Veliko Tarnovo – one of the oldest cities in Bulgaria

We are currently parked up on Camping Veliko Tarnovo (N43.069722 E25.753055) a lovely campsite 14kms outside the beautiful city of Veliko Tarnovo, run by English couple Nick and Nicky, who bought the land in 2005.  It took them 2 years to get planning permission before they were able to begin their ambition of making the campsite the best in Bulgaria.  Seventeen years later and a real ‘labour of love’ we truly believe they have succeeded as the facilities are 5 star! Having spoken to them though, it has been no easy ride and Bulgarian health and safety laws seem stricter than ours…. surely not I hear you say!  Cost per night without electric is 34lv, which we didn't need as our solar panel has been working overtime with all this sun we have been getting to keep our 12V charged up!

View of the campsite from the pool, with Sonny, the motorhome nestled in the bottom left-hand corner

Before setting off to come here from our apartment, we spent the last few days doing lots of walking along the beach and planning the next stages of our travels.  Mel also had a massage to release a trapped nerve that he has suffered on and off with over the last year.

The Black sea is non-tidal, making it a calm and very safe sea.  They even have lifeguard posts every 100/150 metres.  It is surrounded by 6 countries – Bulgaria, Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia – the sea being the connecting link between all countries.

Lifeguard post on the left in front of a mass of white umbrellas, massage to the right!

We even got to celebrate our 29^th wedding anniversary here a couple of days before leaving!

You can do so many excursions from Sunny Beach and over the years we have done nearly all of them, either through a tour operator or by ourselves in a car.  The one place we haven't visited though is Istanbul and the Blue Mosque. As cheap as it was to do an excursion, it was a lot of travelling for 2-days and we weren’t feeling it so decided to save it for another day when we can visit in the motorhome.

We were sad to leave our apartment yesterday but it was pouring with rain and temperatures of only 16°C, so we took this as being a sign to move on!  It was 140 miles to the campsite near Veliko Tarnovo, a journey we last did about 9 years ago.  We decided to avoid the motorway and take as many different scenic roads as possible.

We passed by  endless fields of sunflowers.  In June the fields are full of these golden flowers in full bloom; however, this time of year they have turned brown and are ready for harvesting and they extend as far as the eye can see.  Bulgaria is the 7^th largest producer of sunflower seeds in the world – with sunflower oil its primary product from the flowers.

Fields of sunflowers ready for harvesting

We have learnt over the years that Bulgaria loves a good concrete monument or figure head.  We came across this on on a mountain pass - not sure what it represents though.

We spotted an interesting form of transport in one of the villages. Mel remembers having one of these in the mid 60’s as a young boy!

We didn’t wake up this morning until 10am - we had had one of the best sleeps in ages! It is so peaceful here and with night temperatures dropping to a cool 14°C we slept with the quilt cover on us all night - a rarity since setting off on our travels, as it has been so hot!  The weather had cleared and was back up to 28°C, so it was a quick breakfast and off on the scooter into Veliko Tarnovo, the medieval capital of Bularia steeped in over 7,000 years of history. The houses, stacked one above the other situated on the slopping hills of the town have their own unique architectural style.

We walked down Samovodska Charshiya - a lovely artisan street where you can see a wide range of old style crafts and skills.

Samovodska Charshiya - artisan street

Another monument – Mel adopting the pose

Not much health and safety going on here renovating this house!

We stayed at Hotel Gurko when we last visited, situated on the oldest street in the town. On July 1877 the Russian army (headed by General Gurko) was welcomed by the citizens of the newly liberated Veliko Tarnovo.  The street still keeps its Renaissance atmosphere.

Hotel Gurko with all the lovely flowers outside

The hotel overlooks the impressive Assen’s Monument, erected to mark the 800^th anniversary of the overthrow of the Byzantine rule and the crowning of Veliko Tarnovo as the second capital of the Bulgarian state (1185-1393).  It represents the four Bulgarian Tsars: Assen, Peter, Kaloyan and Ivan Assen II on horseback.

Tsarevets Fortress, a reconstructed fortress dominates the skyline of Veliko Tarnovo.  A former seat of the medieval tsars, it boasts the remains of more than 400 houses, 18 churches and royal palace.

Looking towards Tsaravets Fortress

Tsaravets Fortress

It's surprising the places that you will find a cat!

Heading back through the town we came across this sign.  Mmmm let’s see, where do we fancy next?

We enjoyed our day walking around the city seeing all the historic sites again.  We noticed though how European it had become since we were last here, with its types of clothes and shoe shops.  That said there are still a few traditional Bulgarian shops left, mainly down the Artisan street - mostly for the tourists!  After a hot day walking around it was back to the campsite for a dip in the pool, a cold beer and a barbecue!

Camping Veliko Tarnovo Pool

Sally x