Bulgarian Sampler Platter

Day 1 Sofia, Bulgaria

Landed around 1:30 PM 

Walked one minute to the Metro stop and took it to the stop that was a 10 minute walk to our apartment

Our mailbox came pre-Sharpied

Dropped off our stuff and went down the street for a lunch of "Mish Mash" (scrambled eggs cooked with peppers, onions and eggplant) and rakia (fruit brandy that is the Bulgarian version of Albanian raki, or Italian grappa, typically made from plums or grapes).

Walked about a half hour

 to a bar that specialized in rakia. Had one made from melon and one from quince, and ate some stuffed zucchini.

Walked back home,

Rocking that pink!!!

picking up up some yogurt on the way for breakfast, drank some water and went out in search of burgers for supper.

After supper, got home, took a shower and got to bed around 8:30 after having been awake for over 32 hours.

 

Day 2 Sofia, Bulgaria

Woke at 6

Made some espresso and had some yogurt.

Went out for a breakfast of banitsa 

It's the Bulgarian version of Kosovar byrek

Took the tram to the bus station to buy tickets for our next two destinations.

Took the metro to By The Way for 10 AM cocktails.

Walked to Metal Heaven 

and  The Cocktail Bar 

Got some bougie salad for lunch 

Visited the Rakia Museum

Stopped for another cocktail at Bar Local

Went back home for a quick nap and then out for some dinner at Hadjidraganovite Cellar

And then home. Got to bed around 10:30 PM.

 

Day 3 Sofia, Bulgaria

 Woke up at 6:30

Had espresso and yogurt, then went out for banitsa.

Popped in to Lidl for a ginger turmeric shot (I was having some sort of immune challenge), eggs and bagged salad. 

Stopped at Kathrine Cocktail Bar for a small glass of rakia 

Rocking that pink!

before continuing on to the Ministry of the Interior Museum. All of the information was in Bulgarian, and we didn't want to be held hostage indeterminately by the enthusiastic guide, so we bailed and sat at a park for awhile 

The google maps led us to one of those ubiquitous LGBTQ co-working space/bar/restaurants.

Had some drinks and lunch 

Walked around 

Rocking that pink!

Stopped at 65 Fireflies 

And then home 

This was not our door 

for some rest and a hair washing, then went out to pick up a shawarma wrap for supper

Headed to OldSkulls Club, a metal venue out in the middle of nowhere, yet right near a bus stop (or a short, sketchy walk from a tram stop).

The building looked less like a music venue and more like somewhere you'd go for dumplings and beer after a hearty hike in the forest.

I had seen their Instagram post for a show that I thought was that night and started at 6 PM, but I had looked at the wrong night and this show didn't start until 9.

We enjoyed the sound checks until finally giving up and catching the 8:56 bus back to the city. The fresh air felt great and the sound was even better from the bus stop.

Walked to the hopping square near our apartment for a falafel sandwich for Bhob and did some preliminary packing for our departure early the next morning.

 

Day 4 Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

 Woke up at 5 AM after a feverish night of virus fighting. Felt better within a few minutes of being upright. If I have ever questioned my habit of bringing half a backpack full of nutritional supplements, it's that kind of situation that justifies it.

Bhob had also developed a bit of a runny nose, so we prepared ourselves for a couple of days of lying low.

Got to the station for the 7:30 bus to Veliko Tarnovo. The google maps said that it was a 5 hour bus ride, but the reality was that it was closer to 3 hours, and we had a few hours to fill before checking into our guest house at 3 PM.

The first restaurant that we encountered had roasted chicken thighs and steamed broccoli. Heaven!

We'd planned on hanging out at the library until check in, but I got a text from our host telling us that the apartment would be ready by 1:30, so we spent the time at a bar with a spectacular view and a wide selection of Girl Drinks . I ordered an orangeade with no sugar syrup which was perfect.

Since I don't do much research before a trip, I hadn't realized how touristy Veliko Tarnovo is, but it's unavoidable for anyplace with such a dramatic gorge. 

Dramatic gorges also come with lots of stair climbing, which typically doesn't faze me, but with some remaining chest congestion, it was a challenge. Add to that a temperature headed for 90°F, and we were ready to do some serious sitting around.

Found  our apartment (which was lovely), had a little lie down, and went to the mini mart up the road for eggs and yogurt.

