It was time to start the final leg of my journey as I flew out of  the Middle East to Eastern Europe.  My ride back to the UK would start in the beautiful city of Sofia in the Balkan Mountains of Bulgaria. 

I had originally planned to begin my cycle ride in Europe after finishing riding through South America at the beginning of March.  Given that it was 5C degrees at the time I changed my route so that I went to the Middle East first. 

That was a wise choice as the day that I left Dubai it was over 40C degrees and getting hotter, and if I had of gone cycling there after Europe then I don’t think it would have been possible.

I landed in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, at 1am and had already booked a hotel transfer so that somebody was waiting to pick me up.  For 3 GBP it was a no brainer, and seeing as the hotel never charged me for it then it was actually free.

As I was arriving in the middle of the night I booked myself into a hotel at the airport and in the morning I would put my bike together and cycle into the centre of Sofia.The next morning after breakfast in bed, you’ve got to enjoy the luxuries while you can, it was time to be a tourist in Sofia, and it was a beautiful early spring day – the sun was shining, there was a chill in the air, the trees were in blossom, and the flowers were starting to bloom.I’m not sure that I could have asked for a more perfect day to arrive, but what I wasn’t expecting to see was snow still on the mountains as when I left Sofia I would need to cross them.The airport was located about 15km from the centre of the city and on the way I did the jobs that I needed to do every time I flew into a new country:

Buy petrol and in Bulgaria I could pic up a SIM card at the same timeAnd, as I had given all of my food away when I left the UAE, I needed to stock back up on the basics – pasta, soup, porridge and coffee.It was then time to get on with being a tourist and the one great thing about cycling through Europe is that I was surrounded by history, and Sofia didn’t disappoint.

The other thing about going to a new country/continent was having completely different food options to choose from.

I had been to Bulgaria once before to go skiing and all I remembered about Bulgaria was that it was really cheap and they ate a lot of meat.  That was 10 years ago and on my first day back in the country it looked like not much had changed.

Although the country joined the European Union in 2007 they kept their own currency, the Lev, rather than using the Euro. The other slightly confusing thing was that their language was not based on the Latin alphabet, but Cryllic script (think Russian) which made most of the road signs indecipherable.Sofia had a trolley bus transport system (Тролейбусен транспорт София) that wove its way through the downtown area, and I personally always think that they add a certain beauty to any city that has them.

The original section of track was opened in 1941 and ran for 3km through the centre of the city. Today, there are 9 routes that cover a network in excess of 250km.

I spent a great day cycling aimlessly around the city before checking into a cheap hostel in the city centre.

The other thing that was fantastic was that now I was back in Europe it didn’t get dark until nearly 9pm, and so that meant that I could have a good promenade, something that I love to do of an evening.

As I promenaded around the city the soldiers were standing guard outside the National Archaeological Museum.The Saint George Rotunda Church looked stunning as the sun went down behind the apartment buildings that surrounded it on all 4 sides.

The church is the oldest architectural monument in Sofia, and the only building intact to its roof that dated back to the Roman Empire.

There was only one thing to do after a lovely walk, and that was to find a café in one of the many plazas in the city centre.I would be leaving Sofia in the morning and still hadn’t any real idea of the route I would take through Bulgaria.  My plan was to work this out over a pint!!!

My destination after visiting Bulgaria was Romania which lay north of Bulgaria, but the receptionist at the hotel had told me that there was still snow in the Rila Mountains, and as the ski lifts were still open I could go skiing on real snow, as opposed to skiing in Dubai Ski Dome, which I had done a few days before. 

Rila Mountain is situated in the south west of the country. At nearly 3000m it was not only the highest mountain in Bulgaria but the whole Balkan Peninsula, and located about half way up its northern slope was the oldest ski resort in Bulgaria –  Borovets. 

That looked like an ideal place to head for the following morning, even though it was in the opposite direction that I needed to cycle, but what the hell, I would only be cycling this way once.

