Sunday, June 29
Submitted by: Andrea Hartlund
We woke up in disbelief this morning that our first weekend trip had come and gone so quickly! Many of us were sad that it was our last day in the beautiful, entertaining city of Plovdiv. The great news is that we have many more adventures ahead of us the next few weeks.
The group began to stroll downstairs around 7:00 to get one last breakfast at Hotel Bulgaria. (I still can’t believe the great location we had-right at the city center!) We had to get our energy to prepare for one last hike up the hill to the Thracian ruins. The group assembled in the lobby at 8:00 and we instantly felt the relief of the cooler morning air as we began our journey. Pamela decided that an earlier time would be better for all of us, as she had experienced the challenge of hiking up hills in the heat with us the day before. We were convinced that she also arranged this time since the Old Town shops were closed and we couldn’t meander in and out of them along the way…she’s figured many of us out already!
We passed through the village center, up the cobblestone street, and through Old Town until we reached the top. It was a sight to be seen! Not only were we standing on the very ground that was an original Thracian settlement, but we also stood in awe at the vast landscape of Plovdiv and all of the surrounding areas. We learned that this settlement was chosen for many reasons. Even though the placement of the area was high and offered a great deal of protection, it was a challenge to easily transport supplies for the people. Also, the settlement could not expand as the population increased. The settlement was eventually abandoned as Plovdiv became a huge trading center. Also, when the Ottomans gained control they no longer needed it because their areas of warfare were farther north. Plovdiv continues to be a center of commerce and economic success today. Many restored buildings, beautiful parks, and a strong tourism industry are a shining star of pride for Bulgaria.
After our visit to the Thracian settlement, we ventured back into town where everyone enjoyed their last few minutes in the city. Some people did last minute shopping; some visited the Internet café looking over the smaller Roman amphitheater, and others finished packing. At 11:00 we began our trip back to Blagoevgrad. We loved the sights along the way…fresh peach stands, huge sunflower fields, and watching many people taking a swim in little rivers along side huge rocky mountain cliffs. Considering many people are counting down the days until we can use our swimsuits, we all watched them with envy. We pleaded for the van to stop for those of us that had brought our suits “just in case”, but had no luck. The wait until swimming at Varna goes on!
Evelina, our professor from American University of Bulgaria (AUBG), highly recommended that we stop at the Bachkova Monastery so that was one stop on our way home. This is the second largest and frequently visited monastery, with Rila being first. It was founded in 1083 by two brothers who were in the Byzantine army and the place served as a major religious center during the second Bulgarian Empire 1185-1396. It was destroyed by the Ottomans in the 16th century and restored by the 17th century. Heather gave us her expertise on icons, an art form we’ve seen in many religious buildings all over Bulgaria. They are paintings of holy figures or saints. We learned that icons represent the presence of that person in the building. We were in shock as we looked over during the lesson to see two monks carrying a lamb by his legs upside down. It was definitely living, which left us trying to figure out his outcome. Evelina told us in class the next day that we were actually visiting the monastery on St. Peter’s Day. The lamb was likely used for a sacrifice to offer thanks and celebrate with a large bowl of lamb stew and bread. Visiting Bachkova on the biggest summer holiday of the year explained all of the lines of people we had to join to go into the chapel! After seeing the icons, lighting candles, and viewing Eastern Orthodox weddings and baptisms inside the chapel, we shopped at the large market and ate a quick lunch. The most exciting part was when Le, Kristin, and Andrea got to experience their first primitive Bulgarian toilet! There was no toilet actually, just a little hole in the ground. While some went on a mission to find a toilet that flushed, others conquered the experience with much grace and skill. That was the first story shared when everyone met back at the bus that afternoon and we were very proud of Le for retrieving the toilet paper!
The drive home from Bachkova was gorgeous with landscapes of mountain terrains and rolling hills. We were also captivated by the beautiful reservoir called Lake Iscar. It seemed to go on for miles! Once we got back to the dorm many of us went into the city center for dinner and came back to finish our first week evaluations. We hit the pillows hard that night with great memories of our trip to Plovdiv. We were DEFINITELY the champions this weekend!
