Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Day
2
: Melnik
Have your driver pick you up from your
hotel at 5:30am (an hour later in winter)
to catch the early morning service at Rila
Monastery—the best way to experience
this UNESCO-listed site, with no
tourists to detract from its spirituality.
Snack on doughnuts and yogurt from the
monk-run bakery outside the gates or
take an early lunch at Drushliavitsa
(above the monastery), then head south
to the tiny winegrowing village of Mel-
nik. Visit Kordopulov's house, sample
wine with “six fingers,” and dine at
Mencheva Kashta. See p. 90.
Day
3
: Leshten/Kovachevitsa
Visit Rozhen Monastery, then—condi-
tions allowing—head to Leshten via the
mountain road that leads to Gotse
Delchev, or travel via Bansko. Stop for
lunch in Leshten. Stay in one of the
Leshten cottages, or head deeper into the
mountains to overnight at Kovachevitsa
(note that it's worth exploring this her-
itage village, about a 20-min. drive from
Leshten, even if you're not spending the
night here). See p. 99.
Day
4
: Plovdiv
Travel to Plovdiv, stopping to explore the
village of Dolen and Bachkovo
Monastery along the way. Take a late
lunch at Vodopada or push on to Plovdiv.
That evening, stroll the cobbled streets of
Old Plovdiv. Dine and stay at Hebros.
Day
5
: Veliko Tarnovo
Set off early for the Kazanluk tomb (make
prior arrangements to view the original),
then head over the Shipka pass to visit the
Icon and Woodcarving museums in
Tryavna. Time allowing, visit Etura, the
open-air ethnographic museum nearby.
Spend the night at Veliko Tarnovo or
Dryanovo Monastery.
Day
6
: Varna
Travel to Varna (about 4 hr. away), via the
Madara Horseman. Varna is a party city,
so once you've checked out the Thracian
treasures in the Archaeological Museum,
blow off some steam at one of the many
clubs and bars that line the beachfront.
Day
7
: Koprivishtitsa /Sofia
If you're up for a drive, take the coastal
road south (just under 3 hr.) to lunch at a
sea-facing restaurant in the fishing port of
Sozopol, then head west to overnight at
Koprivishtitsa (about 4 hr. from here),
one of the country's prettiest heritage vil-
lages. Enjoy your last Bulgarian meal
“Under the Pear Tree.” Ask your driver to
drop you off at the airport the following
day, allowing around 90 minutes' travel-
ing time, plus check-in time. Alterna-
tively, spend your last night in Sofia and
do some last-minute shopping before
your flight the next morning.
BULGARIA TODAY
On May 16, 2006, E.U. Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn criticized the coun-
try's laggard performance on key criteria for joining the E.U. At that stage little
progress had been made in the privatization of the national and regional monopolies
in the transport and energy sectors, the decommissioning of four nuclear reactors at
Kozlodui, agricultural legislation, and—most pressing—no progress at all on dealing
with corruption and the powerful underground barons who control as much as 25%
of the Bulgarian economy, and wield an equally troubling political influence. Though
it's worth noting, as some Bulgarian commentators did, that the E.U. can hardly hold
itself up as the purest paragon (at the time 9 out of 10 MPs in Italy were under inves-
tigation for fraud or corruption), the ultimatum was clear, and a month later Bulgaria's
politicians delivered a task list that promised “zero tolerance.”
