Browsing Bulgaria

Located in the southeast part of the Balkans, Bulgaria has a diverse topography. The north of the country is dominated by the vast lowlands of the Danube Plain with the river Danube defining the border with neighboring Romania.


The south of the country, by contrast, is dominated by highlands and elevated plains while, in the east, the Black Sea coast attracts tourists all year round.



Our first stop in Bulgaria is Russe. Russe is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria and is located in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, Bulgaria is known for roses and there were flower markets all over the city. Here's a gal showing off here bouquet. The roses are grown for their oil.  It takes 3-6 tons of petals to produce a
litre of rose oil.  A kilo of rose oil costs $4000!!!.  Bulgarian rose oil is the preferred choice for
fine perfumery.

There are lots of pensioners hanging out in the city center. Some are being productive. Here's an old gal knitting baby booties.  Guess what we bought?

There are also a few unique characters on the square.  

The country side is filled with wild lilacs. The roads are lined with them.

One of the really unique attractions of the area is the Church in the Rock, St. Dimitrii of Basarbovo Monastery. The Basarbovo Monastery is the only active rock monastery in Bulgaria.

 The most famous inhabitant of the monastery was St. Dimitrius Besarbovski who was born in 1685 in the village of Besarbovo, and spent his entire life in the holy monastery. After his death the monk was buried in the village church, but during the war between Russia and Turkey in 1768-1774 his relics were moved to Bucharest in the church St. Konstantin and St. Elena where they have been kept to the present day.

On our second stop in Bulgaria- Vidin-  We visited the Belogradchik Fortress. The  Fortress is situated at a distance of 1.5 km from the town of Belgradchik among the renowned Belogradchik rocks.

The fortress has existed since Roman times. In 1st – 3rd century AD the Romans built roads in the new provinces of the empire on the Balkan peninsula, as well as fortresses to guard them.

The rock formations are very interesting.

On our way back to the ship, we stopped in the small town of Vidin. Here is an a abandoned Jewish Synagogue that is a landmark of the town.

 Here's our ship captain leading a small group back to the ship.

The River Princess was waiting for us after the walk.

That's it for now.....