Woohooo...another DanielW report!

I looked at visiting. Its a ~2 hour drive from Plovdiv so a good day trip and our guide, Kamen, does tours there. We didn't have enough time though unfortunately. Would definitely love to head back and visit it though, perhaps in winter when the ground is knee deep in snow:).

Thanks, snabbu:).

Thank you, grandgourmand:). Rianda needed a visa for this trip (SA passport) but only took a day to get.

Just working on another TR now, will be a bit cooler:).
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-.../i-STkp4X4.jpg

You do things:D

Awesome

always great to see something different

looks like a great place to explore

what was the communication like ?

Where in Canada? I was thinking of heading up next weekend myself...

Thanks again for another amazing post. I used to think I was good at making the most of a country in a few short days, but you my friend an an absolute expert!

They were definitely super tasty! Can't wait for your Greenland and Iceland reports! I really need to get cracking...

Great pics again and great report. Looks like weather cooperated. I was there in November and it was cold and dreary.

always a good read, Daniel. thanks for sharing.

did you go to Velingrad as well? from pictures I've seen, it looks beautiful.

Musala trek looks amazing, also it's nice seeing a cable car in the peaks. if there were cable car to the mountain here in Indonesia, it would be a guaranteed environmental disaster :p

woah, where was that? Greenland?

Thanks DanielW. I was in Bulgaria 23 years ago for a skiing holiday, which started off in Plovdiv, and have wanted to go back ever since.

And I was driving a BMW across southern Africa a week later:D.
Thanks, adampenrith:). Had no real issues with communication. Our guide up the mountain was fully fluent in English. I asked for a towel at the hotel reception once, not sure if it was because of my accent, but they only understood when I wrote it down:p.
Yep, we only had 4 days with the long Eid weekend so wanted to cram in as much as possible:).
Still haven't booked my Canada flights yet, it's a work trip to Quebec City, and the official approval process is taking quite a while:(.
And yes, the horse was definitely just as tasty as much as they cute/photogenic:D.
Thank you, hirohito888:). Yep, we lucked out and had perfect weather. A bit of rain and cold would have made the mountain climb a bit more difficult too.
Cheers, blueferrari:). We only had 4 days with the long Eid weekend so Velingrad will have to wait for next time. Yes, I did a sidetrip to Greenland when I went to Iceland for ironmanjt's do.
Thank you, Guvner067:). Yes, looks like it would be a great place to go skiing, apparently quite a few ski resorts to enjoy the slopes there.

Keep me in the loop, you never know what I can be talked into :D

(the whale was pretty darn tasty too!)

Thank you very nice, Sofia is also a place I have not visited.

Great TR!

Makes me want to visit Bulgaria!

Supposed to be leaving in three days but still no tickets booked:(. EK J is still showing some availability though;).
Cheers, djjaguar64:). Sofia was a great place to explore during our long weekend getaway.
Thank you, TPJ:). Yes, very reasonable prices and quite a lot to see and do.

Awesome!!
 

This is amazing! I found your post searching for images of that trout at Pavaj: how good was it!

Was pleased to see Kamen in your photos :) he took us out to Buzludzha, Bachkovo Monastery and Asen's fortress, with a sneaky trip to the orthodox church at Shipka. We went in December and I'm already planning a trip back next July. I really want to see Bulgaria in Summer. I absolutely loved it.

And we'll be hitting Kamen up for a couple of tours, if he's still in the business! Lovely guy. I want to go out to the Rhodope mountains and also to a few wineries.

If you ever go back to Sofia I highly recommend the Communism tour that leaves from the National Palace of Culture. It features a Trabant and we got to ride in it, as we were the only two idiots out on that cold december morning doing tours. With larger groups it's a bit hard, although they do airport pick ups in it lol.

Thanks for a fantastic trip report :)

Buzludzha
 

I notice one of your replies above mentions a desire to see Buzludzha in winter: so here are some pics from the aforementioned trip with Kamen. The snow was up to our thighs and it was the most post-apocalyptic scene I've ever laid eyes on. I've also never seen snow like that and I was terrified. My jacket wasn't up to snuff. We couldn't break in, we found a tunnel into it but I wussed out, in case we couldn't climb back out.