The next morning when I left Sofia the fastest way to get out of the city was  to take the main highway, that if I had stayed on it would have taken me all the way to Turkey.I was only planning on being on this road for around 10km, and as there was a bus lane traffic was not too much of a concern.

For once, it seemed like I had arrived in a country and the wind was actually with me as the flags indicated that I had a strong tailwind that was pushing me along.My only slight issue was that I couldn’t understand any of the road signs.and had to rely on my phone to confirm that I had taken the correct turn off the highway.  Once I was heading south towards the foothills of Rila Mountain the view looked magnificent.It looked like there would be lots of snow for me to ski on !!!

The scenery was beautiful as I cycled my way up a river valley through forests and higher into the hills 

I had loved my time in the Middle East, but it was so nice not to be cycling through a desertEverywhere I looked I could see the trees beginning to blossom to announce the start of Spring.Around lunchtime I passed a restaurant by the side of the road and pulled in to get something to eat. The place was fairly busy and as it was Easter weekend people had a 5 day weekend in Bulgaria and as lots of the people were wearing ski gear it looked like I would have company on the slopes.

The higher I went in the mountains the colder it was getting and looking around me I was the only person in shorts.  To warm up a bit I ate a very tasty bowl of bean soup and washed it down with a pint.

It was then time to get on with the climb up Rila Mountain.All day I had been following a river and the climb was never that steep as it was broken into a series of ‘steps’ where I would climb for 15 or so kilometres before passing a dam in the river, behind which a lake had formed.

The road would then skirt around the edge of the ‘lake’ for a while, sometimes even on dedicated cycle paths,  before climbing again. Along the flatter sections of the valleys the farmers were busy tending to their crops, which mainly seemed to be potatoes and it looked like the first crop of the season was ready as people were busy selling them by the side of the road. I think the ‘strangest’ sight I passed that day was a London bus parked by the side of the road.As I approached Borovets I passed the sign for the town, but as I still hadn’t crossed the snowline I was starting to think that maybe I wouldn’t be skiing after all.  Perhaps I should have checked a snow report before cycling my way up a mountain all day, rather than relying on what the receptionist had told me.

Two things then happened – firstly it turned out that the sign was miles before the town, and the incline of the road massively ramped up.  So, by the time I arrived in Borovets I had crossed the snowline, and it was actually touch and go whether I had enough traction to finish the climb cycling the bike.

Now that I had stopped cycling it was a bit cold to be stood around in shorts and a tee-shirt. As I was contemplating finding somewhere to stay one of the locals came over and asked if she could take a picture with me to send to her daughter.  Apparently they had been talking on the phone and her daughter didn’t believe that somebody had ridden their bike through the snow to the ski resort.

After a quick photo it was time to go and find a hotel as it was way too cold to be camping.  It turned out that this was the last weekend of the ski season and after the Easter weekend holiday the ski lifts would shut down for the season.  

All of the hotels in town seemed to have special offers , and for 20 GBP I not only got a room but free use of the spa and swimming pool.After a swim and sauna it was time to walk into town to see what there was to eat.  The first place I passed had a whole pig roasting on a spit.As it smelt fantastic I didn’t bother going any further and had my dinner there that night.

The next morning I was up early as I wanted to get to the ski hire place when it opened.  My plan was to spend the morning on the slopes before continuing cycling in the afternoon. 

I was not exactly in a rush but I needed to be in Bucharest in Romania in a couple of weeks’ time as, after not seeing my wife for 4 months, I was flying to Malaysia to meet up with her for a long weekend. I’ll tell you this cycling lark wasn’t at all bad !!!

That was for the future though and after finding a shop that would hire me not only the equipment but the clothes too it was time to catch the ski lift up the mountain.

The ski lift dropped me off onto an area of ‘blue’ ski runs which was fantastic as apart from a couple of hours at Dubai Ski Dome the previous week it had been over 10 years since I was last on the slopes.

After surviving a couple of runs on the ‘baby’ slopes it was time to catch the drag lift up to the more challenging ‘red’ runs.Once at the top the mountains looked spectacularThe slopes looked much steeper from up here and it was with a little sense of panic that I pushed over the edge.

