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Long shot: anyone been to Bulgaria?
- Thread starter JettaKnight
- Start date
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My son has been in Belgrade on and off for the past year. He loves the area. I can't remember where he is right now but it is in the countryside somewhere near Serbia. He will be flying to Germany in the next week or so (if he hasn't already left...I lost track of his schedule) for a couple of weeks. His flight from there to Germany was $24.
I am seriously contemplating taking a trip to see him sometime in the next year or so if he doesn't come back before then. He doesn't give any indication of coming home anytime soon.
I have links to his blog and the thread on here about his trip at the bottom of my post.
I am seriously contemplating taking a trip to see him sometime in the next year or so if he doesn't come back before then. He doesn't give any indication of coming home anytime soon.
I have links to his blog and the thread on here about his trip at the bottom of my post.
Belgrade... that sounds fun, too. I would love to travel in fmr. Yugoslavia. Except tickets to SJJ are ~$1500 and tickets to Bucharest (close enough to Bulgaria's coast) are ~$675.
So, in case anyone needs a refresher on why airlines are *******s:
Flight from ORD (ChiTown) to MUC (Munich) w/ stopover in DET: $680
If I drive to Detroit instead and get on the same exact airplane: $1780
Yup, not flying from Chicago to Detroit cost me $900.
So, in case anyone needs a refresher on why airlines are *******s:
Flight from ORD (ChiTown) to MUC (Munich) w/ stopover in DET: $680
If I drive to Detroit instead and get on the same exact airplane: $1780
Yup, not flying from Chicago to Detroit cost me $900.
I have not.
I had to look up if it was where I thought it was.
Eh, close enough!
Bucharest sounds fun, so does Dudapest.
Lots of great cities with lots of history, culture and interesting food in that region.
You can't go wrong with any European country but I'm kinda biased.
I had to look up if it was where I thought it was.
Eh, close enough!
Bucharest sounds fun, so does Dudapest.
Lots of great cities with lots of history, culture and interesting food in that region.
You can't go wrong with any European country but I'm kinda biased.
I was there last February. Spent a several days in Sofia for meetings, then drove though Macedonia (FYROM) to Pogradec, on the Albanian border with Macedonia. You can see the route on this link.
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search...yRbURrKK4Vhni4863FhFrImvk_H0c3YWRiWeBW6cv4VX#
Sofia was very interesting for me, as I found the ancient history and the old churches fascinating. Stobi, the ancient Roman city, has been unearthed and is a fascinating place to visit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stobi
Pogradec is a beautiful region. The accommodations were modern and economical. The lake, beach, and promenades are magnificent. It is hard to get there, but well worth it. Many historical cites about. There are excellent restaurants in the mountains around the lake, within and hour drive. Taxis are available, as is public transport. ATMs readily available everywhere. Phone service is excellent.
Prices are good. Food is good. I am not a beer or wine drinker, but I found the the beer and wine in the restaurants were enjoyable.
I found very few who could speak English. There were enough to take care of business, but out on the street it was challenging. I was with local folks so it was not a problem for me, but I would not want to make that trip on public transport unless I had a companion who speaks the local language—or at least one of them.
Good folks, for the most part. Friendly, willing to help as they can.
For a vacation, I recommend waiting for Spring. It gets cold in February.
https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search...yRbURrKK4Vhni4863FhFrImvk_H0c3YWRiWeBW6cv4VX#
Sofia was very interesting for me, as I found the ancient history and the old churches fascinating. Stobi, the ancient Roman city, has been unearthed and is a fascinating place to visit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stobi
Pogradec is a beautiful region. The accommodations were modern and economical. The lake, beach, and promenades are magnificent. It is hard to get there, but well worth it. Many historical cites about. There are excellent restaurants in the mountains around the lake, within and hour drive. Taxis are available, as is public transport. ATMs readily available everywhere. Phone service is excellent.
Prices are good. Food is good. I am not a beer or wine drinker, but I found the the beer and wine in the restaurants were enjoyable.
I found very few who could speak English. There were enough to take care of business, but out on the street it was challenging. I was with local folks so it was not a problem for me, but I would not want to make that trip on public transport unless I had a companion who speaks the local language—or at least one of them.
Good folks, for the most part. Friendly, willing to help as they can.
For a vacation, I recommend waiting for Spring. It gets cold in February.
indiucky
Grandmaster
Be sure and take one of these......
Sometime's the hotels provide them for you....Just ask at the front desk....
https://www.citylab.com/life/2016/07/bulgarias-latest-tourist-attraction-vampires/491951/
Sometime's the hotels provide them for you....Just ask at the front desk....
https://www.citylab.com/life/2016/07/bulgarias-latest-tourist-attraction-vampires/491951/
I was there around 10 or 11 years ago. My brother and his wife go every year (she is from there). I loved it, but the language is definitely a big challenge. Not many people speak English and there is very little in common between the 2 languages. You won't even be able to read things phonetically unless you learn the Cyrillic alphabet (which I recommend doing for that reason - it shouldn't take very long).
It's a great country to visit if you can manage the language barrier somehow. The food is amazing in my opinion. We spent some time in Vratsa (in the mountains) and Nessebar (a Black Sea beach resort). I liked it, but nowadays my brother and his wife always go to Sozopol instead of Nessebar. They say it's much nicer.
As a rule, you have to be careful with taxis in many Eastern European countries, including Bulgaria. Always settle the price for your destination before you get into the car. Once me and my brother got in a taxi to go a very short distance (maybe a mile and a half). We had been told not to, but we were tired and it was really hot. When we got there, the driver asked for some outrageous amount. It wasn't really much money in reality, since things are so cheap over there anyway, but on principle my brother refused to pay it. The guy went nuts, locked all the doors and took off. He drove us straight back to where we started, cursing and swearing the whole time (presumably). Then he kicked us out of the car and continued with the mouthing off, hand gestures, spitting etc. The other drivers hanging around nearby asked us how much he had wanted, and offered to take us for less. We just walked away. When we told my sister in law, she just said "He must have been a gypsy. I told you not to take a cab from there".
If you go, make sure you try Menta - it's a minty liqueur that you mix with milk. Bizzare but delicious.
It's a great country to visit if you can manage the language barrier somehow. The food is amazing in my opinion. We spent some time in Vratsa (in the mountains) and Nessebar (a Black Sea beach resort). I liked it, but nowadays my brother and his wife always go to Sozopol instead of Nessebar. They say it's much nicer.
As a rule, you have to be careful with taxis in many Eastern European countries, including Bulgaria. Always settle the price for your destination before you get into the car. Once me and my brother got in a taxi to go a very short distance (maybe a mile and a half). We had been told not to, but we were tired and it was really hot. When we got there, the driver asked for some outrageous amount. It wasn't really much money in reality, since things are so cheap over there anyway, but on principle my brother refused to pay it. The guy went nuts, locked all the doors and took off. He drove us straight back to where we started, cursing and swearing the whole time (presumably). Then he kicked us out of the car and continued with the mouthing off, hand gestures, spitting etc. The other drivers hanging around nearby asked us how much he had wanted, and offered to take us for less. We just walked away. When we told my sister in law, she just said "He must have been a gypsy. I told you not to take a cab from there".
If you go, make sure you try Menta - it's a minty liqueur that you mix with milk. Bizzare but delicious.
This is what appeals to the miser in me.
The other two attractions to me are (A) fmr. Communist, and (B) off the beaten path.
I might try that this time. Last trip it was a risk I wasn't willing to take, but I might be more adventurous. My brother had good luck with AirBnB in Estonia.
I've got a lot of surplus ammo from Bulgaria, and I always imagined plump, hairy women lovingly tying strings around those little paper packages...
Of course this morning I realized that it might not be prudent to plan something since my wife, and her whole department, were technically fired four days before Xmas. The axe doesn't fall did July 1st, and we're 99% sure she'll be rehired before then, but at what salary?
I'm pretty sure they can't be that far off. When I was last in Budapest, my significant other and I went to VERY nice restaurant, had a 3 course meal 2 bottles of wine (while a live string quartet played in the background) the bill came to around $80 US, for us both. I tipped our waiter about $20, and that guy looked like he won the lottery. Oh, and as a side note we, and the other couple with us, were underdressed according to the policy of the place (jackets required), but they let us in anyways. I'm assuming because we we're American, and would be known to overtip.
indiucky
Grandmaster
"That is a Capitalist myth perpetuated during the Cold War Sir....."
Oh wait here she is....
"I hope you like my knots I tie for you Jetta!!!!"
I can't rep you Indiucky, and I'm not sure if I'd rep you positive or negative...
I have an old friend who retired to Budapest. They do not tax gubment pensions. As a Sargent Major when he retired after 27 yrs , he does ok. Lots of amazing architecture and history in that part of the world.
My son has done well with the AirBNB and couch surfing opportunities. He is currently staying in hostels. He has also rented a car and slept in the trunk one weekend, but I'm not sure that is the recommended way of doing it! LOL. The average monthly income in Serbia (Belgrade area) is the equivalent of about $250 a month in US dollars.
I'm definitely envious of your son's travels. My wife won't let me be that adventurous.
I am only aware of one event so far where he felt his safety was threatened...don't **** off drunk Serbians....and if you do, don't call your mom at midnight to tell her she may never hear from you again. It makes for tense moments and sleeplessness. LOL! He has been pricing property in the countryside...it is very cheap and taxes are ridiculously cheap. .004% of the purchase price. He was telling me about one parcel that was 15 acres with a vineyard, small house (two or three rooms) and an outbuilding for $6,000. Another was 24 acres, a larger/nicer home, a garage, an outbuilding and a vineyard for $15,000. The houses needed some work, but at that price you could bulldoze them and start over and build something nice.
I'm living vicariously through him.
