Plovdiv / Starosel

Så kom dagen, hvor vi skulle besøge Plovdiv....Bulgariens næststørste by. Fordelt over tre bakketoppe er Plovdiv en arkitektonisk perle. Men jeg siger igen og igen...jeg kører ALDRIG mere ind i den gamle del af Plovdiv. Det er et virvar af små krogede, smalle, ensrettede gader. Vi kom derind, og vi kom også ud igen uden skrammer, men pyha....en hård tur.

Efter at vi langt om længe fik bilen parkeret for et mindre beløb, gik det på fodtur ud i byen. Faktisk kunne man bruge mange mange timer, ja måske dage til at gå på opdagelse i den smukke by, men vores tid var begrænset, så vi satte kursen mod det Romerske Amfiteater, og her faldt vi i snak med en ældre kvinde, som brugte tiden på at male Plovdivs seværdigheder. Smukke akvareller, og jeg gik derfra med en af dem. Det viste sig, at selvsamme kvinde underviste på en kunstskole tæt på teatret. Vi slentrede gennem de brostensbelagte smalle gader, og fandt frem til det Etnografiske Museum, hvor vi fik et indblik i tidligere tiders Bulgarien.
Før vi gav efter for sulten og søgte et sted af få frokost, besøgte vi en kirke, som blev åbnet for os. Fantastisk smuk og en utrolig atmosfære.

Frokost.....og Bulgarsk mad er altså lækkert, men døm selv på billederne.

Efterhånden blev det tid at forlade Plovdiv....og fortsætte turen helt ud på landet. Vi skulle besøge Starosel. En udgravning af en kongegrav, som den danske dronning havde besøgt. Efter en længere spadseretur, nåede vi endelig frem til graven. Det føltes underligt, at stå i et gravkammer.Ved graven lå resterne af et gammelt vineri. Bulgarien producerer mange rigtig gode vine, og det fik vi da også erfaret, da vi på tilbagevejen til Hisarya, gjorde holdt ved et hotelkompleks, som også producerer vin. Hotel Starosel. Et flot kompleks, som jeg gerne vil besøge senere, men denne dag købte vi rødvin, som vi kunne nyde på hotellet i Hisarya.

Tilbage på vores hotel, stod den på forkælelse. Svømning i den opvarmede indendørs pool. Massage og afslapning. En herlig dag sluttede med et glas af den velsmagende rødvin fra Starosel.

Now the day has arrived, to visit Plovdiv. I have been looking foreward to visit Plovdiv...the second biggest city in Bulgaria. Spread over three hill tops Plovdiv is an architectural gem. There is just one thing, I will repeat again and again....I will NEVER NEVER drive into the old part of Plovdiv ever again. Very narrow, one way roads. Nerves outside my sweater....yakkk. At last we found a carpark to leave the car on, for a small amount of money. Phew...time for me to relax for a while. We went into Plovdiv.....and got out again with no scrathes.
Walking around in the old part of the city. Actually it is possible to spend hours or even days there, but we had other plans, so the course was set for The Old Roman Amphitheatre. We met an elderly lady, who was spending time painting pictures of sights in Plovdiv. Beautiful watercolour paintings, and of course I had one with me home. It turned out, that this lady was teaching students at a nearby artschool.

We strolled around on the cobblestoned narrow streets, and came to the Ethnographic Museum
and we got a good understanding of an earlier lifestyle in Bulgaria.

Before giving in to a beginning hunger, we manage to visit a church, that was opened up to us. Inceredible beautiful, and a wonderful atmosphere.

Lunch.....and Bulgarian cuisine is very delicious, but see for yourselves on some of the photoes.

Time to leave Plovdiv, and continue out into the countryside. We were to visit Starosel, and an excavation of a tomb, that the Danish Queen visited. After a long walk up hill, we finally stood by the tomb. It was a very special experience to go into the chamber, knowing someone had been burried there many years ago. Not far from the grave, there was some ruins from an old winery. Bulgaria produces a lot of very good wine, which came to our knowledge on our way back to Hisarya. Not far from the old winery, there is a hotelcomplex. Hotel Starosel, and they produce a very good wine. We stopped there to buy some redwine to enjoy at our hotel.

Back at our hotel, we were spoiled. Swimming in a warm indoor pool, a nice massage and before bedtime, a glass of Starosel redwine. Well.....what more can one want.