Bulgaria The North

 

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

Now I spent quite a bit of time in Bulgaria about 10 years ago on various trips.  If ever you want to find out more about the country, I recommend you find 2 Bulgarians and go on a non-stop road trip across Europe.  You will be told about the Turkish 'Yoke', the period during which the territory was under Ottoman rule, Bulgarian yogurt (best made from goat's milk in the west of the country and far superior to Greek yogurt), the problem of the gypsies, shopska salad (far superior to Greek salad, how the Bulgarians invented wine, and how the Greeks generally have stolen the culture of the Thracians and claimed it as their own, etc... You'll also learn about the Bulgarian mafia and corruption and get to taste plenty of rakia, the moonshine plum brandy.  It goes without saying, that Bulgarian women are the most beautiful in the world.  

After just such a road trip, criss-crossing the country, finding the best wines the country has to offer, gate-crashing parties in small villages, in a car repair shop/turned tropical beach and an Irish pub in Blagoevgrad, I now consider myself an expert in all things Bulgarian.  Finally my most lasting connection to Bulgaria is that I bought myself a handmade Bulgarian tambura there from one of top makers of the instrument, which is now my preferred musical instrument.

We start this particular road trip in the north-east of the country in the small town of Isperih, where folk and jazz musician Theodosii Spassov was born in 1961.  His instrument of choice is the kaval, an 8-hole wooden shepherd's flute.  Spassov is a serial collaborator, having played with many greats of jazz and Bulgarian folklore as well Irish music and dance troupe Riverdance.  One of his collaborations was with all female Bulgarian choir Cosmic Voices, who were founded in 1994 in Sofia.  The resulting album, re-released in January this year, is called The Spirit of Bulgaria (originally released 2001), blending Bulgarian folk with jazz.  This a song from the album called Podnojie (At the Foot of the Mountain):

Next we are heading to the city of Lovech, where guitar maverick Ateshkhan Yuseinov was born.  He made a name for himself with his unique guitar playing style, combining fast Balkan rhythms with jazzy improvisations.  Here is a track from his 2019 album Strange Suit, where he collaborates with beat box world champion SkilleR aka Alexander Deyanov from Sofia.  The tune is called Fire Bees in a Box:

Next stop is the town of Belogradchik in north-western Bulgaria, mostly because it is one of the most stunning locations in Bulgaria.  The famous rocks of Belogradchik are an area of 90 square kilometres of red sandstone formations, that have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.  They have even built an impregnatable fortress into the rocks.

Near Belogradchik was also one of my gate crashing events mentioned above.  As we were eating in a country hotel, there was a birthday party going on, which we promptly joined.  As I was suffering from a cold at the time, I was supplied with gallons of hot rakia.  There was also some home-made music to entertain the guests.  Excuse the poor picture and sound quality:

And we'll leave it at that as we are going to the Capital Sofia next.  In the meantime you can follow my virtual ramblings on my Tripline map.