First topic message reminder :I thought it was time to let you all know our thoughts on Bulgaria after visiting the country on the 2nd November for a week.
To be perfectly honest with you, I had already made up my mind that we would be relocating to BG, before we ever saw the place. It is our saviour, our new big adventure. We have to get out of Turkey and don't want to return to the UK, so Bulgaria it is then.
Before we left I told my hubby not to compare it with Turkey as I knew it would be so different and to have vision and good imagination when viewing houses.
So off we go on the coach from Didim to Istanbul, Istanbul to Erdine and the final part of our journey was with Phil from Paws Kennels, who picked us up at the bus station and brought us over the border to their kennels and our home for the next week. As we were travelling along through a dense fog, everything looked so bleak and miserable, we are not used to pea soupers here in Akbuk, so it was a stark contrast to the place we had left behind 17 hours earlier. This was our first reminder of how different the countries were going to be. We stayed in their guest apartment and were made very welcome. After a good home cooked meal provided by Sue, Phil’s wife, we hit the hay as we were shattered from the journey.
We were up bright and early and were greeted by lots of sunshine and Karen, whose Donkeywhisperer blog had inspired me seek out Bulgaria in the first place. Who would have thought that 3 weeks after reading it, we would be stood in a Bulgarian village, looking forward to spending a day with her. We were going to look at a few properties and different villages. One of the houses, we had requested and it was all we had hoped for and a little more, it was located in the pretty village of Razdel. Eric wanted it there and then but I felt it was way too small for permanent living and it was too high up a hill for the snowy periods. We then went on to view a couple that were part renovated and one that needed total renovation. I was much more enthusiastic than my Husband was, all he could see was endless work and at 65 years of age, felt that he had a damn good chance of kicking the bucket before they were even finished.lol. We all went in to Elhovo for a bite to eat and a cuppa before being driven back to village. Eric seemed a little deflated and could not see the potential in the houses that we had seen, except for the Razdel house.
At 5pm we decided to go and have a beer in the village bar, big mistake. We came out around 10pm, closing time, and were a tad tipsy. Boy those BG measures are unbelievable, yes we could have said no, but it would have been rude not to partake in a little Bulgarian hospitality.
When we did finally leave, feeling sloshed and also a little deaf, (my word, don't the Bulgarians shout, I have never met a nosier nation , they are very passionate when they speak and even louder than the Greeks :lol:) , nothing could have prepared us for the darkness that met us out on the street. We could not see anything and you would have been hard pushed to put a pin between the stars in that inky black sky, it was a wonderful sight. Using a lighter as our only means of illumination we started stumbling down through the village, when Dora the bar owner stopped and picked us up. Thankfully I had remembered the Bulgarian word for Dog that Sue had taught me that same day and managed to get across to her that we wanted to go to the "
Kuche Otel"
, she knew right away where we were heading and delivered us there safe and sound. Phew!!!
The next day was Bonfire night, my birthday. We were taken into town by Sue and we had a good look around and then in the evening. went to the village of Dobrich for a meal at Shirley’s that is run by Anna and Alan, pals from Turkey. I was very surprised to see that the place had been decorated for me and a lovely big cake made by Anna. So with that and my present and Flowers from Sue, between them, they made my birthday very special. That night, we stayed in Dobrich, with Maureen, another acquaintance from Turkey. She has been there a few months and had bought a lovely little house that had needed full renovation, it was fantastic and at last, something had put a smile on Eric's face. This is what had been needed, he had needed to see a house that was once a wreck and within around 6 months had been transformed into a beautiful home complete with fab kitchen, full central heating, internal staircase and a massive luxury bathroom. At last he could now see the wonderful potential in old village properties and a future for us in Bulgaria. He has gone from not wanting to touch a house in need of full renovation with a barge pole, to now gagging to get his mitts on one. He is a joiner by trade and will be able to do most of the work himself.
The next day, Saturday was Dobrich Village day and the official opening of Anna and Alan’s place. I had promised to help out, and boy did they need it, the place was mobbed out from 12 noon to 3am in the morning. It was a fabulous day and they gave the young village folk a night to remember. Well done and lots of luck to them both in their new exciting venture.
We got a hire car for the next few days and had a good drive around and went to do some shopping at Kaufland, I was so excited going up and down the Isles looking at all the things that we have been deprived of for the last 3 years, it was magic.
So after our time there, my thoughts are .
People... friendly, warm and welcoming.
Scenery... Stunning,
Cost of living...cheap as chips, for now.
Would we go and live there????? Too bloody right, see you next April.
Thanks for reading
Sharon and Eric.
Sun Dec 05, 2010 2:46 pm