I made it the bottom of the run in once piece.It was great to be out on the slopes, and thankfully they weren’t that crowded which meant that everybody else could give me a wide birth.

Here is a short video to give you some idea of the fun that I had on the slopes:

After a great morning on the slopes I caught the gondola back down to Borovets and went back to the hotel to check out.  It had been a fantastic morning and had cost me just 20 GBP for clothes, ski hire and lift pass.  Bulgaria was so cheap after spending a small fortune, comparatively speaking, during my week in Dubai.

Once checked out it was time to warm up and get off the mountain.  The first hour was a very steep descent where I was a bit concerned whether my brakes would hold.  After that, the gradient eased as I cycled through one picturesque village after anotherEach of the villages had one thing in common – some form of ‘celebration’ of past battles. Be it a statue Or a tank
Or even a fighter jetThe locals didn’t seem worried that war would break out any time soon as they were busy tending their flocks inthe meadowsAlthough nobody I met that afternoon spoke English everybody had a friendly wave.I was still hardly having to pedal as I continued my descent back into the lowlands.As I had not had lunch before leaving once I was on flatter ground I stopped at a roadside barbeque to get a plate of grilled meat.It seemed that not much had changed in the last 10 years and food in Bulgaria was still more protein than carbs, and  meals still mainly consisted of a plate of meat served with bread.

Finding water, which had been the biggest challenge in some countries that I had cycled through, was, so far at least, fairly easy in Bulgaria as along the roadside there were plenty of natural springs that had been ‘tapped’ for passersby to get fresh water from.When I had set off from Borovets my route was once again being ‘directed’ by locals who had said that I should head for the town of Plovdiv.  As it lay 120km away I wasn’t sure whether I would get there that day.

As I set off after food the sun was shining, the roads were quiet, and as it was a beautiful day to be cycling.

I decided to push on and by early evening I arrived at Plovdiv. It had been a great day – the morning spent on the slopes and in the afternoon I had covered 120km.

As I was intending to spend a couple of days in the city my first job was to find somewhere nice to stay and so I cycled into the heart of the historical part of the city.

It wasn’t long before I was approached by a local girl, Klavdiya, asking if I needed somewhere to stay. It may sound a bit dodgy, but it wasn’t and she took me back to her apartment.  The apartment was a one bed flat right in the centre of the old town, and for 15 GBP per night it was perfect.

Klavdiya said that it was her grandmothers flat and she had never given it back to the local council when she passed away. Now she lived there part time and rented it out when she could to make a bit of extra money.  For the 2 days that I rented it she moved in with friends. 

One of the reasons that a flat was perfect was that as I planned to stay put for a couple of nights I wanted to wash all of my kit and strip my bike down to get rid of all of the sand.

That night, I turned the flat into a ‘Chinese laundry’ as every bit of clothing and equipment, including my tent, got put into the washing machine.The great thing about sports clothes is that they dry very quickly, and by the time I had spent a couple of hours washing everything the first wash was dry and I had clothes to go out in that evening !!!

Klavdiya had said that as it was Good Friday at midnight there would be masses held at each church to celebrate Easter, and so at 10pm I went out for dinner

Steak with carrot tagliatelle and chargrilled sweetcorn – I was loving my diet in Bulgaria.

At 11.30pm, all of the restaurants and bars emptied out as everybody made their way to different churches in the city.  I followed the masses and walked to ‘The Church of The Holy Mother of God’ and waited with them for midnight to arrive.

Everybody, except me, had brought with them a candle and as midnight approached the bishop left the church followed by a procession of priests.The bishop at the front of the procession carried a lit candle and as he walked through the crowd people in the front used his candle to light theirs and then used theirs to light other peoples in the crowd. 
Nobody used a lighter and within a couple of minutes it seemed like all the candles in the huge crowd had been lit from the candle that the bishop was carrying.

The procession made its way to a stage area that had been set up and over a PA system a celebratory mass was given. 

Towards the end of the mass fireworks lit up the sky and church bells all over Bulgaria rang out.

