Middle-aged flash packers

Day 6 – Plovdiv

A much quieter night was had thank goodness. I decided to research the insanity that is the Bulgarian school prom and it really is madness. Families take out loans in order to pay for their children’s party, clothes and hire cars. It holds more importance than a wedding. Bonkers. Anyway, nothing doing tonight thank God. 

Today we decided to visit Asen’s fortress and Bachkovo Monastery, approximately 20 minutes drive from Plovdiv.

The weather was supposed to be dire but was much better than expected. Asen’s fortress is basically a wall and a church as after the Ottoman conquest in the 14 century it was abandoned/destroyed and only the church survived. Great views though and the 14century murals in the church are worth seeing. 

After exploring the fortress, we meandered along a track that followed the old fortress walls, high above the valley. There had previously been a safety barrier to protect anyone who slipped as the fall from the track would undoubtedly be fatal. The barrier was now very rusted and broken in places, but never fear, it had been repaired with some old sticks which filled me with a sense of complete confidence. 

On our precarious walk, we met a family who were exploring the wildlife and foraging. They showed us some snails that were living on the mountainside that were actually marine snails that had evolved over millions of years. The lady was collecting a variety of wild thyme which she said you could use on pizza or make tea with it. This is Bulgaria – complete disregard for safety but incredible natural knowledge.

Next stop, the monastery – but not without some sustenance. We stopped at a very local restaurant where we both fancied a bowl of soup. Unfortunately the only soup available was tripe soup. Although the people next to us were tucking into it with gusto, it’s not high on my list of gourmet delights so S and I decided to share a plate of whitebait and freshly baked bread instead. Delicious, but we have both been suffering from fishy burps since.

Onwards to the monastery. After a bit of confusion over parking we made our way past many little outlets selling various bits of  tat that even I wasn’t interested in. Seems a strange set up for a monastery but I guess they don’t get out much.

The actual monastery itself was very pretty and calm. I saw a priest but not any monks. The church was a fine example of more is more. Every aspect of it was covered in murals, gold lamps and all sorts of gold stuff hanging from the ceiling. There was another church nearby where all the former priests were buried. If you walk past this church and follow the trail, you will eventually come to a very pretty waterfall .

After this if you continue to follow the same path, you will reach an abandoned complex which has a very lovely inscription on the gateway: “Down with the sun! The morning is beautiful , how much better – this will be the day!” A rough translation but you get the gist.

Next stop, back to the hotel and massages- hurrah. Bit painful at times but our bodies now feel released and stress free.

After scaring our grandson Hank with a video call it was time for some dinner at Steve’s new favourite restaurant. It didn’t disappoint and we wandered back to our abode, happy and replete.

Tomorrow it’s back to Plovdiv for an explore and then on to our favourite hotel the Kashmir in Velingrad.