Our first weeks in Blagoevgrad

We arrived around the first weekend of August in Blagoevgrad and were first just overwhelmed by the extremely high temperatures. Additionally, the first look of our apartment was a little bit shocking because of its very Soviet-looking style inside. We were especially surprised by the cooker standing on the balcony …

From Verona to Blagoevgrad

31/07/2021 – 01/08/2021

Hi, I am Daniele, I come from Verona and I left for Blagoevgrad on 31th of July. 

First of all, my dad brought me to the Milan (Bergamo) Airport, after 2 hours by car, where I did my first Check-In, my first control at the gate, and my first departure with the airplane completely alone. I was excited, but a little bit scared as well.

A kind Lady near my chair saw me and we started talking about the reason why we are leaving Italy and I discovered that this lady is Bulgarian. Knowing that I would have gone to Blagoevgrad, she explained some interesting things about the place, especially about Bulgarian people. When we arrived in Sofia, she decided to help me find a Taxi that could bring me to the hotel, without risking being overcharged by anyone.

The taxi driver was pretty silent all the time, but when we arrived, he asked me for an honest amount of money (25 leva) and I finally calmed down, but just until I discovered I was in the wrong hotel. In fact, the hotel said to me that I had to take my suitcase and go to another hotel that was 5 minutes away from there.

There were not many lights around there, and I must confess that I was a little scared by the situation, but I arrived at the correct destination and finally, I had some rest.

The next morning, I visited the city center, took a coffee with a croissant at the bar, until I went to the Central Bus Station and took a ticket for Blagoevgrad.

I had many difficulties communicating with Bulgarian people during my journey, but in the end, I reached Blagoevgrad, in which I found a temperature of 40°degrees. Besides this, I was happy to have arrived here, in my new home.   

Our trip to the Rila-Monastery

07.08.2021On our very first weekend here in Blagoevgrad, we decided to do some sight seeing and decided to take a day-trip to one of Bulgaria’s most popular sights: the Rila monastery. It is the biggest orthodox monastery in Bulgaria and located in the Rila Mountains, about 40 km away from …

Trip to North Macedonia

From the 14th to the 18th of August, I went to North Macedonia with Sasha, one of the volunteers of ABS. During this trip, we met amazing people and saw the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. Our trip began in direction of Bitola. After 10 minutes of hitchicking, …

Climbing Musala Mountain

“Trust me, Lena, there are two things I am good at on this planet: playing the guitar and climbing mountains. And I can guarantee you that all of us can make it to the top.” – This is what Nicola, another volunteer and friend from Tirol, told me on Friday evening. …

Trip to Plovdiv

When asking for suggestions on what to visit in Bulgaria, one city is always recommended – Plovdiv. This town in the south of the country offers traditional Bulgarian architecture as well as Roman ruins and as many as six hills to climb! Additionally, Plovdiv is European Capital of Culture this …

Trip to Burgas

During the last week, the heatwave that is currently striking Europe seemed to have reached Blagoevgrad. Temperatures well over 30 degrees made every walk feel like a marathon. When the air conditioner in our office, previously the only shelter from the heat, broke on Thursday, we decided that enough was …

Thessaloniki Trip

On the 20th and 21st of July, me, Alexia and three other European volunteers from Active Bulgarian Society (ABS) went on a trip to Thessaloniki. It was a great aventure because we decided to hitchhike from Blagoevgrad to Thessaloniki. The first time for most of us! Since we were lucky, …

My trip to Veliko Tarnovo

From 18th to 20th of May, I went to Veliko Tarnovo with Natasha, one of my closest friend in Blagoevgrad. I was looking forward to this trip because I wanted to discover more about Bulgaria and its amazing places. The time we spent in the bus seemed like an eternity …