It’s been a few days since I got back from my trip, but because of a combination of bad internet and exhaustion, I was unable to finish the blog on the last day of my trip as I’d planned. But I have time now, and I’m going to finish it so I don’t forget.
The Saturday after my dig ended, I took a taxi to the airport with two other girls in my program. One of them ended up being on the same plane as me, so we hung out together in the airport. The plane ride itself was quick, and I got to Sofia around 4 pm. A quick trip to my hostel via the metro and I was settled for the rest of my stay. One of the other girls in my program was staying in Sofia for the night, so we ended up meeting up for dinner and then wandering the city a bit before heading off for bed.
The next day, I signed up for a day trip to Rila Monastery through my hostel. A couple of other people staying in the hostel joined me, and after a two hour drive, we were in the Rila mountains. We first stopped at the cave where a hermit had lived. The cave was later the site of a small church. The hermit was also the inspiration for the Rila monastery, only a short drive away.
After climbing up to the cave and the church, we hopped back into the car and made our way to the Rila monastery. We had about an hour to walk around, and I wandered into the church, took in the beautiful paintings on the outside, climbed up the tower, and went into three museums, the kitchen museum, the icon museum, and the museum that housed the church’s treasures.
After the monastery, we stopped at a restaurant that had a wide selection of traditional food before heading back to the hostel. We got back around 5:30, and I had some dinner and got some gelato before heading to bed.
The next day, I went on another trip with my hostel to the Rila mountains, this time to the Rila Seven Lakes. It was a gorgeous hike in which we were able to see seven lakes at once. The chair lift up to the top of the mountain was under maintenance, so instead we had to take a jeep to the start of the hike. The jeep took us up a steep and rocky road, letting us out a half-mile below the trail head. We then had four hours to hike up to the place where we could see all seven lakes at once. The hike itself was gorgeous, and it was a perfect day for it.
We hiked back down, getting to the car within 10 minutes of when we were supposed to ride back. The ride down in the jeep was even scarier than the ride up, but we all made it. Another two hour drive back, and we arrived just after 6. I had a few hours to go grab some dinner and shower before it was time for the hostel’s bar crawl. I went on the bar crawl, turning in later than I’d wanted to. But I went with the people who had been on the hike, and we had a great time extending our day together.
The final day of my trip, I woke up early and prepared for my last day trip, to Veliko Tarnovo, the medieval capitol of Bulgaria. Although I’d booked with a different tour company, I ended up with my two favorite tour guides from Plovdiv, so I already knew it was going to be an interesting day. We were supposed to make our way straight to Veliko Tarnovo, a 3 hour drive, and get there around 11 or 11:30. But as we were driving, there was a big car crash in the tunnel we were going to take, and we were rerouted. We ended up on this scenic road about an hour and a half south of the highway we were going to take. Along the way, we were able to stop at a Thracian tomb and a church dedicated to the Russians. These detours made us arrive at Veliko Tarnovo after 3 pm. We got lunch first, then wandered around the town. At one point, it started to pour, so we slipped into a church and spent some time inside. After the rain let up, we continued on to the ruins of the old town, which had been partially rebuilt in the 1960s as part of a communist effort. We were able to see a map of what the complex might have looked like and compared it to the ruins. Thankfully, it did not begin to rain again until after we had finished our tour of the ruins. We hopped back in the car and got back to Sofia right around 9. I had my flight the next morning, so I quickly packed, showered, and went to sleep.
The next day was my travel day home. I woke up at 4:50, 8:50 Chicago time. I got a taxi to the airport. I slept a little on my 2 hour flight to Vienna and had just enough time to get breakfast and reorganize myself before my 10:30 flight to Chicago. I arrived in Chicago right around 1:30 and was out of customs with my luggage right around 3. I stayed up for just over 24 hours before I passed out, exhausted.
It was an amazing trip, but I’m so glad to be back home.
WANDERING 