Came home, cracked open the beers that the host had graciously left in the fridge and sat on the balcony.

Went down to the main road for burgers, came home for a shower and hand laundry, and spent the rest of the evening watching cat grooming videos and Colbert monologues on the youtubes.

 

Day 5 Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

Woke up at 6:30 after finally getting a full night's sleep. The weather forecast called for rain at 4 PM, so we'd planned to get an early start on wandering around, but I let Bhob sleep in, as he was facing his own immune challenge.

Had a leisurely morning and finally got rolling around 10 AM 

Walked around 

The underside of the bar we'd gone to the previous afternoon 

and made our way down to the big monument in the middle of the gorge

Epic selfie stick 

Apparently, we'd just missed a baton twirling performance :(

Raffle prizes?

I guess I forgot to take photos of the monument. We were far more interested in the Brutalist hotel across the gorge.

Went to the souvenir shopping street 

Stopped at a place to buy a fridge magnet and postcard and had a very enjoyable conversation with the proprietor about metal after she asked about our t-shirts. 

Walked up the street a bit and stopped into the swanky hotel for drinks on the terrace 

Get off my lawn!

Went home 

and sat on the balcony. The temperature had been dropping throughout the afternoon and the sky had clouded up so it was very pleasant.

From the guest book 

By the time we were ready for supper, it was raining steadily. We were grateful that it was only a few minutes walk to the restaurant we'd decided on.

It was rather fancy and the food was really good, but the music pert near killed us!!! 

I believe it was set on the Pandora Man Bun station (Bazzi, AWOLNATION, Citizen Cope, Jeffrey James, Damien Rice)

If it hadn't been raining we might have left. 

After some grilled meat and sauteed broccoli (yay!), we hightailed it home. There were some kitties in the doorway who we heard meowing occasionally for the rest of the evening, which broke our hearts, but there wasn't much we could do. The only food we had was for the next day's breakfast :(

The house next door was abandoned and windowless, and we'd seen lots of houses with food set out, so they had options.

Watched some youtubes and got to bed around 10:30.

 

Day 6 Varna, Bulgaria

Woke up at 6:30. It was still raining, so spent a leisurely 3+ hours packing, eating breakfast and tidying up.

Left for the bus station around 10 AM.

When we boarded the bus, I was delighted to be greeted with "Enjoy The Silence".

Got to Varna about 1:45, bought bus tickets to Kavarna for the following day and went to our apartment. 

We'd been informed 5 days previously that the apartment we had booked on booking dot com almost a year before was no longer available, and were asked to pick another one from the agency's website (which did not have reviews to aid in our decision) for no extra charge.

We chose one that looked big and was more expensive. It looked good in photos, but up close was kind of cheapy cheapy, like a flipped house with crappy fixtures. Someone needed to get in there for 45 minutes with a Phillips head.

Oh well, at least it had an espresso machine (and exactly one espresso cup)

Dropped off our stuff, grabbed some lunch at a pub around the corner. I had a chicken vegetable stir fry that was like something they would have served at a Dayton's restaurant in the 80s (it was really good) and broccoli with cheese sauce (woohoo!)

https://www.reddit.com/r/bulgaria/comments/1eu0p6l/hello_guys_what_does_it_mean/

and went to the train station to buy tickets for our next destination.

It turned out that our plan to break up a long-ish train ride with a stop in Stara Zagora was not going to work, due to a wonky train schedule. We decided to head to Plovdiv a day early, cancelled our Stara Zagora reservation and splurged on a posh accommodation for one night.

Walked to the grocery store via the lovely seaside park 

Got some provisions and went home 

I should mention at this point that the temperature had been in the mid 50s and cloudy all day, which would usually be ideal, but it , there were 15 MPH winds, so not pleasant for wandering.

Rested for a while before going to a nearby speakeasy .

It took us awhile to find (duh, it's a speakeasy).

Fabulous cocktails! Didn't take photos because A) it was too dark and B) it didn't seem appropriate 

Went home, cooked some eggs for the next day and watched the youtubes until bedtime.

 

 

Day 7 Varna, Bulgaria 

Today was the day we endeavored to see what we had traveled across the country to see: the Ronnie James Dio Monument in Kavarna!

Woke around 6, had our usual breakfast.

We'd planned to walk the 1.5 miles to the bus station, but it was still raining quite steadily, so we took the city bus.

