Based on the recommendations of the Habitat Bulgaria staff, five of us signed up for a day visit to the historic mountain town of Koprivshtitsa. This is the town where the uprising against the Ottoman Empire started in April of 1876 and culminated on Sept. 22 1878. After a two hour drive out of the Sofia and through the mountains, we arrived at the restaurant where we would have lunch.
We then spent the next three hours walking through the picturesque town. In the museums, all the signs were in both Bulgarian and English, so our tour went well. Our tour guide added much info as well. Multiple mountain streams run through the town.
Besides numerous souvenir shops, many independent vendors had their wares on display. Here, blankets and other items made locally from goats were arrayed on their car.
The lion (lev) is the national symbol and is on many memorials, including this one to the April 1876 uprising.
Some of the souvenir shops also had a variety of antiques - these guns ranged in 500 - 2000 leva range.
Being in a narrow mountain valley meant we had hillsides to climb.
All of the chimneys had unique caps.
Besides the uprising of 1876, there are also numerous poets and writers from here.
Todor Kablelhkov was the leader of the uprising. His grave is marked with a cross, handgun and sword.
The Church of the Assumption of the Holy Mother was built in 1817.
Koprivshtitsa is know for Bulgarian revival architecture. The ideal is houses with a roof line in the shape of a yoke and with symmetrical (or near symmetrical) construction left and right. In the center, there is a domed oval room upstairs in the center, with much intricate carved decorations and painting.
Most of the homes have beautiful flower gardens.
Many of the homes also had tall stone walls and intricate gates.
For lunch, we returned to the Chuchura restaurant for traditional Bulgarian fare. The first course was these five salads which were eaten with the warm bread - half garlic, half herbal.
The entree was served in these replicas of water jugs used by farmers. Water was poured in at the top and then drunk from the small nipple on the handle. Since they are made from clay, the water kept cool. A nice stew was inside.
Dessert was a peeled honeydew melon slice drizzled with honey and lightly sprinkled with fine sugar.
There were also numerous horse drawn wagons in town.
We continued to walk and explore the town and the many merchants before leaving at 3:00 for the two hour plus drive back. While it is only 111 km, it is a slow drive, especially coming back into the city. The last 15 km took 45 minutes because of the traffic.
Tonight we will have our last team dinner at the Happy Restaurant in the nearby Mall of Sofia and Monday, the rest of the crew departs while I stay in Sofia for three more days of exploration.
It has been a great week and I truly enjoyed the build, meeting the families and especially meeting the Habitat staff.
We then spent the next three hours walking through the picturesque town. In the museums, all the signs were in both Bulgarian and English, so our tour went well. Our tour guide added much info as well. Multiple mountain streams run through the town.
Besides numerous souvenir shops, many independent vendors had their wares on display. Here, blankets and other items made locally from goats were arrayed on their car.
The lion (lev) is the national symbol and is on many memorials, including this one to the April 1876 uprising.
Some of the souvenir shops also had a variety of antiques - these guns ranged in 500 - 2000 leva range.
Being in a narrow mountain valley meant we had hillsides to climb.
All of the chimneys had unique caps.
Besides the uprising of 1876, there are also numerous poets and writers from here.
Todor Kablelhkov was the leader of the uprising. His grave is marked with a cross, handgun and sword.
The Church of the Assumption of the Holy Mother was built in 1817.
Koprivshtitsa is know for Bulgarian revival architecture. The ideal is houses with a roof line in the shape of a yoke and with symmetrical (or near symmetrical) construction left and right. In the center, there is a domed oval room upstairs in the center, with much intricate carved decorations and painting.
Most of the homes have beautiful flower gardens.
Many of the homes also had tall stone walls and intricate gates.
For lunch, we returned to the Chuchura restaurant for traditional Bulgarian fare. The first course was these five salads which were eaten with the warm bread - half garlic, half herbal.
The entree was served in these replicas of water jugs used by farmers. Water was poured in at the top and then drunk from the small nipple on the handle. Since they are made from clay, the water kept cool. A nice stew was inside.
Dessert was a peeled honeydew melon slice drizzled with honey and lightly sprinkled with fine sugar.
The gardens by the restaurant and hotel still had roses in bloom.
There were also numerous horse drawn wagons in town.
We continued to walk and explore the town and the many merchants before leaving at 3:00 for the two hour plus drive back. While it is only 111 km, it is a slow drive, especially coming back into the city. The last 15 km took 45 minutes because of the traffic.
Tonight we will have our last team dinner at the Happy Restaurant in the nearby Mall of Sofia and Monday, the rest of the crew departs while I stay in Sofia for three more days of exploration.
It has been a great week and I truly enjoyed the build, meeting the families and especially meeting the Habitat staff.
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