Top Bulgaria hotels
shaking head vs nodding Sofia
9 Reviews I bet there are already plenty of tips on this topic, but I find it so important that I have decided to start my Sofia page from it. In Bulgaria, like in Macedonia and Albania (I have read this), the...
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etiquette Sofia
13 Reviews One sure way to recognise Bulgarians is by watching how they season their meals. We take the salt shaker, then we tap the bottom of it few times on the table (to shake it well) and then we...
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hollidays Sofia
8 Reviews New Year's Eve is a great holiday here. In Sofia, every year there is a free open-air concert in the square in front of the National Gallery. Usually it starts at 10 pm on Dec. 31 and ends in the...
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drinks Sofia
6 Reviews Ayryan is a typical analcoholic drink made with yoghurt and water, to which you can add as much salt as you wish. I tried it at the O!Shipka restaurant. More information here. When I went to have...
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friendship Sofia
3 Reviews Pleace click on the picture to receive your little virtual gift from Sofia. I hope you enjoyed the page and if you have questions - I will be happy to help you :0)
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bg dinner Sofia
3 Reviews we thought that the 'bulgarian dinner' would be another tourist trap, that they would give us some lousy food and we would have to pay extra for the music, or something like that. but, lucky for us,...
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parking Sofia
1 Review Well, actually I saw the car a couple of times around my office and was thinking to take a picture of it but somebody put this idea into life before I did :))) So, I got the picture in my mail. That...
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Kukeri Sofia
1 Review The Bulgarian traditional beliefs define the 2 weeks after Xmas as the time of various evile spirits -- vampires, 'talasumi' (ghosts), samodivi (evil women spirits), and other demons. This is the time...
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strikes Sofia
2 Reviews The demonstration that took place when I was in Sofia was by forest workers and wasn't at all violent, but it was large. The demonstrators started from in front of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and I saw...
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This is a Bulgarian grape brandy. It is usually served at home or in restaurants to present friends or new acquaintances toguether with another Bulgarian custom: a salad. These rakias were offered to me by a Bulgarian friend.
Bulgarians put yogurt in everything they eat. No wonder that the man that isolated the yogurt bacillus was a Bulgarian, and that used worldwide bacillus was honoured the name "lactobacilus bulgaricus".It's healthy after all, and the good looking of most of Bulgarians confirm that. What about an yogurt soup? It's a traditional soup called Tarator soup. It contains water cocumber, fennel, sunflower oil and... yogurt.It's served cold in the warm Summers of Bulgaria.For me, it's very tasty.
The first of March is a particularly Bulgarian celebration whose origins are shrouded in folklore but is essentially the local variation of the rites of spring. The Baba Marta of folklore is a capricious old woman whose mood needs appeased in order to ensure good weather for the coming growing season. The custom is to don a woven red and white item, called a Martinitsa, on this day to cheer up Grandmother March and when the first sign of spring arrives, such as the sighting of a stork, then the garment is removed and hung from the branches of a fruit tree to ensure an abundant harvest.The reason why the colours of red and white are significant is the subject of many legends most involving warriors and blood (and of course Mars himself is the ancient god of war). There seems to be no absolutely definitive story but here's one from the website below:Many, many years ago, Khan Isperih left...
Tzvenitza is another particularly Bulgarian custom, celebrated on Palm Sunday - the Sunday before the Orthodox celebration of Easter. This is the name day for all those named after flowers. Tzvetnitza is also known as Vrubnitza ( the day of the willows). The tradition is to pick twigs of willow leaves which are then taken to church to be sanctified. These are then formed into wreaths and hung on doors as a protection against misfortune and evil.
Yet another costume, I was very surprised about, was the tipping-ritual. It is quite offending to give tips by the hand. So, if you want to give a tip; you must leave that money on the table with the rest of your bill and walk away. Yet, this can lead to some hilarious situations! Lets say, in my case, I knew about this custom, so I left the money for the bill on the table with some tip. So, the waiter sees me walking out of the restaurant and stops me: in Bulgarian he askes me whether I have paid for the food. Of course I had to go away secretly so that I could forfill the demand that, if you want to give a tip for the good service, you dont give it in the hands of the waiter; that is: leaving the stuff at the table and walk away! As I told the good man that I have left the money on the table; it was allright for a moment but then he started to run after me: I had paid too much for the...
