All You Need Is Lev

Pleasant though Athens was, it was also expensive. I’d fairly easily spend my days allowance and still not have had an evening meal, so the time to leave had come.

The main problem I had was: now where to? I’d run out of land borders a bit. There was Albania, but I didn’t have a yellow fever certificate, or Turkey, but I was a little alarmed by the tales I’d heard of people constantly asking for money. I briefly entertained the idea of Egypt but my Australian friend had put me off the idea, possibly forever but certainly for now.

That being the case, it seemed like it was back to Bulgaria. I’d only been to Sofia and enjoyed my time there, so I thought it might be a good idea to try somewhere else. Besides, my ultimate goal was to reach Kiev and work my way south-west, so at least this would vaguely fit in with my route.

Plovdiv was my first stop, but first I had to get there. The bus journey was a substantial 14 hours from Athens but we were provided with water, as well as coffee and croissants so that was a nice surprise, and never mind that they served the coffee at about 10 in the evening. It’s the thought that counts.

I arrived into Plovdiv earlier than I expected, at 7 in the morning. It’s not an ideal time to arrive, especially when you have bags of stuff and it being far too early to show up to the hostel. Instead I went to the only coffee shop I could find that was open, a Costa, and had a huge mug of coffee that through careful sips I managed to make last for a few hours.

Even after all the caffeine I could ingest I couldn’t face exploring with a Giant Bag O’ Stuff, so throwing caution to the wind I went to leave my bag with the hostel people. I don’t usually like doing that — they’re often woefully unprotected and if I lose my bag I lose most of my worldly possessions — but I couldn’t find a left luggage place either.

I needn’t have worried, because the guys at the hostel were friendly and the place looked secure enough. Besides, they had a “Welcome, David Seddon!” sign up — “a-ha, ” I thought, “they’ve been reading my posts and want a nice review!”. It turns out they do this for everyone, but at the time I felt special and important and famous and only slightly freaked out, so the guys at Hostel Old Plovdiv get a special mention from me.

I hate to sound like an advert for them (or anyone for that matter), but it was a really nice hostel. The beds were so comfortable and, being single beds, were a welcome departure from the usual bunk beds. The whole place had a faux-castle feel to it that I really liked. The communal area wasn’t the best, but I don’t think there were that many people staying anyway. My room mates were a Spanish couple who kept to themselves, and an American girl who was friendly and kept me entertained with her energetic dislike of the book she was reading.

Nice though Plovdiv is, there’s not an awful lot to do there. I did the walking tour (albeit cautiously, for I discovered there was a hole in the back of my jeans and had to strategically place my day bag over the hole), had a poke around the Old Town and Kapana, the creative district. After shopping for new trousers (there was almost nothing but skinny jeans — I hate skinny jeans), I checked out the Ethnographic Museum which had been recommended but there’s only so long I can politely pretend to be interested in Bulgarian traditional costumes, so I swiftly moved on. It is set in a beautiful house though, and it’s worth going just to have a look inside.

Still at a bit of a loss as to what to do and where to go after Plovdiv, I decided to do nothing and went back to Sofia in the hope of finding easier transport to Kiev from there. Besides, I had a discount code for a cultural tour that I wanted to use.

It probably wasn’t my greatest idea. It had been cold in Plovdiv, but in Sofia it was much colder, and everywhere was so slippery. I’d booked the same hostel as I had the last time I was in Sofia, but this time I was in a little apartment rather than in the rooms above the common area. It was fine, but it wasn’t as good — no privacy curtains, no individual lights or power sockets — but I was greeted like an old friend which made up for it.

In a weird coincidence I ended up being room mates with my American friend from Plovdiv, which was nice. We each did our own thing, but it was good to have a familiar face to say hi to and to chat with. She was interesting and certainly knew her languages. I remember her saying how she’d forgotten the Hebrew she knew and explaining about how academic Arabic and Palestinian Arabic were very different and that there are notable differences between village dialects, about which I knew nothing and was fascinated to learn.

This is actually one of the best parts about travel for me, finding out about people that you otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to meet and learning things. If you’d asked me before my trip I’d have said I was pretty knowledgeable about the world; now I find there’s much I don’t know, and that there’s much you in fact can’t know unless you go out in the world and meet and talk to people.

Continuing the theme of cultural learning, I took a culture tour. I tasted some Bulgarian food and drink, and even did some Bulgarian folk dancing which was horribly embarrassing, especially as it was in a public park. We’d just had some rakia so I didn’t mind so much at the time, but I certainly cringed a bit later. Still, it was fun and if I’m ever invited to a Bulgarian wedding at least I know enough not to cause a faux pas.

Interesting though all this was, I still had no plan for my onward journey and it was starting to be a bit worrying. The nearest and best plan I could come up with was a bus from Varna to Odessa, but that was a 24 hour bus journey and I was pretty sure it would go through Moldova, which looked like it had scary entry requirements. And besides, who wants to spend a whole day and night on a bus? Not me, brother.

I decided, again, to not make a decision and go somewhere else in Bulgaria while I waited for inspiration on what to do. I’d been recommended Veliko Tarnovo, and bus tickets were cheap. Saying an awkward goodbye to my temporary travel buddy — I managed to drop some of my breakfast stuff and then my bag and then couldn’t work out what to pick up first — I wandered off to the bus station.

I amused myself by composing jingles for Bulgarians to use, my favourite being “All You Need Is Lev” (the “lev” being the currency in Bulgaria). I feel it could be used by banks, or at the very least buskers could sing it near people using ATMs. I’d certainly donate up to 2 lev for their creativity.

I got lost immediately on arriving. Usually it’s just annoying, but Veliko Tarnovo is quite a hilly place and without wishing to sound like the worlds laziest person if you have to backtrack through steep hills while carrying a heavy bag it gets really frustrating and then tiring and then you feel the frustration more. Having taken the worst possible route to the hostel, I was treated to some fantastic views, although I was so disappointed with the hostel. The other travelers there were annoying in non-specific ways and the room was so cold that I slept in my clothes, and even resorted to adding a hat to my nighttime ensemble.

Tsarevets did make up for my miserable sleep though. This is the remains of a huge fortress complex and is well worth a visit. I had it mostly to myself, and spent a happy morning wandering around the snowy ruins and looking slack-jawed at the views. I’m not very good with heights, and had to beat a hasty, whimpering retreat when one of the narration speakers they have told us to be careful near the “Cliff of Death”.

Beyond that I couldn’t find a great deal to do. No-one replied to my Facebook message asking if the walking tour was on, and no-one showed up when I turned up on the off-chance. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much, this being the off-season in a small Bulgarian town. I ended up walking around, mainly wishing I was somewhere else which was a pastime that seemed to be shared by most of the shopkeepers I met.

However, all the free time meant I did come up with a plan, and I’ll tell you all about it next time! Written on January 30th, 2018 by David Seddon