Tripping With Toby: Veliko Tărnovo and Beyond

Horowitz Travel- May 6, 2017- Veliko Tărnovo and Beyond

Happy St. Geroge's Day. Bulgarians are celebrating the saint with a parade in Sofia, visiting attractions, and eating lamb. Type-A Patrick stressed about crowds where we were going as he strategized the best route and how to avoid the rain. We started at the furthest point, and David guaranteed sunshine based on faith not influence.

We drove an hour and a half in dreary, threatening weather on what Patrick told us was nicknamed "the road of death." It was two-lane, truck-filled, and impatient drivers passed at will on curves. Patrick is a careful driver, but Judi, who sits up front, can hear him curse in English under his breath. He swerves to avoid potholes and snails and his car either needs shocks or springs. It's snail season and people collect them to eat. He doesn't want to deprive anyone of a meal. So far, our backs are holding up despite a bouncy ride and mattresses here being thin and ropey. Several times I've checked under myself while in bed to see if my nightgown had twisted only to feel knots in the mattress.

We had a chance to chat and tell anecdotes during the ride. Judi told the tale of how storks bring newborn babies to a house and asked if Bulgarians have a similar explanation to tell children. He said their story is that after the baby comes, the stork lays on the couch and drinks beer, obviously referring to the father. In our daily belaboring of the plight of civilization, the world, & the U.S. in particular, he quoted Churchill: there are "no eternal friends or eternal enemies, only eternal interests."

Patrick's goal is to amaze us and show us sites that are not on "package tours." He did both. We arrived at a 12th century collection of 150 caves formerly occupied by hermit monks. The Rock Caves of Ivanov are hewn from the cliffside and include cells, chapels, and monasteries. The remaining accessible cave is up a muddy, steep, slippery hill with few handholds. That was the "easier" way up. Well worth the climb, we were greeted with an ancient natural formation of a chapel adorned with 14th century frescoes in the Pelaeologoues style. It is neoclassical and known for thin human figures (El Greco-like) with clear facial expressions, background detail, and an unusual appearance of a nude. The walls and ceiling are covered with amazingly preserved frescoes including the Last Supper 140 years before Leonardo painted his. Our descent was by stairs. They were wet, slippery, and more dangerous. And there were distractions. We had to avoid gripping the handrail where snails perched (if snails perch). Snails of all sizes were obvious on trees we passed. I didn't know there could be albino snails, but I saw one today.

Safely on level ground, we went to lunch at a gas station. Quite a comedown from Patrick's usual fare, but he said they had delicious sandwiches. They were on an assortment of lovely baguettes and ranged from vegetarian to meats and smoked salmon. Rested, fed, and watered, we trooped on.

We would have skipped the Roman Nicopolus back near Veliko Tarnovo if it was raining, but David had predicted accurately. The rain stopped and the sun came in and out all day. The site was impressive as Roman cities are. We've seen several and it's always interesting to be reminded of how clever they were.

Patrick was antsy to get to The Church of St. Michael and Gabriel in Arbanasi Village. We sped down pitted roads lined with fluffy white lilac trees to one of his favorite places. The first part was built in the 17th century with the rest built in the 18th. There is no evidence from outside that under the red tile roof lies a domed structure built half underground. The purpose was to abide by the Ottoman law that churches couldn't be taller than mosques. The exterior presentation of plain stone construction made the interior all the more dramatic. The two rooms were distinctive in style and use. The sexes were separated with men using the older room. The flooring was made of large tiles taken from the Roman site we'd just visited. In both rooms, the walls and ceilings were covered with brightly colored biblical paintings, depictions of saints, and floral designs reminiscent of Turkish art. Each figure had a three-dimensional gold leaf halo.

Not finished yet! We had to see, but thankfully not climb, the Tsarevets Hill or the Hill of Kings. It's a reconstructed battlement wall and bridge/road that protected the area from the 12th to 14th century during the second Bulgarian Empire when this was the capital. There's nothing but a park inside the walls, so we were spared the effort of touring yet another Medieval town.

In sympathy for us, Patrick drove us to Craft St. near our hotel. He dropped his car at the hotel and walked up to meet us at a friend's ceramic shop. He was ordering a casserole dish for his wife, but we didn't find anything we wanted to buy. We had to insist, but he let us walk down to the hotel rather than have him get the car. I am beginning to feel elderly with his solicitous treatment. He admitted that his job is to be a mother hen and we're his chicks. One time he told us to wait for him to bring the car and to "stand here." He pointed to a drainage grate on the sidewalk. When we saw his car coming, we all circled the grate facing inward to show how well we were following directions. He got the joke.

It was hard to get reservations for dinner and we ended up at our hotel again. We ordered lamb and rice for St. George. Patrick is watching his weight so he can fit into his wetsuit so only ate chicken. He's very judgmental about people's weight and has commented that his wife didn't get her good shape back after their son was born. At dinner, he remarked at the amount of bread David ate before the main course came since the lamb portion was to be large. He said it in a way he'd chastise his son. I think he was out of line as does David. Then he remarked that Miro, the manager, had gained kilos. It was enough to say it to us, but he also teased Miro about his mother feeding him well.

He thought it would be a good idea for us to contact our Romanian guide, Andrei, to be sure our arrangements were clear for picking us up at the border next week. He said it's not wise to try to hold too many watermelons. Andrei had been a private guide, but expanded and now runs an agency. The implication was that Andrei is unreliable. Andrei has hired Bulgarians to do tours in Romania and Bulgaria. I think Patrick resents the infringement on his "turf." In his opinionated way, he's conveyed his dislike for Romania as well.

If anyone is interested, Patrick also does specialized wine tours and private tours (3-4 people max) of Northern Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, and other bordering countries. He doesn't do Romania.

Tomorrow we do a lot of driving ending up in Varna.

Toby