Got to Kavarna around 10, and immediately regretted that we hadn't made this our east coast headquarters instead of Varna; it seemed like our kind of town! Not that there was anything wrong with Varna, it's just that Kavarna was more down to earth and had more of that former Iron Curtain feel.

Unfortunately, it was still raining, and not great for aimless wandering, so we walked 10 minutes to a coffee bar for toasted ham & cheese sandwiches, rakia and espresso with mastika. 

Walked to the monument to pay our respects 

If you are in the nation with the only Dio monument in the world, you pretty much have to travel across the country to see it

No idea who this guy is, but they thought enough of him to memorialize him next to Ronnie 

Went back to the bus station 

And fell in love with this little cuddlebum

I know I'd vowed to never again pet an unfamiliar cat, but this guy was an absolute sweetheart 

It was a very pretty ride between the cities.

Got back to Varna at 2 PM and took a spin around the Grand Mall (insert seizure joke here) next to the bus station.

Rocking that pink!

The new Goodfellas sequel: 2Good2Fellas

Rocking that pink!

Walked home 

And rested for a while before heading out for supper.

A google maps search for "chicken soup near me" led us to epic burgers (and very good chicken soup).

Waddled home and settled in for an evening of youtubes.

Rocking that pink!

I assure you this was not my idea 

 

 

Day 8 Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Woke around 6, had some coffee and yogurt and went for a short walk.

Coffee machines were everywhere in every city 

Went to the station for our 9:25 AM train to Plovdiv. 

The scenery during the ride was very hilly foresty farmy (mostly sunflower, post harvest), and lots of solar farms

Arrived in Plovdiv around 3:15 PM 

Bought tickets to our next destination and walked to the hotel

Doing what men do best, all over the world 

It was way fancier than we are accustomed to! We felt like the Beverly Hillbillies.

Settled in, drank a Heineken from the complimentary minibar and went out for food.

The google maps led us to a Lebanese restaurant that was just opening up for the evening. Had a fabulous dinner 

Always match your plastic chair to your t-shirt 

Then went to Download Rock Bar for a nightcap before returning to the hotel

 to drink complimentary minibar orange pop on the rooftop in the perfect 64°F air.

Went back down to our room around 8:30 

 

 

Day 9 Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Woke up at 6 AM so we could walk around a little before the hotel breakfast at 8.

Took advantage of the high end toiletries provided by the hotel to take a shower and wash my hair.

After a week of plain espresso, yogurt and hard boiled eggs for breakfast, it was a treat to have roasted vegetables, sausage, omelette, pancakes and a macchiato. I forced the staff to listen to me sing the Bulgarian song I'd learned (see the FAQs at the end).

Sat on the rooftop while Bhob showered.

Went to Anyway bar for a rakia cocktail 

then to our next apartment to pick up the keys, continuing on a little bit farther north 

Returned to our hotel to check out and ended up getting a guided tour of the Roman bath ruins in the basement 

Went to our apartment, dropped off our stuff, got an espresso with ouzo at the coffee shop on the ground floor and went to the supermarket for provisions.

Back at the apartment, did some hand wash, relaxed and listened to some records 

Went out for dürüm döner 

And then to a not-so-secret speakeasy

Dawdled in the park for awhile 

Rocking that pink!

Found the movie theater/bar

Took a detour to the west to break a large bill at the supermarket by buying a roll of Mentos.

Went back to the north end of the park to Bar Poshta for drinks and watching people and dogs at the festival/bazaar 

Slowly made our way back home 

They made 78% of children around them cry

Ate some chips and listened to records for a while, then watched the youtubes until bedtime.

 

 

Day 10 Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Woke at 6 to walk around before sunrise 

Had yogurt and eggs at home and then walked around until Anyway Bar opened at 9:30

Humulus lupulus

Enjoyed a conversation with the proprietors and then went out for knefe at the cafe that was associated with the Lebanese restaurant that we'd eaten at the first night in town.

Went back to the coffee shop in our building for espresso with ouzo, then upstairs to the apartment before heading out again for Old Town.

Got some lunch at a place recommended by Kristine at Anyway Bar 

Tempura style zucchini = Amazing!

You gonna finish that?

Walked over to the west side of the city.

Searched for "bars near me open now" and found Casa de Cuba. Had some refreshing cocktails and a pleasant conversation with the bartender, and forced him to listen to me sing the Bulgarian song.

