Bulgaria | Travel | Europe | Walking Tour

A Small Adventure In Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

Another stunning Bulgarian city!

As usual, we had no idea of what to expect at this next Bulgarian location. It just happened to sit on the line of traveling that we need to do, to get out to our next destination of Varna on the Black Sea where we will be volunteering on a farm for 3 weeks.

The train tickets from Gabrovo cost just 4 Lev ($2 USD) each, so we figured why not!?

As we were riding on the train, I started looking at the map to figure out where the train station in the town was, vs. where we needed to go for our accommodation. I was amazed when I learned that a large river winds and snakes its way through the town, and was even more surprised when I learned that it was the Yantra River, the same river that runs through Gabrovo.

Looking at the map, I had no idea that the land around the river rose up so steep.

We were scheduled to get in at 7:13, but the train was about half an hour late as we were waiting for another train to arrive at another station along the line so that passengers could make the connection.

We have learned that trains in Bulgaria are not as strict with their time schedules as some of their European counterparts. If you have a connecting train to make, and the current train you are on is late, you can bet that that next train will wait for you.

It’s a brilliant system, really, and certainly makes for stress-free travel!

Because we got in late, it was dark enough that we couldn’t really see anything. We had a bit of a nightmare finding our accommodation as it was located halfway up some stairs on the side of a steep hill. We would come to learn that most of Veliko Tarnovo is located on the side of a steep hill.

In the morning, we woke up to an incredible view over the houses and valley below and realized that there was a giant fig tree just outside our window. Chris reached out to get us some breakfast before we continued on with our day.

First on the agenda was to find some coffee. We made our way up the winding staircase that snaked its way through what looked to be impossibly built homes perched on the hillside, and found ourselves at the top and on the main drag in VT, as the locals affectionately call it.

We were amazed at the plethora of shops and high-end retailers on this main street. Brands like Gucci and Dolce Gabbana were displayed in the storefront windows, and we got the impression that this could be the equivalent of Bulgaria’s Rodeo Drive.

We found a cafe and noticed a single balcony at the back of the building with one small table. We could see that it had the best view in the place, so we headed straight for it. For just the equivalent of $ 1 USD each we sat and sipped our coffees while taking in the stunning scenery below.

We were again gobsmacked with the beauty of another Bulgarian city.

How is it possible that they just keep getting better and better?

We noticed that below us was a large monument. We later learned that it is the Monument to the Asen Dynasty which was built in 1985. It had a commanding presence, so we decided that we should go and check it out after our coffees.

We headed off to the right of the monument and wound our way through the streets until we found the pedestrian bridge that connects to the peninsula, which you can see in the picture above.

We came upon the 4 horsemen from below, and this has turned out to be my best photo of them. Unfortunately, the platform they are on is under construction and there was a large unsightly crane up there which made unobstructed photos impossible from that angle.

Once up on top, though, I was able to zoom in on the two forward horsemen to get a look at some of the detail of the sculptures. They were pretty amazing.

We walked around the area a bit and also took in the large building that sits on top of the platform. We didn’t confirm it, but saw signs for live music and believe that it is used as a cultural center with concerts and live performances. It even had a lovely outdoor bar area that looked out over the city on the other side of the river.

Such a spectacular location!

On the far side of that building, we noticed that there was a park, so we decided to walk into it to see what we could find. Children were playing in the jungle gyms that were set up for them, while parents lounged on the benches taking in one of the last warm sunny days of the summer season.

At the end of the park, we could see some stairs and decided that we should climb them to see if we would get a better view of the city. We also knew that there was a fortress in the distance, and we hoped to get a glance of that.

From the bottom of the stairs, we could only see about 5 or 6 sections of stairs, so didn’t think that it would be too difficult. But as we got to the top of that section, we could see that there was another whole section above it.

When we noticed the second section, we decided to sit down on the benches and take a break. Here is Chris making a beeline toward them.

We sat and took a break then conquered that section. Well, you might guess that there was a whole other section of stairs above that one!

This is ALMOST the final climb of the day. There were, in fact, more stairs above this one, but only one or 2 sections more. Wow, we certainly got our exercise in!

Thankfully, though, we were rewarded with some stunning views of the river and city below.

Plus we finally got a look at the fortress!

After checking the view out for a bit, we decided to carry on and followed a pathway along a gentle slope to what we hoped would be the top of the hill. We laughed when we saw cars, a small restaurant, and many parks.

I guess most sane people drive to the top!

We sat on a nearby bench and decided to look at our map on the phone to see where we were in relation to the roads. It looked like if we followed a trail along the top of the hill, it would eventually lead us to a road that we could follow down the back side of the hill to an area of the town below the fortress.

We decided that was where we wanted to go.

The path looked innocent enough at the beginning, but over time the trees started to close in on us and the trail became narrower and narrower.

Suddenly we found ourselves navigating drainage ditches and the trail became steeper and steeper. I stopped to check the maps a few times as I was quite concerned that this would lead us to a point where we would have to backtrack and climb back up.

But, it did look like despite the steep incline of the trail, and the foliage that was crowding it more and more, we were, in fact getting closer to some sort of road.

Eventually, we made our way out to a road. We checked the map again and confirmed which way we needed to go, then continued on our way.

We were amazed when we came around a corner to find large buildings lining the sides of the road. There were many young people milling around, and one didn’t have to think too hard to realize that we had stumbled onto a university campus. Chris confirmed it when he saw a sign in Bulgarian that he was able to translate to ‘student’.

Yes, Chris is actively studying Bulgarian and is even learning to read and write Cyrillic. His ability with languages amazes me!

We wandered around the campus ignoring the looks of curiosity from the students that were milling about. After two years in Africa, we are used to being stared at. At least these guys weren’t yelling ‘foreigner’ at us in their local language. Ha!

Somehow we made it out to the bottom end and found ourselves back in normal civilization. As it was now 1:00 and we hadn’t eaten a proper meal, we found a small convenience store and stopped to purchase some snacks.

We then set out to find a bench where we could sit and enjoy them.

Only a couple hundred meters later, we came upon just a spot. We were thrilled that it was a very quiet neighborhood, and it had some pretty cool things to look at.

As we sat and marveled at the fortress walls that loomed tall above us, I couldn’t help but pinch myself once again. Here we were, sitting below an ancient fortress in Bulgaria.

Sometimes I feel in these moments that I am having some sort of out-of-body experience. Like I am just a spectator looking into my life. It’s a strange sensation.

Then I start to wonder how it is that we find ourselves in these places. How is it that we just wander around, and get to places where we somehow feel that we are right where we belong?

After pondering these existential questions in my mind, I am always reminded that, really, all we do is just put one foot in front of the other until we get to where we are going.

Where we end up, sometimes seems completely out of our control.

Thanks for joining us in Veliko Tarnovo. There is much more to share about this charming city!

Hi there, we are 2 Canadians, Jill and Chris from Artistic Voyages. We have been nomadic since 2017 living in numerous different countries, and experiencing the life and diversity of our planet on the ground and firsthand. We paint FREE murals in exchange for accommodation. Consider tipping us on Ko-fi!

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