Tsvetnitsa-Vrabnitsa (Palm Sunday) is one of the biggest Bulgarian holidays, rich in a variety of customs, songs and melodies. The holiday is held annually on the last Sunday before Easter (and it is the people’s belief that this is the holiday of the fields, meadows and forests.Being one of the most beautiful spring holidays it celebrates the day of the entrance of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, when he was welcomed with palms and olive branches. Bulgarian Orthodox tradition uses more readily-available willow branches instead of palm ones, and people wind them into small crowns they put on the head of young kids for health and blessing.
20 December is Ignazhden - the feast day of Saint Ignatius of Antioch. According to tradition, the Virgin's labor pains began on this day and continued until Christmas. Many ethnographers think that in ancient pagan times Christmas Eve and Ignazhden coincided, both celebrating God Kolada. The separation of the two holidays came after the Slavs were converted to Christianity.it is said that what is the first person that enter your home like,the same would be the next year for your family.
The day of Lazar, Saturday before Palm Sunday is traditional celebration. The main ritual of the celebration is "lazaruvane"- it is with love-marriage character."Lazarki"are girls over 16 years old. They go around the field and the houсes, dance and sing songs for love,women,rich crop,health and prosperity.
It is believed that as Christmas Eve goes, so goes the life during the following year. Therefore the whole family becomes involved in performing the rituals. So, it is also Christmas Eve in Bulgaria; by tradition, it may be called "Sukha koleda" (Dry Christmas), "Malka koleda" (Little Christmas) or "Kadena vecher" (Incensed Night). For Orthodox Christians, Christmas comes after 40 days and nights of fasting. 40 days to prepare for the celebration of Christ's birth. It’s also a time to subdue some of the worldly desires of everyday life in order to pray and reflect. Bulgaria's Orthodox Church recommends 7,9,11 or 13 different foods on the Christmas-eve meal (salt, pepper and sugar are seen as separate foods). The foods are vegetable and odd in number for luck. Beans are a traditional Christmas Eve dish in Bulgaria, as families gather that evening to a meatless holiday meal. The Christmas...
A Name Day is the feast day of the saint after whom one is named.The most popular are:01 January - Vasil, Vasilena 06 January - Jordan, Jordanka, Boyana, Boyan,Bogdana,Bogdan 07 January - Ivan, Ioan, Ivailo, Ivanka, Ioana, Ivaila, Iveta17 January - Anton, Andon, Dona, Donka 18 January - Atanas, Atanaska, Jivko, Traian 01 February - Trifon, Veselin, Radko, Veselina, Rada, Radka Palm Sunday - The day of the flowers (Sunday before Easter)(Many people named after flowers or plants celebrate their namedays on this Sunday)Easter - Velichka, Velichko, Veliko, Velika, Svetla 02 May - Boris, Boriana, Borislav, Borislava06 May - Georgi, Gergana 21 May - Konstantin, Elena, Kostadin, Stanimir, Dicho, Lenko 29 June - Petar, Pavel, Petra, Petrana, Kamen 15 August - Maria, Margarita 17 September - Sofia, Viara, Nadejda, Lubov 14 October - Penka, Petko 26 October - Dimitar, Mitko, Dimitrina08 November -...
Grand Hotel Sofia Sofia
6 Reviews and 104 Opinions I also stayed here on business and was very happy with the accomodations. The fitness facilities...
Splendid Hotel Varna
1 Review and 38 Opinions The hotel is just across the road from Varna Cathedral, its name is Splendid and that sums it it...
Trimontium Princess Hotel Plovdiv
6 Reviews and 57 Opinions this hotel is a part of famous Turkish hotel chain "Dedeman" They have many hotels in Bulgaria...
Reviews and photos of Bulgaria attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Bulgaria sightseeing.
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Q: Hey all. Me and a couple of mates are heading to the Romanian and Bulgarian black sea coast this summer and would like to know...
A: Bulgaria's two main Black Sea resorts are Golden Sands and Sunny Beach both of which are lively with good beaches. Of the two Golden Sands is slightly more upscale and...
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