Walked home, 

and as it was 86°F, hung out inside for awhile until heading back to Sultan for dürüm döner. We took it home and ate while listening to a Kraftwerk record.

Did some preliminary packing and wound down with some youtubes.

 

 

Day 11 Koprivshtitsa, Bulgaria

Woke at 6 AM and gave ourselves plenty of time to get ready for our 9:45 train to Koprivshtitsa (which translates as Stinging Nettle).

We didn't do a pre-dawn walk as we were tired of going up and down the four flights of stairs. We were ready early enough to stop halfway through the 30-minute walk to the station and set down our bags.

It's a good thing we got to the station early, because for the first time on the trip, things weren't super obvious and it took us a bit to figure out where our platform was and how to get there.

The train was delayed about 10 minutes, but we still had a generous enough layover in Karlovo to buy tickets for the train to Sofia two days later.

About 10 minutes before we were scheduled to arrive in Koprivshtitsa, there was some sort of obstacle on the track, and the 40 minute ride ended up taking just over 2 hours.

Fortunately, the temperature was comfortable and none of the other 3 people in our car were stinky or chatty. One of them spoke English and kept us updated on the progress.

Had a beautiful 40 minute wait for the mini bus into town.

Got to our guest house around 3:30 

and went out for a late lunch/early supper.

Walked around the town. Luckily the weather forecast of nonstop rain for the afternoon didn't come to pass.

This movie better. Muuuuch better!

Returned to the guest house at 6:15, had some tea and settled in for the evening 

 

 

Day 12 Koprivshtitsa, Bulgaria

Woke up at 5:30 and kept myself occupied until it was time to wake up Bhob at 6:30 so we could get to the bakery right when they opened at 7. 

Went upstairs to use the coffee machine and didn't realize until I pushed the button that it was REALLY LOUD! 

My apologies to the upstairs guests, and I assure you that I have certainly earned myself a special place in hell.

Walked to the bakery and sat in a gazebo with the best banitsa we'd had so far.

Walked to the statue of Georgi Benkovski

At a certain point, Bhob needed a break and told me to go ahead and he would wait for me. I told myself I'd just go around one more curve, but each curve was prettier than the last, so I just had to be courteous and turn around at a sensible moment.

Got most of the way home before it started to rain. Stopped for cappuccinos.

Sat outside our room until the rain stopped, 

and then headed out again in the same direction as the statue, on the other side of the creek.

Walked around for a couple of hours, then stopped at Restaurant Bulgaria for a glass of rakia.

Walked to a what the google maps called a "park" (but was really more of a logging road)

I totally used Magic Eraser to remove the power lines from this shot ;)

then returned to Restaurant Bulgaria for lunch 

Walked back to our side of the creek and up behind our guest house 

Yup, used Magic Eraser on this one too 

And then home to sit outside for awhile, make our coffee for the next morning and then wind down with some netflix.

 

 

Day 13 Sofia, Bulgaria

Woke at 6 

Went to the bakery at 7

Putzed and packed what little we had unpacked.

Took a short walk since we'd be sitting on a train for two plus hours.

At 9:15, our host gave us and another guest a ride to the minibus stop, which was a good thing, because it was not the same spot where we'd been dropped off two days earlier.

Little Free Library 

Took the 9:52 train to Sofia 

Got into town about 12:10. Got to our apartment a little bit early, so dropped off our stuff and googled "cocktails near me open now", which led us to FlipFlop, and fabulous cocktails, lunch and lots of great suggestions from Teodor the bartender. I forced him to listen to me sing the Bulgarian song, and he rewarded us with shots of Serbian rakia (which he considered to be the gold standard).

Location shoot!

Went back home, picked up yogurt and banitsa from Billa for the next day's breakfast, sat on the balcony drinking the rosé that Teodor sent us home with, and ate some Billa potato chips (which inspired a million dollar idea for bearnaise flavored potato chips. Go ahead and use it. You're welcome)

Our balcony 

At 5:30, set off for 3 Oz. cocktail bar 

Rocking that pink!

Mountains!

And then Teodor's recommendation of Moma for dinner. It was good, but kind of snobby; it was the second restaurant we'd been to that would not serve us tap water.

Went home 

and right to bed, as our host had arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 4:15 the next morning.

