Day 1: We need some cash

The border crossing went smoothly and the first thing we needed to do after entering Bulgaria was to buy EU car insurance. We were able to get a month-long insurance policy for 45 euros at a kiosk right after the border crossing. It was still early after the Covid pandemic so we also had to drive through a disinfection station and paid about $3 for it.

Our next destination, and where we wanted to camp for the night, was a town called Asenovgrad near the city of Plovdiv. We chose this town as it wasn’t too far from the border (only about a 2-hour drive) and close to Plovdiv where we wanted to go the next day. We also didn’t want to stay in the town as we weren’t sure if we would get in trouble in the EU for camping in the middle of a city.

Our goal was to park on a hill just above Asenovgrad where the Asen’s fortress is located. We were hoping for some parking lot somewhere around and the site being possibly abandoned for the night. However, there was still a guard in a wee booth by the parking lot when we arrived so we had to look for another spot. We got lucky and found a small parking lot just about 1-2 km down the road with even a small table to sit at to have our dinner.

I remember from school being taught that propane is odorless and that an extra chemical (in this case, mercaptan) is added to it to warn you in case of a gas leak. We got a leak on one of the small propane bottles that we used for boiling water, and Jesus, I’m glad it happened outside because they really don’t lie when they say it smells like rotten eggs!

After we had some food, we decided to walk down the hill into the town and treat ourselves to a nice tap beer. Little did we know that finding a bar in Bulgaria that accepts cards would be so difficult! We tried three places and none of them took cards. On top of that (for Clare an unknown anomaly), every time we asked if they took cards they said “No” but did the head gesture suggesting that they did. It was very confusing and in the first place, we actually started sitting down before I realized that he actually said “No” and asked again.

We ended up stopping at a gas station but they didn’t have any beer so we just walked back to our car and went to sleep.

Day 2: Roman ruins and into the hills of Sofia

We started our morning with a hike up the hill to the Asen’s fortress. It wasn’t open yet, plus we wanted to go for a walk, so we continued further to the “Sveti Atanasii” Chapel. We then circled back and made it to the cross at the top of the Kutra peak that was situated just above our car. We then found a path down back to the road and to Rambo. It was time for breakfast and coffee.

Our next stop was Plovdiv. We started at the Old Town walking by the Gate “Hisar Kapia”, the Regional Ethnographic Museum, and the ruins of the ancient fortress Nebet Tepe. We then continued to the Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis before we headed down the hill to the city center and the Roman Forum. We stopped for ice cream and liked how they preserved some of the ruins by building the road above them and displaying them under a protective glass.

We walked around for a little bit longer and went to do some grocery shopping. We also bought some local wine for us and for the family. We then set off towards Sofia. Even though it was only about 2 hours to get there, the days started to get considerably short so when we arrived in Sofia it was already dark.

Our plan was to go hike the Cherni Vrah (2290 m) right above Sofia so we didn’t look for parking in the town but instead we drove above the town towards the Vitosha Natural Park and tried to find a place to stay for the night near the trailhead. We finally found a sideroad parking at the Zlatnite Mostove (Golden Bridges). We made dinner here and got our gear ready for the early morning hike. The night was cold and we were right by the edge of a side road but only a few cars passed us during the evening/night.

Day 3: Beautiful autumn hike and night Sofia

We started with a quick coffee in the morning and then were on our way with the first light. We walked from the Golden Bridges by the Kumata Hut up to the Cherni Vrah. It took us about two and a half hours to hike 8 km with about 950 m elevation gain to reach the peak. We had a small break at the top and then continued down following the ski slope on the northern side of the mountain. We then turned left and took a side path above the Aleko Hut so we didn’t have to go down the steep slope. After about 5 km we reached the huts and circled back another 2 km to our car. People were doing some work on their restaurant by the Golden Bridges so we wanted to ask if they had any beer to sell. Luckily he had a few bottles there so we could finish with nice cold beer.

Next, we changed our clothes after the hike and headed down the hill to Sofia. On the way we stopped at the Boyana Church, an UNESCO heritage site on the outskirts of the city. The entrance was 5 Euros each and we were the only people there. The indoors was covered with frescos and from the outside you could see the three different parts of the church that were added over the years since they were all built in different styles.

We booked a night in a hostel not too far from the city center. It was called The Park Hostel, it was nice and cozy, and it cost us about 15 Euros for the night in a private room with a shared bathroom. We got showered when we got there and chilled for a bit. We then set off to explore the town and get dinner later. We walked along the parks and passed the National Palace of Culture to reach the city center. We dandered through the busy streets and saw the Monument of Saint Sofia and the Central Mosque lit up at night. We finished the walk in the city with a craft beer at a beer pub which was honestly too expensive for Bulgaria but we couldn’t be bothered to go find another place.

We walked a similar way back since while we were drinking our beer we picked a spot for dinner which was just by the National Palace of Culture. There, hidden behind the Lumière Cinema, was Chevermeto Sofia, a traditional Bulgarian restaurant. It had great reviews and we were ready for some nice big dinner. Even though it was Tuesday, we got lucky and they had live music playing and there were barely any seats left. We got a massive spread of different things and a pitcher of red house wine. It was a great finish to the day.

Day 4: Pancakes in Sofia and Rila Monastery

We had an easy morning with a few cups of coffee at the hostel before we checked out, left our stuff back in the car, and walked back to Sofia downtown. Again, we walked a similar way but walked more through the parks rather than around like we did at night. We walked by the same places as last night to see them also during the day and added some more like the Saint George Rotunda Church (Sofia’s oldest building) and the Patriarchal Cathedral St. Alexander Nevsky. We finished with pancake breakfast and walked back to our car. We liked Sofia. It was pretty, old, and easy to get around. And the mountain Cherni Vrah gives it a nice background.

Our next destination was the Rila Monastery, the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. The monastery is hidden in the Rila National Park about 120 km and 2 hours drive away from Sofia. We arrived just before the closing time and luckily got the chance to walk around it and take some photos (I can’t remember for sure but the entrance was free).

We left just before it started getting dark and drove a few kilometers back toward the main highway where we started looking for places to stay for the night. Eventually, we found a small turn that took us to a field above the road. We were a wee bit afraid to park there since the field was not completely flat and it was starting to rain and we worried that we could get stuck there if the ground turned to mud. We were also sure that if the farmer came around he wouldn’t be happy.

Clare made dinner and I organized the car while it was just drizzling. We ate our dinner inside the car since it wasn’t nice to sit outside.

Day 5: Time to continue further into Europe

It wasn’t raining heavily at all so the ground was fine in the morning and we left without an issue. We weren’t far from the border so it only took us about 2 hours to get there. The border crossing was easy and we were in North Macedonia before noon.