01/07/2025
For me, travelling is not so much about seeing new things, but rather learning to see the same things in new ways.
When I travel, I am interested in making connections with people, with culture, with history and with nature to gain new perspectives, from mountain-top, discussions and cultural explorations.
A few people asked me why I was going to Bulgaria. It’s not particularly well-known as a tourist destination, with the exception of its Sunny Beach 'Brits abroad' holidays (beer and getting sunburned and fish and chips for dinner) or cheap skiing in the winter.
Bulgaria held a lot of promise for me as in general its tourism industry is underdeveloped and its cultural heritage is less well-known for its spectacular sites to be completely overrun.
My visit to Bulgaria really began in London.
For four weeks I met with Dimana, a Bulgarian lady who moved to the UK in the early 2010s.
Ostensibly the meetings were language lessons, but as time passed they became more about sharing cultural insights into the UK and Bulgaria.
Dimana was so helpful that I felt comfortable asking difficult questions to learn more about Bulgaria’s recent and more ancient history.
These exchanges laid the foundations for a relaxing and fascinating excursion to the country, as I had just enough knowledge to be curious and confident in my explorations.
Just like the vocabulary I’d learned fell into place once I was there, the snippets of knowledge I could remember allowed me to piece together an impression of Bulgaria that I will never forget.
Dimana had warned me that the trains and buses were not like ones in England, and travelling around the country was an absolute pleasure.
Turns out they are nothing like England because they all ran on time, they were not crowded, they were extremely cheap and even buying the tickets online was far simpler.
The trains were old, but these just made me a time traveller. As I stuck my head out of the train windows I was transported to a time long ago when the trains in England allowed it.
The landscape of Bulgaria was beautiful in spring. Its steppes and plains coming to life in all shades of green and its tall and graceful mountains were filled with birdsong, flowers and waterfalls.
There was a sense of space and wilderness that is hard to find in other parts of Europe.
Food was simple and ingredients were fresh. The tomatoes (thanks to Dimana’s teachings) were a particular delicacy, along with deep fried sprats, dill and prawns, and lukanka, a kind of herb infused salame.
As a tourist, it’s easy to overlook the negative aspects of the places you visit, but Bulgaria inspired so much curiosity in me that I wanted to learn more about some of the darker parts of its past and present.
Bulgaria’s history is a complex one and its current political and social situation still is, like its Balkan neighbours, Bulgaria has a strong tradition of nationalism.
Although nationalism has its formidable dark side, you can’t help as a tourist to appreciate a place which does not embrace change in the way that other countries have.
One sunny evening we walked into a small town and it seemed like the whole population was outside enjoying the weather. Every age was represented in its parks, cafes and boulevards, chatting and playing.
The country is undergoing one of the fastest rates of depopulation in the world, and it has an estimated diaspora of more than a million people. A lot when you consider the country has a population of six million.
There was public art everywhere that enticed me to learn more about the country’s cultural and historical context wherever I happened to be.
I found Bulgarians polite and friendly and people were more than willing to help out in a way that reminded me of my travels in Asia.
Perhaps I visited Bulgaria at its most beautiful, but I wouldn’t hesitate to go back again.