 

 

Day 14 Departure

Taxi was waiting for us at 4:15 AM and off we went 

 

 

Random Observations

We'd hoped to see this, but it had been cleaned up a long time ago, and recently moved to a museum. It's one of the things that put Bulgaria on our radar.

 

This is probably the most calm country we've ever visited. No one seemed to be in a hurry, never heard any shouting or car horns honking. It's not like it was quiet because people were oppressed or depressed; more like simply content and pleasant.

The hairstyle of choice for men of all ages was a simple close crop. I don't know if this is the trend everywhere, but maybe the fellas here are tired of taking the time to style the whirl-a-whip of hair on top that's been the style in Europe and the Middle East over the past 10 years.

I earned my Girl Scout barista badge for mastering 7 different types of European and capsule coffee makers at our various apartments.

Nearly every restaurant or pub where we ate had 24Kitchen Channel playing on the TV 

FAQs

So, it was a good trip?

Yes!

Why Bulgaria?

Oh, poor Bulgaria! Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. It had been at the top of our travel list for years, but every time, some flashier destination would bump it down.

In 2015, we met Nikolai and Avrora  at a mutual friend’s wedding celebration. We told them that we had just gotten back from Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo, and they said “You should go to Bulgaria! You’d love it!”. We thought “Sure!” and proceeded to kick it down the road for 9 years.

 

We had already decided on it as our Autumn 2024 trip when Bhob found out that there is a Ronnie James Dio statue in Kavarna, and that finalized it.

 

How did you decide which cities to visit?

We knew we wanted to see Sofia and Plovdiv, and that we needed to travel across the country to get to the Dio Monument, so we looked at the inside front page of the Bradt guide and picked the places in between that sounded interesting and were accessable by train or bus.

This strategy has always worked well for us in the past.

How was the weather?

Pretty good! It was a little bit warmer than we'd expected. Most high temperatures in the 80s, one day of 90°, a couple days of upper 60s and low 70s, and a couple in the 50s.

Overnight temperatures were typically in the upper 40s and 50s.

One 12-hour stretch of steady rain and two mornings with an hour of light rain.

What time of year did you go?

Early Autumn, 2024

What’s the time difference?

Bulgaria is 8 hours ahead of Central Standard Time

How were your flights?

 Great!

Lufthansa 

MSP-FRA

Boeing 787-9

8 hours. No problems.

FRA-SOF

Airbus 320

2 hours, 10 minutes. No problems.

SOF-FRA

Airbus 320

2 hours. No problems, but I've never seen so many people who seemed to have zero clues about how to stow carry-on luggage.

FRA-MSP 

Boeing 787-9

8 hours, 5 minutes. Delayed takeoff, but arrived more or less on time 

What did you watch on the airplane?

 MSP-FRA 

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (without subtitles!)

2 1/2 episodes of Parks and Recreation 

FRA-MSP 

6 episodes of 30 Rock (5 of which I'd seen before on another flight sometime in the previous few years, but they were still funny)

Going In Style 

6 episodes of Silicon Valley 

I overheard on passenger telling another one about the movie he'd been watching:

"I don't remember the name of it, but it's got Jack Nicklaus and Milton Friedman. They've got a year to live, so they're crossing things off their bucket lists."

How big is Bulgaria?

 Not terribly big

 

Did you learn Bulgarian?

Just a few key phrases.

I did, however, re-familiarize myself with the Cyrillic alphabet. Our time in Macedonia was an important lesson in being able to read signs and bus destinations.

Do most people speak English?

Most people under 40 spoke English very well. Everyone else spoke enough for very simple transactions, and were willing to read whatever I'd translated with my phone.

Did you learn the National Anthem?

No, it didn't really do anything for me.

Instead, I learned a song that is covered by one of my all-time favorite bands, a member of which is Bulgarian.

 

And here is the original.

As it turns out, a lot of people were fond of the song; it reminded them of their high school days/graduation.

How did you get around ?

In cities, walking, metro, bus and tram.

Between cities, bus and train.

We took one taxi to the airport for an early flight, as the public transportation wasn't running yet.

All of the public transportation was very efficient and punctual. 

In Sofia, you can just tap your credit card (no ticket purchase required) everything cost about 90¢ for an hour of riding (with transfers), with a daily cap of $2.25.

How are the motorists?