Here is a short video to give you a better idea of what a solemn and special an occasion it was:

At the end of the mass everybody walked off in different directions carrying their still lit candles.As I walked home that night everybody I passed was stood around in small groups chatting while holding lit candles. A perfect end to an amazing day which start with a spot of skiing in the mountains and ended with a religious celebration in the lowlands.

The next morning it was time to strip down the rest of my equipment as 6 weeks of cycling through the desert had meant that sand had gotten into parts that it shouldn’t.

My first task was the bike, and as I took it apart each bit got a wash in the shower before being dried and re-greased.

It was then the turn of my cooker as I stripped it down to clean it
By the time that I had finished the various ‘squeaks’ on my bike had gone, and the cooker was burning at full capacity.

There was only one to celebrate, and that was to make a lovely fresh pot of coffeeBy lunchtime every piece of kit that I owned had been washed, stripped and reassembled, which was long overdue.

It was then time to go and be a tourist for the rest of the day.  One of the reasons why I had been recommended to go to Plovdiv was that its historic centre was meant to be breathtaking, and it didn’t disappoint.

Many of the older houses were built at the beginning of the 19th century ‘baroque’ style, with overhanging upper story, columned portico and brightly coloured façade.

The centre was a maze of narrow cobbled streets that I soon got lost in as I wandered around the centre of the city.

After a few hours of wandering around it was time to go and eat some traditional cuisine and I found a great placeIt’s terrace had a fantastic view over the cityLunch was sautéed chicken hearts served with freshly baked flat breadsThis was not the first time I had eaten them on this trip.  When I was in Dubai, Airis, who is Filipino, had cooked them for dinner one night, and in the Philippines they cook them in vinegar.  I must say that although the Bulgarian recipe was tasty that I preferred Airis’s version.

The only ‘disappointment’ so far in Bulgaria was that you could still smoke in bars/restaurants, and Bulgarians liked to chain smoke.  It made being eating inside slightly off putting especially, and this is no exaggeration, as there was often a thick haze of smoke.

After a great lunch, and nicotine boost, it was time to continue with my tour of ‘old town’ as I went search of the Roman Theatre that the waiter had said I must go and see.  How I had missed it I had no idea as it wasn’t exactly small. The theatre dated back to the 1st century AD, and they think it was constructed under the rulership of Emperor Domitian. Amazingly, the theatre was only discovered in the 1970’s after a landslide.

Today, the theatre is used to host plays and can seat around 7000 spectators, and even if what is on stage is not to your liking you can always just sit and watch the stunning vista behind.Every where I turned as I walked through the centre there were churches, murals and amazing statues.

It really was a beautiful attack on the senses.

Running through the very centre of old town was a more modern pedestrianised shopping street. Even here I couldn’t  escape the history of Plovdiv as when they were excavating the site of the pedestrianised zone they discovered the remains of a roman stadium.The northern sfendona (curved part) of the stadium had been partially restored. 

Plovdiv certainly did pack in the sights and I wandered around well into the early evening when my walking was curtailed by a heavy rain shower.

This may sound weird but after spending 6 weeks in a desert it was so nice to walk home in the rain and get drenched.  The locals must have wondered if I was slightly deranged as I returned back to the flat dripping wet but it was lovely.

The next morning though the rain was still coming down and so I rang Klavdiya to tell her to come round at midday to check me out rather than the prearranged 9am.  As it wasn’t going dark until nearly 9pm the later start to the day didn’t really matter.

When I set off cycling the rain, thankfully, had eased and although there was still a drizzle in the air I didn’t bother putting on my wet weather gear. 

My plan was now to cycle due north towards Romania where I should cross the border in about 5 or 6 days.  Standing between me and the border were the Balkan Mountains where I would need to negotiate my way over Shipka Pass. 

Shipka Pass lay a couple of days ride away and although it was not the highest pass that I had cycled over on this trip the weather forecast was that a late winter cold blast was coming down from the north and it was likely to snow.

