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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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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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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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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Bulgarian traditional jewelry,second half of 19th century. You can find these beautiful silver hand made jewelry pieces in Antiques flea market in front of Alexander Nevski cathedral in Sofia, or in Antique shops. At the market prices are being bargened,so it's a better choice.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks April 23 traditional St. Lazar's Day referring to the miracle made by Jesus Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. The holiday is marked each year on the last Saturday before Easter with typical ceremonies called Lazaruvane. The day is a festival devoted to young girls, pastures, fields and woods.In the past on Lazarovden the young girls could demonstrate to the village community that they had already grown to be "complete maidens".The girls would gather in groups of about ten at the house of the prettiest one and start from there with their songs to make a round of the village. The songs sung on St Lazar's Day praise the beauty of the maiden and her lover, the industry of the farmer, the purity of maternal love and express wishes for happiness and prosperity. On Lazarovden all those named Lazar, Lazarina celebrate their name day.The Orthodox church...
At the Watermill, along with a Folk Band, there was a Folk Dancer doing a traditional dance wish was really great. A bit hard for me to describe for you it's something you really have to see to experience it.
I remember seing some of the horse races and the rituals performed before them but it wasa long time ago, so I refreshed my memory and gathered some info from the net. Here is the result: The most interesting element of the holiday is the horse racing - a custom in which the whole village participates. The men clean their horses, adorn their reins with colorful beads, then put their new shirts on and take the horses out for the race. The winner in the race is awarded – the horse receives new reins and its owner a new shirt or towel. Then the rider mounts his horse again and visits all houses in the village to greet the hosts for the holiday. He is received with joy and his horse is offered water.Before sunrise the women make rite bread in the shape of a horse or a horseshoe and decorate them with walnuts, garlic and salt. Every housewife visits her neighbors and gives them from the bread...
The first Saturday of the Easter Lent, the East Orthodox calendar celebrates Todorovden (St. Theodore’s Day) – the feast is also popular by the names of “Tudoritsa” or “Horse Easter”. Todor’s Day celebrates the health of horses and those young women who have married recently in the winter. I find this combination a bit funny but anyway...Horse races are usually organized on Todor’s Day. I remember when I was a kid my grandfather used to take me to a village nearby Sofia to watch the races. The saint Theodore Stratilat as some other Christian saints like George, Mina, Demetrios, and Mina is almost exclusively portrayed as heroic horsemen – one of the knights of justice and good. The icon below is one of the exceptions of that rule. Name day for: Todor, Todorka, Teodor, Teodora, Bozhidar, Theo, Dora. "Teodoros" comes from old Greek and means "a gift from God" which presumably meands that...
Shrove Sunday (also known as the First Sunday before the Lent) - is the day for forgiveness. According to Bulgarian traditions, family members are giving each other their forgiveness during a family dinner later that day. People use set phrases, such as “Forgive me, mother, ..father, ..” and “Let all be forgiven to you,.. God forgives” to ask and give their pardoning to their close ones. The favourite part of that day for the kits is the popular ritual of “hamkane”. It is performed in the eve – a peeled boiled egg or a piece of white halva is tied to a piece of thread hanging from a long pole. Then the thread is moved around in large circles and everyone around the feast table (especially the younger kids) is trying to catch it with mouth only (no use of hands is allowed)… My grandmother was doing that for me and my cousins when we were kids :) It was fun until I was 10 years old. After...
As in many other countries we celebrate it here too. At least some people do. Others believe it is obsolete part of communist past or that it should not be only one day in the year that you show your respect to women but all the time.Nevertheless, men who celebrate that day usually congratulate the ladies with the phrase Chestit Osmi Mart (Happy 8 March). They usually buy flowers to the ones that they respect and spoil with a nice dinner and a present the ones they love.So, I ended up with a bunch of flowers when I left the office today, plus I had attended a party from a colleague of mine - a guy who invited all his female colleagues for a glass of wine at the end of the working day. I think it will become something like a tradition in our office because some girls liked the idea :)))On the picture you see the white tulip I got from a colleague of mine :) Good to know: - Buying flowers...
3 March is a national holiday dedicated on Bulgaria’s Liberation from the Ottoman rule.3 March was celebrated for the first time way back in 1880 as the Day of the emperor Alexander II's coronation.It was celebrated as the Day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule since 1888. During the time of the communism it was celebrated once in 1978 thus marking 1 century from the liberation. 10 years later it becomes official holiday. With a resolution of the Parliament passed on 5 March 1990, 3 March is promulgated to be national holiday. Thus, this day from then on is a non-working day.This year in Sofia, the formal celebrations started with a ceremonial raising of the national flag and a 20-gun salute at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier marking the 127th anniversary since the country's Liberation. As usual, the Bulgaria's President, who is also Supreme Commander-in-Chief of...
On 1 March people in Bulgaria celebrate the ancient Bulgarian (pagan) tradition marking the beginning of spring. The symbol of that day is the martenitsa. Here is the legend about it: Khan Kubrat’s five sons went hunting accompanied by their sister Houba. During the hunting a bird flew to them bringing bad news. The founder of Great Bulgaria was on his death bed. In his last hours Kubrat wanted to bring home his sons - Bayan, Kotrag, Asparuh, Kuber and Altsek and make them promise to defend Bulgaria and stick together.Soon after their father’s death, the Khazars invaded their lands. The Khazar`s Khan Ashiba conquered the capital Ababa, Houba, Kubrat`s daughter was taken prisoner Ashiba. Wishing to give her brothers a chance to opt for freedom, Houba tried to commit suicide but she was stopped bt the guards.Her brothers kept their vows in different ways. Bayan stayed with his sister...
The ancient roots of this ritual honour the God Mars, who is the God of spring and later the God of war. People were fighting a lot in the past. Usually the wars started at the beginning of March, and most of the warriors had to leave their homes. Women were so unhappy, and afraid about the lives of their men. They were giving to their husbands red and white tokens, which were either red and white cloth strips for the hand, or small woollen figures of a white girl and a red boy. The colours represent the blood of the warriors, which their wives didn't want spilled, and the white colour the pale faces of their women waiting for the warriors to come back home. The exchange of these tokens was made for two reasons: the first one was to remind the men about their families and the second - to please Baba Marta, so she would not change her mood so friquently: in other words, so that the...
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...
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Q: Could someone help us ? we are traveling by train from Plovdiv to Sofia, then Sofia to Veliko Tarnovo. How many train are there...
A: I haven't yet been to Bulgaria but whilst you are waiting for other VT-ers to reply... The...
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