Courteous! They all stopped for pedestrians in crosswalks. 

Is it bike and pedestrian friendly?

In that streets were easy to cross, yes. Most busy streets had underpasses.

However, the pavement was uneven in many areas, curbs had no cutouts and if the underpasses had ramps, they were very steep, so overall not great for people in wheelchairs or with mobility issues.

For bicycles, some of the main streets had bike lanes, and most of the places we visited were fairly flat. 

Did you hear any interesting music?

Nothing out of the ordinary. There was recorded traditional music played at one of the restaurants and at the Rakia Museum.

I don't think it's like some countries where you can go to a pub on any given night and people are playing in the corner.

What's so special about Ronnie James Dio?

Not only did he have the greatest voice in rock, he was responsible for bringing the 🤘 to metal (a hand gesture that wards off evil, which he learned from his Italian grandmother).

More importantly, he was by all accounts The Nicest Guy In The World. Being quite a bit older than most of his metal contemporaries, he took many of them under his wing as a positive and protective influence.

Looks like there are a lot of cats in Bulgaria 

Yes, we saw lots of pampered pooches, a handful of street dogs and lots and lots of street cats. They all looked fairly healthy, and Kristine from Anyway Bar confirmed that yes, there are a lot of street cats, but everyone takes care of them, and they keep the rodent population down.

Did you try any interesting foods or drinks?

Yes! The traditional Bulgarian food was great, and vegetables (typically curcubits and nightshades) are a part of most dishes, rather than merely an afterthought. 

Ate a lot of banitsa, a phyllo pastry usually filled with something like queso blanco 

We steered clear of the dishes with organ meats, but really enjoyed the grilled and slow-cooked pork, chicken and beef. We also liked Mish Mash, which is like ratatouille with scrambled eggs.

Their soup game is strong.

And of course, we frequently enjoyed the rakia (strong homemade hooch distilled from backyard fruit). Our favorite was apricot.

Is Bulgaria the birthplace of yogurt?

It probably originated simultaneously in many places, but it was where the strain of bacteria that makes yogurt was first identified and named.

Did you eat any of the traditional Bulgarian yogurt?

We ate what was easily available at all of the supermarkets. It was made with lactobacillus bulgaricus.

Did you drink the water?

 Yes

Any highlights?

Sofia! What a nifty city! Big enough for variety but small enough to be easy to navigate. Lots of parks and public spaces.

Plovdiv! I've never been to any city that has such a high percentage of streets designated as car-free.

Any lowlights?

They sure smoke.

Minimum of 2 ashtrays per table 

Any surprises?

-We saw very few panhandlers, other than those of the feline and canine variety 

-Varna wasn't nearly as touristy as we'd feared, though it was the off season. It also had a lot of pedestrian-only areas.

-Changing cities every couple of days wasn't as frazzling as I'd expected. We got very good at not unpacking.

Is it safe?

We never felt unsafe.

Did you mask up when you weren't feeling well?

Yes! Luckily, I'd brought KN95 masks.  I didn't think I'd need them, but there you go.

How long were you sick?

About a day and a half, with lots of nose blowing for the rest of the trip.

What was the exchange rate?

At the time of posting this, 1 Bulgarian Lev = .55 US Dollar

How much did it cost?

It was very affordable! 

The numbers on menus and price tags looked like what we would expect to pay in the US (e.g. 14 for a craft cocktail or burger, 2.25 for a Coke Zero, 188 for a boutique hotel room), but because the Lev was about 56-60¢ to the dollar, everything was a little more than "half price".

Many restaurants, bars, cafes and shops were Cash Only, so we needed to re-up at the ATM a couple of times.

For 2 people, 13 days

Flights $2087

Lodging $948.24

Ground transportation $169.40

Food:

Groceries $53.86

Restaurants and street food $743.51

Coffee, booze and treats $417.93

Household $2.80

Admission to attractions and pay toilets $30.59

Total $4453.33

Total “on the ground” ( not including airfare and lodging) $1418.09

Total per person, per day $171.28

Total “on the ground” per person, per day $54.54

To save for a trip like this, you’d need to save $6.10 per day for a year

 

Who should visit?

Anyone who'd like to dip their pinky toe in the Balkans 

Would you go back?

 Of course!

Who watched Stinkerbell while you were gone?

Our dear friends and neighbors, Rob and Jennifer