Submitted by: Andrea Hartlund
We woke up in disbelief this morning that our first weekend trip had come and gone so quickly! Many of us were sad that it was our last day in the beautiful, entertaining city of Plovdiv. The great news is that we have many more adventures ahead of us the next few weeks.
The group began to stroll downstairs around 7:00 to get one last breakfast at Hotel Bulgaria. (I still can’t believe the great location we had-right at the city center!) We had to get our energy to prepare for one last hike up the hill to the Thracian ruins. The group assembled in the lobby at 8:00 and we instantly felt the relief of the cooler morning air as we began our journey. Pamela decided that an earlier time would be better for all of us, as she had experienced the challenge of hiking up hills in the heat with us the day before. We were convinced that she also arranged this time since the Old Town shops were closed and we couldn’t meander in and out of them along the way…she’s figured many of us out already!
We passed through the village center, up the cobblestone street, and through Old Town until we reached the top. It was a sight to be seen! Not only were we standing on the very ground that was an original Thracian settlement, but we also stood in awe at the vast landscape of Plovdiv and all of the surrounding areas. We learned that this settlement was chosen for many reasons. Even though the placement of the area was high and offered a great deal of protection, it was a challenge to easily transport supplies for the people. Also, the settlement could not expand as the population increased. The settlement was eventually abandoned as Plovdiv became a huge trading center. Also, when the Ottomans gained control they no longer needed it because their areas of warfare were farther north. Plovdiv continues to be a center of commerce and economic success today. Many restored buildings, beautiful parks, and a strong tourism industry are a shining star of pride for Bulgaria.
After our visit to the Thracian settlement, we ventured back into town where everyone enjoyed their last few minutes in the city. Some people did last minute shopping; some visited the Internet café looking over the smaller Roman amphitheater, and others finished packing. At 11:00 we began our trip back to Blagoevgrad. We loved the sights along the way…fresh peach stands, huge sunflower fields, and watching many people taking a swim in little rivers along side huge rocky mountain cliffs. Considering many people are counting down the days until we can use our swimsuits, we all watched them with envy. We pleaded for the van to stop for those of us that had brought our suits “just in case”, but had no luck. The wait until swimming at Varna goes on!
Evelina, our professor from American University of Bulgaria (AUBG), highly recommended that we stop at the Bachkova Monastery so that was one stop on our way home. This is the second largest and frequently visited monastery, with Rila being first. It was founded in 1083 by two brothers who were in the Byzantine army and the place served as a major religious center during the second Bulgarian Empire 1185-1396. It was destroyed by the Ottomans in the 16th century and restored by the 17th century. Heather gave us her expertise on icons, an art form we’ve seen in many religious buildings all over Bulgaria. They are paintings of holy figures or saints. We learned that icons represent the presence of that person in the building. We were in shock as we looked over during the lesson to see two monks carrying a lamb by his legs upside down. It was definitely living, which left us trying to figure out his outcome. Evelina told us in class the next day that we were actually visiting the monastery on St. Peter’s Day. The lamb was likely used for a sacrifice to offer thanks and celebrate with a large bowl of lamb stew and bread. Visiting Bachkova on the biggest summer holiday of the year explained all of the lines of people we had to join to go into the chapel! After seeing the icons, lighting candles, and viewing Eastern Orthodox weddings and baptisms inside the chapel, we shopped at the large market and ate a quick lunch. The most exciting part was when Le, Kristin, and Andrea got to experience their first primitive Bulgarian toilet! There was no toilet actually, just a little hole in the ground. While some went on a mission to find a toilet that flushed, others conquered the experience with much grace and skill. That was the first story shared when everyone met back at the bus that afternoon and we were very proud of Le for retrieving the toilet paper!
The drive home from Bachkova was gorgeous with landscapes of mountain terrains and rolling hills. We were also captivated by the beautiful reservoir called Lake Iscar. It seemed to go on for miles! Once we got back to the dorm many of us went into the city center for dinner and came back to finish our first week evaluations. We hit the pillows hard that night with great memories of our trip to Plovdiv. We were DEFINITELY the champions this weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment