TRAVEL

Оddity, just like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Dozens of monuments, large and small, have been erected throughout Bulgaria, both during and after Communism, in the sincere belief that they are appropriate, interesting, beautiful and/or profound, even groundbreaking. The public, however, disagrees – and gleefully has mocked some of the most outrageous, expensive and propaganda-laden projects. Other monuments, which now seem odd, have been forgotten because of their small size or remote location.

The colourful houses lining the cobblestone streets of Old Plovdiv are arguably the city's most recognisable sight. The only thing that can distract from marvelling at their painted façades, projecting bay windows and verdant gardens is the pavement. Polished by the feet of generations of passers-by, it is slippery even when dry, as traveller and historian Konstantin Jireček noted as far back as the late 19th century.

With its pleasant turn-of-the-century houses, Ruse on the Danube is one of the best places to visit in Bulgaria. But if you brave the heavy traffic on the busy and narrow road to Ruse, do not terminate in the city.

Ruse's surroundings are an excellent opportunity for a day trip, especially in spring when everything is green, blooming and buzzing under the balmy sun. Most of these sights are scattered around the winding course of the Rusenski Lom river and its confluents, Cherni Lom and Beli Lom.

What comes to mind when you think of energy vortexes? Stonehenge, Machu Picchu and the Great Pyramid in Giza, probably. But you do not have to travel that far to visit a place brimming with strange powers, where odd creatures and supposedly UFOs get spotted on a regular basis and where sick-and-lame folks flock, seeking supernatural cures. All you have to do is visit one, or all, of the places on our list of energy vortexes in Bulgaria. As a bonus, most of them are located at stunning natural locations.

In times of climate change and unpredictable weather, Bulgarians stick almost religiously to celebrating a rite dedicated to the arrival of spring. Come mid-February stores, shops and dedicated street stalls start selling ornaments of red-and-white thread in a variety of shapes and sizes. On 1 March everyone puts on at least one of these ornaments on their wrists or coat lapels, as a symbol of being healthy and happy throughout the year. They would wear them until they see a blossoming tree for the first time, or the first stork or swallow for the year.

Lions have not been seen in the Bulgarian lands since Antiquity or the early Middle Ages, when the last species were hunted down to extinction. And yet, the lion is embedded in the Bulgarian consciousness as a national symbol. The first lions in early Bulgarian art appear in reliefs, from Madara and Stara Zagora, dated back to the 8th-10th centuries. A standing lion was depicted as the heraldic symbol of the king of Bulgaria as early as 1295, and later a similar image appeared in Western collections of coats-of-arms.

Traditions, both ancient and new, define nations and communities. Bulgarians make no exception. A country of diverse cultures and religions, its calendar is peppered with events, festivals and rites that range from cute to curious, even bizarre. Some of them are ancient, like the dances of the kukeri and nestinari, while others are new, such as greeting the first rays of the rising sun on 1 July. Almost all are heavily affected by globalisation and social media, yet keep a strong core of authenticity. 

Calm is the last word to describe the Bulgarian Black Sea coast with in summer. Then, the resorts and beaches teem with tourists and suffer from noise and litter. The feeling that you have stumbled into some sort of a din is inevitable.

А mass of high peaks, meandering rivers and gentle slopes, the Rhodope mountain range makes one seventh of Bulgaria's territory and is a universe with its own character, history and charm. People have lived in it for millennia, making the most of its rivers, meadows, low mountain fields, thick forests, ores and routes along meandering rivers. The mountain is defined by a rich mixture of impressive natural phenomena, ancient traditions and legends, mesmerising music and stunning examples of human craft and ingenuity, created by Thracians, Romans, Bulgarians, Turks and Pomaks.

About 2,000 years ago, the Romans invented an ingenious way to deal with the frequent change of emperors and the costly replacement of statues of the incumbent ruler that stood all over the place. Instead of making new monuments from head to toe, they would replace only the heads.