Global Staci

[This post is part of a 10-day driving itinerary for Sofia, Melnik, Plovdiv, and Veliko Taranovo.]

Days 1-3 | Sofia

Days 4-5 | Melnik

DAY 6 | THE NARROW GAUGE TRAIN TO PLOVDIV

En route to Plovdiv, you’ll have the chance to see the beauty of the southwestern mountainous region of Bulgaria, traveling at first alongside the Greek border and the Struma River Gorge, climbing up the mountain again on the way to Bansko, the most famous mountain ski resort town in Bulgaria, in the foothills of Pirin Mountain.

[PRO TIP: Many of the roads and mountain passes are very windy, with one hairpin turn following another. Be sure to medicate or sit in the front seat if you are prone to motion sickness.]

Taking a break from the car, we boarded the narrow gauge train in Bansko, for about an hour, slowly and quite enjoyably making our way to Avramovo, the highest railway station on the entire Balkan Peninsula where our trusty guide collected us at the railway station. Along the way, you’ll see three mountains, Rila, Pirin, and western Rhodopes, the area with the largest concentration of Muslim communities recognizable by their many mosques.

[PRO TIP: We had the best soup of the trip, which is saying a lot about soup, at the “Cemeeh” aka Family Hotel Rhodope Sunrise in Yundola, if you are in the area. There’s a small market outside.]

PLOVDIV

Another fun fact. People have been continuously living in Plovdiv since at least 6000 BC, making it by far the oldest city in Europe. Who would’ve thought!?

Upon arriving in Plovdiv, we headed straight to the Ethnographic Museum, and The Church of St Constantine and Helena from 337AD, both a short walk from our charming hotel, Hotel Evmolpia (4 Pernik Street) well situated to enter the under-street walkway that takes you into the Kapana, aka “Trap” the trendy pedestrian zone of the city. For happy hour, we recommend Cat and Mouse Craft Beer Bar (Ulitsa Hristo Dyukmedjiev 14), offering over 150 beers from Bulgaria and beyond.

One more fun fact. Plovdiv was once called Evmolpia, after King Evmolp who ruled about 1200 BC. Thus the name of the hotel Evmolpia!

DAY 7 | PLOVDIV’S ROMAN RUINS, ASEN’S FORTRESS & BACHKOVO MONASTERY

In the morning we explored Plovdiv’s ancient ruins, further underscoring its age. Right in the old town area, you can see the Roman Theatre, the Roman Stadium, and the Forum of Philippopolis. Although they date back to the 2nd century AD, they were not excavated until the 1970s!

In the afternoon, a short ride towards the town of Assenovgrad, we saw the remains of the famous King Asen’s Fortress from the 13th century, the Church of the Holy Mother of God, and enjoyed the beautiful view over the valley.

We continued on to Bachkovo Monastery, founded in 1083 by Prince Gregory Pakourianos, a prominent statesman and Byzantine military commander, as a Georgian-dominated Orthodox monastery. Like many monasteries in Bulgaria, it was several times destroyed, looted, and restored. The only part that survives from the original structure is the ossuary, made to serve as the final resting place of human remains.

Buried here are Patriarch Kiril and Exarch Stephan, beloved for playing a decisive role in preventing Bulgarian Jews from being deported Nazi concentration camps during WWII.

[PRO TIP: Refill your empty water bottles at any of the fountains along the road, including on the way into Bachkovo. The taps run full of fresh, clean, mountain water.]

We enjoyed a typical Bulgarian BBQ lunch after visiting the Monastery at Bistro Nichinkov.

[PRO TIP: Have fun learning the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet like I did and you’ll become mildly obsessed with sounding out words with your newfound skills!]

Our adventure continued in…

Days 8-10 | Veliko Taranovo