I did not take these, but I think they give the overall feeling of Blago in December.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Rila Monastery by evening light
Today is a student appreciation day here in Bulgaria. So now that I feel fully appreciated for all my student like hard work, I think I can manage to get through the next week of finals! Originally my roommate, her boyfriend and I were suppose to go to Greece yesterday and come back tonight. However due to the horrible flooding in the Balkans the road we would have taken to the Greek border was flooded and a piece of it broke off into the river with a truck and the driver missing. http://sofiaecho.com/2010/12/05/1005507_bulgaria-balkans-hard-hit-by-flooding
We could not take a trip to a town such as Melnik because the traffic is so horrible because of landslides etc. So we went to the Rila Monastery about a 40 minute drive from here just for the afternoon. I’m amazed by the lack of people that were at the monastery! Last time I was there in August it was filled with tourist and I had to wait like an hour just to get the famous Bulgarian yogurt made at the monastery. This time I think we ran into 3 people. I’m perfectly ok with that, and it was nice to see the monastery in “winter” and without people! Bulgaria is very strange right now because of the lack of snow. The skiing season opens Saturday and there’s no snow in the mountains. It’s only been cold here the last week, so hopefully by the time I come back here in the middle of January I can go skiing.
In the town center there’s now a Christmas market of sorts. While it does not compare to the market in Augsburg, Munich and Nuremberg it is a nice place to get a sausage in a bun for around $1..new lunch place for the next week? I’ve having a serious craving for a proper Christmas experience so I’m looking forward to Finland next weekend. On the itinerary: ice skating, Christmas markets to the max, saunas, and maybe, just maybe if at all possible the typical Finish experience of sauna, and then jumping into the ice filled water. But I have a feeling in Helsinki at least this wont be possible. My dream: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_sauna
So I think this is going to be my last post until sometime during my travels in the next month! I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a lovely, bright, and healthy 2011.
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| My roomie Valya, and I |
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