Bulgaria, August 2019
Plovdiv
Contains 199 photos, the last of which were added 5 years, 12 days, 10 hours, and 11 minutes ago.
Arrived to Plovdiv (Bulgaria) a day late because I missed the last connection in Sofia.
Glad to get here though. It's chaotic like Sofia, but smaller and more navigable. The city center is pedestrianised, and packed full of super nice cafes, fountains, and shops full of anything you need. The Kapana district is covered in street art. The old town's windy cobbled streets are lined with incredible architecture. Everywhere, like in Greek cities, chunks of the ground are open to display layers of ancient ruins (mostly Roman here I think). There's also a beautiful river with little islands and marshy greenery.
I climbed my first hill of Plovdiv, Nebet Hill, which the old town is nestled against. It is home to unkempt Roman ruins, and views across the city.
Climbed hill #2, Danov Hill, which has a clock tower on top. Good views across the city to Liberators and Youth Hills (the other big 'uns) and the previously mentioned Nebet Hill by the old town.
I also stopped by the Roman theatre, which was closed by then but still plenty visible through the fence.
Tried to go to Anglia Cafe, a veggie cafe the other side of town, but it was closed for unspecified reasons. Ate at Raffy instead, which is proclaimed on happycow to have many vegan options, only they've changed the menu since then and I just had springrolls for lunch. Not the worst, but I had been looking forward to pizza.
Walked through Tsar Simeon's gardens, which have 'singing fountains' and an enormous pool of water that looks incredibly inviting but is strictly forbidden from swimming in.
Got a haircut, and bought two tshirts from two different Humana stores. What I really need are new shoes (mine are disintegrating more by the day) but neither had any. One tshirt was superfluous but has aliens on and rolls up really small. The other filled a vacant slot for a slightly smarter top I can pretend to be a grownup or professional or whatever in.
Anyway: hill #3, Liberator Hill. Which has a big statue of a Russian solider on top. And, of course, views of the surrounding hills and city.
Also stopped at Green Corner on the way home for a cake and a milkshake; they have some good vegan groceries including Violife!
Lunch at Green Lemon, then hill #4 Youth Hill. The tallest, furthest from the city center, and a bit more rugged and less well kept than the others. Still some smaller trails up though, if a bit undergrowthy, as well as the main road. At the top is an empty pool... would be amazing if this worked, but probably not good for the immediate environment. At the bottom is a children's railway which does a little panoramic 25 minute tour around the base for 1lv (~€0.50), which I would have loved to ride on but it's irregular running schedule didn't match up with mine.
Last few days in Plovdiv, cafe-working and eating mostly at Veggic.
