blow and helped end 500 years of Ottoman domination in Bulgaria.

The next stop was at Patrick's bank branch in Troyan near where we were spending the night. He'd been carrying lots of cash with him (most from us) & was happy to deposit it. I'm surprised he left us alone in the car while he banked. He's like a mother hen. He's so protective and solicitous. When we got to our hotel in Oreshak, a suburb of Troyan, he walked us downstairs to go over the restaurant menu since he wouldn't be eating with us. I joked about "not another flight of steps" & he offered to go down and get the menu. When he took us to a craft mart I went to the restroom and found that he was pacing and wringing his hands when I returned. I hadn't told him I was going & as far as he was concerned I'd disappeared. Poor man needs to chill. He does seem tightly wound and sometimes walks too fast. He and I end up walking together, and Judi keeps David company at a slower pace. David’s arthritic toes have been acting up.

I'm writing this to you while sitting on the covered patio restaurant of our hotel Strannopriemnitza (yeah) as a thunderstorm rolls in. We were going to walk to a nearby monastery even though Patrick wanted to drive us and have us walk back. We convinced him we could manage both ways. He capitulated, but the storm was coming, and we didn't go.

It wasn't so much what we ate for dinner as how the menu read. David had "erked" (jerked) pastrami. It's dried corned beef. Since it was a starter, he also had cheese in egg with corn flakes and jam. It was the salty Bulgarian cheese in nugget form. Indeed, it was coated with corn flakes and fried. Jam was in a small bowl for dipping. Judi had "penny bun" (baby porcini) mushrooms in wine sauce & the mish mash egg scramble with tomatoes she had the other day. We shared "singed" loaf of garlic bread (nan). My stomach was off from all the wonderful local yogurt I've eaten, so I had chicken soup. We took a pass on: "coat" (goat) cheese, French fries or fresh French fries ($1 more), "shaken pig liver" (perhaps chopped), chicken filet on mushroom "mess" (mash?), veal head with veal stomach.

Tomorrow we head for Veliko Tărnovo & spend two nights.

Toby

Gasoline & LPG access

Storks

Epopee