FUN

To reach it you have climbed and climbed and climbed for hours on end, starting from a mountain chalet called Bezbog, or Godless. British expat Tony McMurray, who is a financier, a philanthropist and an avid Vagabond reader, did it, in his successful effort to conquer Bulgaria's 56 highest peaks. You will read more about his climbing odyssey in this journal's next issue, but the challenge now is to guess the name of the mountain summit pictured here. A hint: Not far from Bansko.
 

1. Mountains take how much of Bulgaria's area?
A. About 30%
B. About 50%
C. About 5%

2. If you travel downstream on the Danube, the first Bulgarian town you encounter will be…
A. Vidin
B. Ruse
C. Silistra

3. Which of these is a spa resort?
A. Velingrad
B. Momchilgrad
C. Ivaylovgrad

Adhering to military protocol, Trump did not disclose any exact whereabouts, leaving the top brass to wonder whether this would not be a historical first, a nuclear superpower standoff triggered by a social media spat. But a local TV station in Bulgaria was quick to produce the answer.

All that was left of Sofia's supposed dream team are the dreams. The rats have abandoned ship. Only the mayor and his banner have remained.

Boyko Borisov, GERB leader, on Sofia's mayor Vasil Terziev

Bulgarian tourism is very reliable in regards to technical maintenance when it comes to inspection and control. This will become clear from the inspections that will be carried out.

The city was cosmopolitan and rather rundown, part Danubian and part post-Ottoman – a place where one could drink a huge Viennese coffee in a brightly lit coffee shop that served both Mitteleuropean cakes and pretzels, and Middle Eastern kataifi and baklava.

The duo noticed a unusual large black animal lurking behind some bushes, and quickly retreating after it noticed the humans. Crucially, one of them managed to get hold of a smartphone and made a short video of the event.

1. What is depicted on the tails of the Bulgarian euro cents?
A. A lion
B. The Madara Rider
C. A coat of arms

2. Which UNESCO World Heritage Site is closest to Sofia?
A. Boyana Church
B. Srebarna Lake
C. Rila Monastery

3. What is the Bulgarian for "yellow cheese"?
A. Krastavitsa
B. Kapama
C. Kashkaval

When all Bulgarians start spending their summer holidays on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, then we will have enough money to raise doctors' wages.

Boyko Borisov, leader of GERB

Bulgaria's next big goal is to become the richest country in the Balkans.

Denitsa Sacheva, GERB, on Bulgaria's planned adoption of the euro on 1 January 2026

It will become increasingly difficult to lie to the EU about what is actually going on in Bulgaria.

A look into its history will reveal why. Though it has medieval origins, after the 1878 liberation from the Ottomans the village was populated by ethnic Bulgarian immigrants from the Banat, now in Romania, Hungary and Serbia. The Bulgarians, offspring of the refugees from the failed Chiprovtsi Uprising two centuries previously. They were joined by a number of German families, who set up their own telltale quarter replete with a school and a Roman Catholic church. All of them were forced to resettle in the German Reich in the 1930s, leaving their houses and belongings behind.

The practice of purchasing icons as a means to reduce traffic accidents started under Kiril Petkov's government. Its interior minister actually approved the purchase of Ascension of the Christ icons.

Interior Minister Daniel Mitov on why the government planned to buy thousands of icons to distribute among drivers to prevent traffic accidents

The rot consuming the Interior Ministry runs deep.

Kostadin Kostadinov, Vazrazhdane, or Revival, on the death of a suspect in custody