2000 years of Plovdiv

According to my lonely planet book, Plovdiv is the longest, continuously inhabited city in Europe.

To get there, we had the option of a two hour bus or three hour train. We chose train since there won't be many of them on this trip. Which was a bit of a mistake because it turned into 3.5 hour milkrun of riding in an old ricketty, sauna-on-wheels. I would have paid $20 for a glass of cold water.

On first arrival, we didn't really understand the town's charm, but it became much clearer with every hour that passed. We visited the ancient roman theatre built 2000 years ago, and then found ourselves wandering aimlessly through the pretty maze of cobblestone streets, littered with cute cafes, restaurants and wine bars.

Spent some time at a craft beer pub where they also make their own beer, katka i mishka (cat and mouse) and then hit up a tiny wine bar to sample the local wineries. I didn't realize how big Bulgaria was into wine making. And then found ourselves at an upscale restaurant where two mains and a nice bottle of red came to $50CAD.

The food has been fantastic so far. There's tons of pizza and pasta places, but if you look a bit harder for more traditional fare, it's so worth the effort.

The people in Sofia were bizarrely miserable. No one ever smiled in our interactions and seemed annoyed with the effort required to breathe. But Plovdiv redeemed bulgarians for us as just about everyone there were friendly, chatty and helpful. I'm glad we didn't limit our Bulgarian venture to just Sofia. SPRead more