Riding the rails to Karlovo

Last weekend I took a trip to Karlovo to meet up with some fellow PCV gal pals. This trip marked a few of my firsts: first weekend trip out of Svishtov (other than the holidays), first train trip in Bulgaria and first time to Karlovo. It was a welcome change, to break out of my life here for a short time.

Karlovo has several things going for it on the tourist attraction front. It is right at the foot of the Central Balkans, so there are these absurdly gorgeous mountains looking down at you everywhere you go. Also, Karlovo is the site of an annual rose festival, being right in the middle of Bulgaria's famed rose growing region. Bulgarian rose oil goes for tens of thousands of euros per kilo, and is highly prized in the perfume industry. Last and not least, Karlovo is the birthplace of Vasil Levski, Bulgaria's famed "apostle of freedom" who was the major leader of the National Revival period. The National Revival took place late during the 500 year rule of the Ottoman Empire, and was the beginning of the eventually sucessful push for sovreignty.

We did not get to the Vasil Levski museum, but we did go for a lovely walk in a park at the base of the mountains, and ended up at the waterfall pictured here. And because I was crazy enough to clamber down off the bridge over the stream, I also got this shot of Cindy, Joan and Rajun peering down at me. What can I say? There was a cool rock down there that I wanted to take a look at.

On our way back, Joan and I were able to ride together for a good portion of our journey on the train. I've noticed that Bulgaria PCV's either fall in to the categories of "train people" or "bus people." After my journey, I am FIRMLY a train person now (Thomas, if you are reading this, I have seen the light). The train travels at a nice constant speed and does not ever need to pass slow ladas (a Communist era model of car, not famed for horsepower) on the highway in the fog, nor swerve back into the other lane when an oncoming vehicle is spotted. There is a bathroom on the train. The windows on the train are bigger, so you can see the often GORGEOUS scenery and the interesting little tiny train stations in the middle of the country like this one shot through the somewhat grimy window (note the EU flag, right there next the the BG one). There is more space on the train for baggage, legroom, and possibly for lying down to take a nap. Finally, the train is way cheaper than the bus. To temper my accolades, the bus is a little faster than the train, and there are some destinations to which I would still consider taking the bus if it was a straight shot, versus a complicated set of transfers. The final factor for me though, is that I tend to feel a little motion sick on busses and feel like pondscum when I arrive at my destination. At the end of a train journey, however, I feel like a real human.