Again though, this cycle trip was all about enjoying different experiences and so far, except for my brief ride through the snow a few days earlier, I had pretty much managed to avoided sub zero temperatures.

The road out of the city was highway for the first 10km until I reached the east west A1 motorway which most of the traffic joined.

Once I reached the motorway I had the road pretty much to myself as I cycled towards the mountains.Once again as I passed through the cobbled streets of various villages the remnants of military hardware were ever present.

As I had a delayed start to the day my plan was to reach the town of Karlovo which lay at the foothills of the Balkan Mountains and visit the spa village of Hisarya on the way.

Hisarya is famous for two things – the main part of the village is encircled by a Roman city wall, and hot mineral springs which bubble up from underground aquifers.

I entered the Roman fortifications through the beautiful south gate which is known as ‘The Camels’ because before the middle section was partially restored (the lighter bricks in the picture below) the arch looked like two camels facing each other.Inside the wall were the foundations of many Roman buildings including a small amphitheater, the barracks of the Roman garrison, the foundations of some of the oldest churches in Bulgaria, as well as the best-preserved Roman fortress in Bulgaria.

Here though, you would need to use your imagination as only the outline of the buildings had been reconstructed.

In the centre of the ruins was one of the mineral springs where many of the locals had come to fill their water bottles.

I joined them and without really thinking emptied my remaining water before filling it back up with the spring water.  What I hadn’t thought about though was that the water was boiling hot, but if the locals were drinking it that was good enough for me.

A couple of guys in their 20’s who had seen my bike had come over to ask what I was doing and we chatted for a while about my trip.  As I was leaving I said that I was cycling to Karlovo when they said I should head to Kalofer instead as it was the birth place of Hristo Botev.

They gave me a quick history lesson which went something like this –  in this part of the Balkans at least, it seemed that anybody who had fought against the Ottoman Empire was given hero status. (The Ottoman’s had invaded from Turkey and occupied much of this area since the early 14th century).

Hristo Botev was one such revolutionary, and after going into exile in Romania he returned as commander of a company of men who crossed the border with the aim of starting a revolution to drive the occupiers back to Turkey.

The revolution failed and Hristo was killed.  His actions are still remembered in poems and traditional songs.  Now if this wasn’t a good enough reason to change my destination that night I’m not sure what was and so instead of continuing north I took a quick detour east.

Having not checked the map what I didn’t realize was the town of Kalofer was located on the top of a huge hill.  To make matters worse, as I sweated my way up the steep incline the heavens opened and where I had been happy to walk through Plovdiv in the rain, cycling in it was not so much fun.

Still, at least it hadn’t started snowing yet as the signs by the road indicated that it could have been a difficult climb

The higher I climbed the colder it became and as it was getting towards early evening it was time  time to get out the wet weather gear – not so much to keep me dry as it was a little late for that but more to keep me warm.

By the time I reached the top of the climb most of the rain had pushed through and I was left with a lovely view back down the valley.

As I entered the village of Kalofer signs and statues by the road paid homage to Hristo Botev.

Kalofer was located in a beautiful setting surrounded by forest and snow capped mountains.

As I cycled into the village there were more monuments to HristoI needed to warm up and get some food so cycled on in search of the main square hoping to find a warm bar or cafe where I could eat before finding a place to sleep for the night.What better way to revive the soul than a steaming plate of donkey penis. (I kid you not)

A few of the bits were fairly chewy, and it didn’t in any way taste like chicken, but washed down with a couple of beers it was pretty tasty.

Now that I was warm, dry and full it was time to go and find a place to sleep for the night, and the owner of the bar phoned one of her friends to arrange a bed for the night for me. 

My first week in Europe had been amazing and cycling through the mountains of  Bulgaria was such a beautiful contrast to my 6 weeks of desert landscapes in the Middle East.  

I now had one more mountain chain to cross before reaching the border with Romania.  Only time would tell if I would get over them before a final winter cold blast arrived that was forecast to bring snow and sub zero temperatures in the next couple of days.

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Cycling Bulgaria
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