Touring Bulgaria.
Trip Start
Sep 14, 2011
1
23
30
Trip End
Oct 12, 2011
Vidin, Vidin, Bulgaria
Thursday, October 6, 2011
We all got on a tour bus about 8:30 AM for a tour of Bulgaria. This country is dominated by rugged mountains, except for the Danube lowland in the north that it shares with Romania and the 80 miles of sandy beaches on the Black Sea. Largely due to the mountainous terrain, Bulgaria is one of Eastern Europe's least densely populated nations. Most of its people live in urban areas. Communist rule ended in 1989 and democratic change began. As economic conditions improved, Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.
Our ship was docked in Vidin, one of the few Bulgarian riverside towns. In years past the Danube flooded the lowlands at regular intervals and discouraged settlement along its banks. On this site of a Celtic settlement, the Romans built a fortress to control the Danube crossing. Its strategic location on the Danube made the town an important Bastion and trading center. When it came under Turkish rule, Vidin became the largest town in Bulgaria.
We set off along the road to visit Belogradshik. At first we saw quite a few abandoned factory buildings. Our guide said that before 1989 the government had controlled what was manufactured in each factory and they subsidized the businesses. Once the Soviet Republic collapsed, the state no longer supported the industries and there was no market for a lot of the products. The management left and locals had never run a business before. There was no one capable of converting the plants to build products that would sell and they were just abandoned.
Most of the time we were driving through agricultural areas. There seemed to be a lot of corn ready to harvest. When we passed through built up areas they were usually small towns. The houses appeared to be older single family homes, many with grapes and other greenery covering their yards. The majority of the population are said to be Orthodox Christians, but I saw little evidence of houses of worship. Occasionally we saw gypsies driving a wagon hitched to a mule or horse. Of course they are a hazard on the highway, but they can’t afford cars or trucks.
Belogradshik means small white town. It is now a small white city nestled in the picturesque Stare Planina Mountains. In the area gigantic rock formations have been shaped by nature over a period of 230 million years, forming unique rocky obelisks, reddish sandstone castles, and oversized stone figures. One of the most attractive historical monuments is the majestic fortress atop a hill. The ancient stronghold was built when the Balkan Peninsula was within the confines of the Roman Empire [3rd century AD]. Several towers, gates, and walls were added later by the different conquerors. Its present appearance dates back to the Turkish occupation [19th century].
Our first order of business when we got there was to stop at a very nice modern hotel for a bathroom break. When that was taken care of, we got back on the bus and drove up to the old fortress. There is quite a lot of the old walls and towers left standing. The ancient Roman fortress was built upon the large rock formations inside the newer portion. There was a set of stair climbing up there, but they were rough and there was no railing to keep on from stumbling over the side. Neither Evelyn nor I had brought our walking poles and we didn’t feel comfortable on the steps without their support. We both decided to take the safest way out and wait below for those people that went to the top. I occupied my time taking photos.
From the fortress we went back to the hotel for another bathroom break and to pick up the few people that had elected not to go to the fortress. Then we headed back to Vidin. On the way we stopped at Baba Vida regarded as the best preserved medieval stone fortress in Bulgaria. It was built during the 10th and 14th centuries on the ruined walls of the old Roman citadel The massive structure was rebuilt by the Turks who used it to stockpile their weapons. It has recently been repaired in order to return it to its former splendor. The interior has been renovated to form a concert hall which is used regularly. They have even added air conditioning with hidden exhausts.
Nearby were the ruins of an old synagogue. The original brick walls are still in good condition but the interior was burned and completely missing. Whatever the fire missed the local people cannibalized for scrap or for building materials. It was upsetting to think of how large a congregation of Jewish people used to worship there. Almost all of them were rounded up and sent to concentration camps during WW II.
The crew had lunch waiting for us as soon as we returned to the ship. The ship left Vidin and headed toward our next port. We had a lecture on the European Union after lunch followed by another strudel making demonstration by the pastry chef. I elected to stay in and work on my Blog.
Since we are leaving the ship in two days, we had the farewell cocktail party before dinner. This one was the same as the one we had in Budapest. I was surprised at the number of new faces that appeared during the staff recognition time. We had turned over more of the crew than I had realized. The Farewell Dinner was about the same as in Budapest but without the Baked Alaska. Since our group will be together for another 5 days, we are only leaving the crew behind. There wasn’t the emotional content that will happen when we leave our new friends.
