Blagoevgrad
The Cardinal hotel in Blagoevgrad was my home for 2 nights. The room was worth its rate of 40 lv ($24) per night. In the morning I tried to have a long shower which is hardly possible in Bulgaria. Water heaters do not have large tanks for that. Hot water lasted long enough to rinse shampoo out of my hair. After that, the water became tepid, then cold. I also did laundry. Carrying too many clothes makes the backpack heavy; so I have to wash them whenever I get a chance.
Breakfast was at the hotel restaurant. I ordered two breakfasts to compensate for erratic eating of fast food in the past 2 days. The mighty meal cost me 11.30 lv ($6.80). Last night when I checked in, the restaurant was closed. I asked the receptionist where I could find a place to eat. She said that it was Sunday and therefore there would not be anything open around here. My best bet was to run to a supermarket one block away and to buy pre-cooked food. The supermarket did not have a wide selection of it at the end of the day. I bought two stuffed bell peppers and some stewed potatoes, ate them in my room and that was all. The food did not taste good and I only ate it to keep hunger at bay.
Before leaving my apartment in Byala I packed two power plug adapters – one for my laptop and another for the phone charger – in case I’d lose one of them on the road. Sometimes when I unplug the charger, the adapter gets separated from it and I forget it in the wall socket. I did just that after my very first night at a hotel. This morning I noticed that the adapter was no longer attached to the phone charger plug. I left it in Stara Zagora. Bummer, but that’s why I took two adapters with me.
Today I went to the Rila Monastery. It was my dream to see the famous frescoes.
I read online reports from the people who visited the monastery. Everyone said that public buses run as far as the village of Rila. If you are not with an organized tour then the only way to get to the monastery is by taxi. At Blagoevgrad bus station I was given different information. Three buses run daily at 7 a.m., 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. to the village. From there three connecting buses leave for the monastery at 7.40 a.m., 12.40 p.m. and 15.40 p.m. This made visiting the Rila Monastery really easy.
I took the 12 pm bus and one hour later was at the Rila Monastery.
The monastery was founded in the 10th century and named after Ivan of Rila, the hermit who lived in a cave near this place. His students and followers built a monastery complex which developed into a spiritual and cultural center of Bulgarian people. During its long history, the Rila Monastery was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The monastery is a symbol of Bulgarian national identity. It never stopped functioning, not even under the Ottoman rule that lasted nearly 500 years. It was granted protected status under the communist regime.
Besides its historical and religious value, the Rila Monastery is an architectural masterpiece. The main church in the center of the complex is renowned for its external frescoes. Here are a few of them.
The church is very beautiful inside too with magnificent gold decorations, but no photos are allowed!
Visitors can climb Hrelyo’s Tower built in the 14th century and go to the museum. The most important object on display in the museum is a cross made out of one piece of wood with carved miniature religious scenes and figures. A monk named Rafail worked on the cross for 12 years and went blind upon completing his work. Visitors of the museum do not need to strain their eyesight to view the cross. Its enlarged paper copies are posted on the walls.
That’s about all that is possible to see at the Rila Monastery. I went outside and walked around the complex, down to the Rila River and a small monastery cemetery, then returned to the main entrance in time for the 3 pm return bus.
I had a great time. On the following day, I would leave Bulgaria, but I will be back to see more of this beautiful country!
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