Bulgaria 1 - Via Sofia to Bansko

Actually, if it wasn't for Covid, I probably wouldn't visit Bulgaria in the next few years.

Bansko - Goce Delčev Street

However, when it became clear in June where the summer would be possible and where it would not, Bulgaria started to look like an interesting option. Most people go there for the seaside, but we went to the opposite altitudes, to the national parks of the Rila and Pirin mountains, which are fortunately less well known to Czech tourists. We bought our tickets to Sofia at the end of June, when everything around the coronavir still looked rosy. We were quite unlucky to buy tickets for a nice 30 Euro. But two days later they had a 20% off sale, down from 20 to 16 Euro. And it stayed at 20 Euros for a long time. As the situation started to slowly deteriorate, so did our trip. We were originally scheduled to leave Bratislava on July 31. In the middle of July, an email came that the departure was delayed by a day and with it the arrival. Another complication came on July 7, when Slovakia removed Bulgaria from the list of safe countries and we didn't know if we could get home from Slovakia without being quarantined. Zaneta's inquiry to the Slovak Ministry of Health clarified that quarantine is not required for transit and leaving Slovakia within 8 hours. So nothing stood in the way of our journey. Almost. We set off on our journey on Friday evening by train to Prague, where Kačka and Tomáš will join us. In Prague, we are greeted by the smell of the station and a lady peeing next to the sidewalk with a cigarette in her mouth at Manifesto Market, or Prague did not disappoint again. We take the Regiojet night bus to Bratislava. It will spice up the ride. Fortified with a sleeping pill, I am awakened by a sudden jerk at Jihlava. The driver didn't brake and crashed into the car in front of us. We don't know exactly what happened. All we know is that one of the passengers was taken away by ambulance because he was walking down the corridor at the fateful moment and must have got a bit carried away. For us, this meant a change of bus and a two-hour delay, for which we have not been compensated to this day, because allegedly the police have not yet closed the case and it is not known who is guilty (still valid even on 11.9.2022).

What was worse, however, is that our luxury reserve for getting from the bus station to the airport was gone. So instead of arriving at three o'clock, we arrive in Bratislava at five. There, Ala, the last member of the expedition, is waiting for us. We quickly look for the nearest bus stop on the map and hope to arrive at the airport on time. In the end, we made it with a small margin. But the nerve-wracking experience doesn't end there. Since we only have carry-on luggage and trekking poles with us, I check on the IATA website to see if they are allowed on the plane (I've seen people in Prague who allow them). IATA confirms that they are so I don't check them in with the others in my bag. Because of this, I was pretty pissed off by a security guard at security who informed me that I couldn't take them on the plane and to go check them in. To my objection that IATA allows it, he replied that they have their own rules here, as typical Slovak rules. Instead of going to the Bulgarian, the new sticks fly theatrically into the trash, so that the experts can see how pissed I am at them. Two hundred grams lighter in weight and about 240 CZK lighter, I go through security. The plane flies half empty with an estimated 50 people. As a coronary precaution, the system has seated us so that half of us sit together in the front and the other half in the back. The middle is empty. Nor will the tubercular cough of the passenger next to you add to your peace of mind. Right after the boarding complete signal, I move to an empty three-seater and try to sleep. We arrive in Sofia on time. At the gate, just passport control and nothing more. Since we landed at Terminal 1, we have to walk to the newer Terminal 2, from which the metro runs. Yes you read correctly even in backward Bulgaria, they already have a modern connection to the airport. Tickets are bought from a machine and a single ticket costs about 20 CZK and can be bought from the machine at the entrance. Before we leave, we'll nudge Revolut by withdrawing cash from an ATM. The Bulgarian metro is perhaps the worst in the world for a tourist to understand. Back in August they had two lines open (they opened a third at the end of August). These are largely parallel. In addition, the blue line forms a loop, which means that at Serdiak II station you change to the same line unless you want to ride the whole loop. In the direction from the airport to the station, they have it so that when you change trains, the connection just misses you and you have to wait ten minutes for the next train. Otherwise, you can see that the metro was only recently built, because you can say with exaggeration that it still smells new.

After about half an hour of driving we finally find ourselves at the main train station. It is located next to the main bus station. We're not taking the bus today because I want to try the train, which runs earlier than the faster bus. The downside of the train is the longer journey and having to change to a bus in Blagoevgrad. The advantage is at least the lower price and better views than from the highway on the bus. We buy our tickets at the ticket window. We show the station and train number on our mobile phone and the lady gives us the tickets immediately. We spend the rest of the time until departure checking out the local Billa and exploring the Bulgarian price level. In my vodka index (based on the Big Mac index), Bulgaria comes out very well. A litre of good vodka at 5 EUR is more than a luxury price. After Bill, we buy some more traditional Banitsa (Bulgarian version of burqa) at a local bakery and head for the train. The three-car train is a bit comical on the perhaps kilometer-long platform, which is also located at the very end of the train, so you get a solid walk before you go. Another bizarre sight is the locomotive, a 50 year old Plecháč, made in Pilsen. For all this train's looks, it's clean inside and you can see that they take care of it as much as possible. Less understandable was the fact that two conductors rode above in each car. Or were the socialist arrangements still in place here. The journey passed quickly and we arrived in Blagoevgrad on time. The bus station was almost next to the train station and the bus to Bansko arrived in about half an hour.

Sofia - Central Station (our train is the one in the distance)

Sofia - Central Station

Blagoevgrad - "Plecháč" series 44 BDŽ

Blagoevgrad - Our three-car train set from Sofia

Blagoevgrad - Bus station

Blagoevgrad - A bus to Bansko

The journey took another hour, which we slept through completely. In Bansko we went straight to our accommodation. This was in the form of an apartment near the centre in Guest room Vachin. In this luxurious apartment, one night cost 8 EUR per person.

We unpacked, took a shower, rested a bit and went for a walk around the city. First we needed to see if the cable car was running. That's for tomorrow. You can tell that Bansko is primarily a winter resort (there is also an Alpine skiing World Cup) because most of the shops are closed.

Bansko - Cable car station

Bansko

And then we looked for a restaurant to have dinner. Wikitravel recommended Mechana, but that's a term for restaurant, so everything here was called Mechana. We ended up at Mechana Baj Koce. The food was good, the portions were good too, it's just that the beer here was very expensive.

Bansko - Mechana Baj Koce

Bansko - Mechana Baj Koce - Chopped salad

Bansko - Mechana Baj Koce - Soap Tarator

Bansko - Mechana Baj Koce - Pljeskavica

After a hearty meal we go for a walk along Goce Delchev Street, through the middle of which a stream flows in an artificial bed, and then we return to our accommodation and go to sleep, because tomorrow we have a challenging climb to the second highest mountain in Bulgaria, Vihren.