A Few Thoughts on Bulgaria

Well, we’ve now spent three months in Bulgaria – six weeks in София (Sofia), three weeks in Пловдив (Plovdiv), two weeks in Ъургас (Burgas) and two weeks in Ъарна (Varna).  We can actually read some of this now.  We managed to form a few opinions along the way…

Bulgarians are a very warm and friendly people but their ways are somewhat different from what we’re used to in the U.S.  They generally have a rather dour look on their faces and rarely smile.  If you’re walking down the street they will never make eye contact – no little head nods – never any smalltalk.  At the supermarket it’s normal to checkout without exchanging small pleasantries like “please” and “thank you” with the cashier.  None of this should put you off. Bulgarians will make every effort to be helpful and will happily engage you in conversation.  They have a great sense of humor and love to laugh.  We found that the younger people love Western culture and are curious about the U.S.

Cigarette smoking and drinking are quite common here.  Most restaurants have an inside, where smoking is not permitted, and a patio area, where smoking is permitted.  Even in the colder weather the patios always fill up first.

Every city we’ve been to had a multitude of parks and green spaces.  Bulgarians love their parks and spend lots of time there.  Many have tennis courts, soccer fields, playgrounds and more.  The parks, which are well groomed and maintained, are all full of monuments and statutes.  Another nice feature is the pedestrian walkways.  The cities all seem to have wide central boulevards where you can find shops, restaurants, art galleries and so much more.  Cars are never permitted in these areas.  These spaces are very popular during the day and at night.

There are thousands of stray dogs and cats in the major cities.  Bulgarians seem to treat them like outdoor pets.  They caress them, they feed them and they care for them.  The Government catches, neuters, vaccinates and releases most of the dogs.  It’s harder to do with the cats.  You often see cats waiting patiently near restaurants for handouts.  They seem well behaved and healthy.  Interestingly, we haven’t seen a rodent since we’ve been in the country.  Maybe they’re on to something.

Bulgaria is a spotlessly clean place.  Everywhere you look someone is cleaning something.  Even the public restrooms are clean.  And speaking of restrooms, there are plenty of public restrooms.  Sometimes there is a small fee to use them but it’s worth it.

Not everyone is happy about the fall of Communism.  Under the Communist government there was a large set of free social services.  Wages may have been low and few people had substantial savings but they expected to be taken care of in retirement.  Gone are the days when housing and healthcare were free and there are no more automatic government pensions.  It has been very hard on the older population.

Whereas most of the older people speak Russian the younger generation all learn English in school and most are fairly accomplished.  Unlike what you might expect they speak American English and use American slang.  The younger generation seems very modern and is very proud to have a democratic government.  They are entrepreneurial and crave Western culture.  Today Bulgaria is a member of both the European Union and NATO.  It’s likely that as the younger generation comes into its own Bulgaria will become more and more Westernized.

We’ve read many articles on Bulgarian food.  It’s often described as being bold, flavorful and well seasoned.  We’re going to have to take exception with those opinions.  Bulgarians eat a lot of potatoes, cabbage, pork, pizza, vegetables and phyllo dough stuffed with just about anything but never seem to use any sort of seasonings – not even salt and pepper.  By the seacoast we’ve had a lot of fresh seafood and it’s also prepared very plainly.  Bulgarians love sour flavors and they’ll pickle just about anything.  They enjoy sour yogurt drinks and their local cheeses (simply called “White” and “Yellow”) are rather pungent.  For the most part we’ve stuck to imported cheeses.

Bulgaria has some of the oldest settlements on the continent.  Being at the crossroads between the Middle East and Western Europe it has a rich history that spans many cultures including the Thracians, Greeks, Romans and Ottomans. The people here are very knowledgable and proud of their culture and are eager for visitors to appreciate it.  Many cities and towns highlight their history and showcase their archeological past.  The country itself is large and varied.  It extends from the Danube River in the West to the Black Sea in the East.  The mountain ranges are perfect for skiing in the Winter and hiking in the Summer.  The cities along the Black Sea are some of Europe’s favorite summertime resort areas.  Your dollar will go further in Bulgaria than just about any place we can think of.

That’s Bulgaria in a nutshell.  We’ve gotten to see a good portion of the country and it’s been a great ride.  We’re very happy that we stopped in for a visit.