Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Wednesday, September 27 – Started this morning’s run in the dark as we are near the edge of the time zone. As we stayed up in the mountains, options for paths were limited. After encountering two rather large dogs who didn’t seem happy to see me, I decided laps around the resort was my best bet. Boring, except for being able to watch the colors change in the sky as the sun made its way onto the horizon. Managed to get in 5K.
Breakfast was good, I took no photos but was delighted to discover I could actually get a full mug of coffee. Love my cappuccinos, but sometimes you need the American special!
A couple of minutes from our hotel, we stopped at the Tsarska Bistritsa Palace in Borovets. Built at the start of the 20th century, this palace complex for Bulgaria’s royal class is tucked into a beautiful wooded area.
A couple of hours later we were at a local carpet factory in the tiny village of Kostandovo. Housed in a nondescript building next to a gas station, this small facility weaves high end Persian rugs favored by the British Royal family and appearing at Versailles and in a Harry Potter movie.
It’s a step back in time as everyone is done manually, by women, who painstakingly dye, knot, tamp and trim the yarns that make up elaborate patterns. Hard work, but they take great pride in their output–and seemed quite patient with the troupe of tourists ogling the process. I kept thinking they went home to their families this evening and said, “the &$@#! Americans were at work again!”
We had a quick box lunch and then we’re on to the Bessa Valley and a local winery. Total shift in perspective as this business is relatively new–a local businessman successful in selling fermentation tanks to others opened his own winery in 2006. In 2012 he built a tasting room for tourists and, since he built it, we came. Got a tour of the facility, then tasted 4 local wines. Three were so-so, but we liked the red, so invested in a bottle.
Arrived in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city. After a short respite in our room, we were taken on a short orientation walk, and then to a group dinner. The meal was served family style and featured several courses of local favorites. We sat at a table with a couple from Colorado and had a delightful evening getting to know them. This is the part of group travel I love best.
Tomorrow, a full day in Plovdiv!
16,450 steps, 8.5 miles
Hotel:
Doubletree by Hilton Plovdiv Center:
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/pdvdtdi-doubletree-plovdiv-center/?SEO_id=GMB-EMEA-DI-PDVDTDI
Standard American type hotel. Not as charming as the small, locally owned places, but well located, nice rooms, fitness facility and huge breakfast buffet. You take the good with the sterile.
Links to sights on tour listed under “Sights” — any fees included in tour price.
No free time sights today
Tsarska Bistritsa Palace:
Mountain getaway for Bulgaria’s royal family, the complex includes its own chapel and hydroelectric power plant tucked into the woods. Also a stable that has been made into an art gallery. A nice place to wander about the trees and waterfalls.
Hemus Carpet Factory:
https://www.homofaber.com/en/discover/hemus-btcayj
A trip in the way back machine to carpet making the old fashioned way, all by hand with simple tools our of cotton and wool. Beautiful carpets are made for royal families, palaces and movie sets.
For such a posh clientele, it is a simple factory in a non-descript town but it is clear the workers are artisans, designing, dying the fibers and weaving the carpets on huge wooden looms over many, many hours.
Villa Yustina Winery:
https://villayustina.com/en/
Modern winery not far from Plovdiv. our tour of the process was very brief, no vineyards, just a quick look at vats and barrels before heading into the modern tasting room. Wine was OK (snacks were good).
Breakfast:
Extensive breakfast buffet at the ski resort, best of all, large mugs of coffee!
Lunch:
Tour provided a simple box lunch which we ate, basically, at a stop at the side of the road. A little odd, but we did have a lot of ground to cover.
Dinner:
Dayana:
https://dayanabg.com/restaurant/1
Outdoor seating, our group was spread over 5-6 tables of 4, huge amount of food served in courses. Sat with one other couple, which was a great opportunity to get to know them better.
Tsarska Bistritsa Palace
Winery
Hotel
Quite a variety of sights today — the opulence of a royal getaway in the woods to the daily grind of the carpet workers to a winery created by a wealthy enthusiast. Truly the face of Bulgaria as it struggles to find balance in its post Communist world.
Again, not a lot of free time, as we covered quite a bit of ground today. Dinner was a great opportunity for us to start to get to know individual tour members a little better. Large goup tables can be fun, but just having four of us gave us a chance for more in depth conversations!