South Park

Yes, the park by me is known as South Park (or Vuzhen Park).

But I didn't see Stan, Kyle, Kenny or Cartman anywhere. Although I did see SpongeBob Squarepants...

It has quite the grand entrance off Vitosha Boulevard (the same street is the main drag in downtown Sofia, which is about 2 miles away).

And an even grander view of Mount Vitosha from everywhere.

But wait, is this a nature park, or an amusement park?

 

(Evidently these rides and such are here all the time)

Oh, I see, it's a gym!?

They take these outdoor fitness courses to a whole new level...

The "playgrounds" are a bit different

(yes, these are made of stone)

 But they're cute...

...and so are these jungle gyms!

These are part of the playground too, but I'm not sure of their purpose except to crack a kids head open when they fall (not if).

There was a dog park, even if the fence was only two feet high...but most people let their dogs off leash everywhere anyway.

Some areas need a little TLC 

But you get amazing views of Mount Vitosha

And it's a great place for families to come on the weekend with all modes of transportation...

...and maybe even stumble upon a turtle!

Veliko Tarnovo

I went on a day trip to Veliko Tarnovo after only being in Bulgaria for three days. This is a municipality about 3 hours outside of Sofia. I met with the Deputy Mayor there to talk about his experience with flooding and natural disasters.
Biggest problem - funding. That sounds familiar.

Downtown Veliko Tarnovo

Yantra River 

Tsarevets - medieval fortress right near downtown

   

Much of it has been rebuilt...if you can't tell

Including the church at the top of the hill

Looking back towards the main part of town

This was the tower where the prisoners were locked up.

I thought it would have been a great view from there

Until I saw that these were the windows

Gypsy burning a tire to get the metal out.  Nice. While I admire their dedication to recycling items, burning tires can't be good for the environment... 

 Veliko Tarnovo University

The round green thing in the foreground was a speaker - occasionally they would give a little background on the fort in various languages (English included)  

It felt like my own personal photo shoot with my driver, Krassi, directing me where to stand and he would take photos. I'm not one to have my photo taken, but he was very sweet, so I let him.

This was such a beautiful fort, but definitely from another time period. This is execution rock, with the river below. I'll let you figure it out. 

Here I am with Krassi...had to get at least one with him in it too!

I was sure not to do any yoga on the walls

Sometimes I think my phone takes better pictures... 

  

The weather looked like it was taking a turn for the worse, so we called it a day and headed back to Sofia.

My Abode

Here's where I'll be staying for the next 7 weeks - Apartments Carrera

It's pretty nice, and much bigger than my condo at home.

The living room, where I spend most of my time when I'm here (just like at home)

Dining area - haven't used it yet

 Kitchenette...yes, that's a washer on the left!

My bedroom 

And the bathroom 

My balcony is the one at the top on the left

And here's my view (to the left)

(to the right)

And best of all, straight ahead is Mount Vitosha

But perhaps really best of all is that the tap water is safe to drink! I've learned that Bulgarians take much pride in their drinking water. I'm hoping to get to tour a treatment plant while I'm here.

Sofia, a long way from home

Getting settled in my apartment for the next almost two months in Sofia, Bulgaria. I'm here through a State Department Embassy Science Fellows Exchange Program. But more about that later.

This evening I ventured out for the first time to go to the grocery store (it's just down the street, so I really didn't have to go far). Picked up a few staples - a mix of familiar products and some local things. The photo below shows the creature comforts I found. One of those items (with the grey lid) thank goodness was Original Amerikanische Erdnusscreme - now it's official, I can stay for a little while...